GOLF COURSE RENOVATION · SINCE 1982
Solving a Salt-Water Problem With Expert Golf Course Drainage
Rochelle Ranch Golf Course sits at 6,800 feet in Rawlins, Wyoming — with a shallow water table so salty it killed turf on seven fairways, no matter how well they were maintained. Aspen engineered an “upside-down” drainage system to intercept the groundwater before it ever reached the surface. See how we turned mud holes into playable turf at Rochelle Ranch.
44 Years +
GCBAA
$293,905
PROJECT SNAPSHOT
Rochelle Ranch Golf Course · Rawlins, Wyoming
TYPE OF PROJECT
PROJECT VALUE
TIMELINE
GOLF ARCHITECT
BUILDER
GOLF SUPERINTENDENT
OWNER REP
ENGINEER
THE PROJECT
Rochelle Ranch Golf Course is an 18-hole municipal course owned by the City of Rawlins, Wyoming, built on land donated by local sheep ranchers Curt and Marian Rochelle, who also funded the original construction. Opened in 2004 on a site with dramatic elevation change and mountain views at 6,800 feet, the course has struggled since day one with a problem hiding just beneath its fairways.
A shallow water table with extremely high salt content was percolating up through seven fairways. No maintenance program could out-work it — the salty groundwater simply killed the turf as fast as it grew. On the worst days, what looked like a dusting of snow on the ground was actually salt crystallized on the topsoil.
The City of Rawlins brought in Aspen to fix four of the worst-affected holes. Wyoming engineer Keith Haskins of PMPC Engineering designed an “upside-down” drainage system — pipe-and-stone trenches built to capture and carry only the rising subsurface water, sealed at the top with soil instead of left open to surface percolation like a conventional system.
The new network was engineered backward from the outlet, with precise bury depths and spacings calculated to route the salty water away from the root zone while working around 90% of the existing sprinkler system. Aspen’s crews used GPS coordinates to install tens of thousands of feet of pipe and drain tile to exact specification.
The project was scheduled for late fall and winter, when the course was closed and the water table at its lowest — but that meant building through brutal Wyoming weather, including wind chills of 25 degrees below zero. Crews worked in two-hour shifts to stay safe, and snow sometimes had to be cleared before work could even start. A solar-powered pump, installed the following spring, now discharges collected groundwater from a chain of natural ponds into an approved culvert — no electrical service was ever run to the site.
The results were immediate. Golf Superintendent Dave Befus watched the soil change within 24 hours of the trenches and drain tile going in. Four holes that had been unplayable mud are now healthy, playable turf — and the City is considering renovating even more holes.
PROJECT GOALS
- Intercept the salty groundwater before it reaches the turf’s root zone.
- Route subsurface water away from the golf course without disrupting surface drainage.
- Maintain the moisture balance the turf actually needs to grow.
- Work around 90% of the existing irrigation system rather than replacing it.
THE CHALLENGES
- A water table so shallow that trenches could fill with water within the hour.
- Fast-moving groundwater turned the four work holes into literal mud holes during construction.
- A winter build window with wind chills to 25 below zero and snow removal just to keep working.
- No electrical service on site to run the pump that discharges collected water.
THE RESULTS
- Visible soil change within 24 hours of the drain tile going in.
- Four holes converted from unplayable mud to healthy, playable turf.
- Delivered on budget at $293,905 despite extreme winter conditions.
- City of Rawlins now considering renovating additional holes using the same system.
PROJECT GALLERY
Four renovated fairways, from salt-crusted mud to playable turf.
Salt crystallized on the surface like a dusting of snow — before renovation
Healthy turf and a playable green — after renovation
Groundwater salt visible across the fairway near the clubhouse pond — before
The same corridor, fully grassed in — after
Standing groundwater pooling across the fairway — before
Mud holes replaced with playable turf — after
Bare, salt-stressed ground along the fairway corridor — before
Turf restored along the same corridor — after
Salt crusted across the open turf area — before
Clean, uniform turf — after
The salt-affected fairway with the Rawlins hills beyond — before
Rolling, healthy fairway turf — after
The upside-down drainage system going in below grade — before
The turf the drainage system made possible — after
Crews excavating the drainage corridor — before
Grown-in turf on the same corridor — after
Championship Golf Course Construction, Built On Time and On Budget
WHAT THE CLUB SAID
Fighting a Golf Course Drainage Problem of Your Own?
