The Eagle Creek Golf Club in Willmar, Minnesota was established in 1931 and expanded to 18 holes in 1962. Nestled between Willmar Lake and Swan Lake, Eagle Creek is an idyllic setting for golf. For at least seven months out of the year, area golfers and tourists enjoy the pleasant vistas and the unique challenges of this mature course.

Course superintendent, Tom (Woody) Wodash, and his staff take pride in well groomed greens and fairways and hazardous roughs, traps and water features. The eighth hole has long been a special challenge for Woody and his crew. Drives from this tee land on a low, out of sight, area. This area is on the near side of a stream that separates it from the green. Rain could turn this charming approach into a water hazard! Furthermore, it was impossible to keep healthy turf growing in this area.

A Multi-Flow drainage system was selected to address the problem. First, the optimum drainage path was selected with help from a laser level. A 400 series Dingo™ by Toro with a 36 X 4 inch trencher attachment made quick work of the trenching. An 18 inch deep cut was made for the 12-inch Multi-Flow line. A 12-inch trench was dug for the 6-inch Multi-Flow lines. This allowed the top of the collector lines to rest 6 inches below the surface. All cuts were 4 inches wide.

Multi-Flow arrived at the site in 150 foot rolls. 12-inch Multi-Flow was rolled out along the first 115 feet of trench. 6-inch Multi-Flow was used for a branch line off to the left. Twenty feet later, a similar 6-inch branch was installed off to the right. A Multi-Purpose 12” to 6” with 6” Wye Left (#1200B) allowed the 12-inch Multi-Flow to step down to a 6-inch line and also accommodated a 6-inch branch off to the left.

A standard 3-inch elbow was attached to the bottom of a 12” Multi-Purpose Outlet (#1200M) to connect the collector line to a PVC discharge pipe. The outlet assembly was attached to the end of the collector line and lowered into the trench.

Clean, very coarse sand was selected for a backfill medium. The sand will allow water to flow through quickly but will intercept particles of clay and silt that might otherwise block the filter. The sand backfill was brought up nearly to the surface. The trench will act much like a long surface inlet.