Oshkosh Country Club Case Study

The golf course and Country Club is a well established and relatively old course in Oshkosh, WI, which recently has undergone major renovation and upgrade. There is a major stream that flows through the course. Especially in the spring of the year, the stream would overflow its banks during periods of rainy weather, flooding the course and making it unplayable for days at a time. The downtime caused by the flooding was costing the Country Club significant revenue. They contemplated upgrades to the cart bridges and changes in the course layout involving several channel relocations that might improve the flow of water through the course and alleviate flooding. Davel Engineering was hired to study the streamflow through the course.

The study began with development of a detailed topographic map of the course areas adjacent to the stream. Next, Davel Engineering created a computer model of the terrain that was capable of modeling the streamflow. Hydrologic calculations were done to estimate peak streamflows. The model was calibrated using actual rainfall records and documentation of past flooding events. After we felt confident that the existing conditions were being accurately modeled, engineers modeled the various stream relocations to analyze the effects on the flooding. Davel Engineering then made recommendations about which of the planned improvements might have a significant reduction in flooding, along with realistic predictions for future flooding events. Recommendations included increased channel size, new channel alignment, and cart bridge spans and clearances. Based on recommendations from Davel Engineering, the Country Club developed plans to upgrade the course.

The project required that Davel Engineering perform well as a team member since the project called for interaction with the golf course architect, the Country Club management, the golf course maintenance staff, and the contractors. After plans were developed, Davel Engineering prepared permit applications for the work. Since the project involved work along a navigable stream, permits were required from the Army Corps of Engineers, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and County Zoning. The original study of the stream done by Davel Engineering was the basis for the permit applications. The project was completed several years ago and according to the maintenance staff, the flooding problems have been reduced.