ABSTRACT
Golf course putting greens are intensively maintained and often contain a sand based root zone and, therefore, need to be managed to prevent nitrate and pesticide contamination and ground and surface water pollution. In this laboratory study, we investigated the water and solute movement through a typical tri-layer United States Golf Association (USGA) putting green profile. Results indicate that even though the soil layers were homogeneous, preferential flow paths were formed, causing a major portion of the soil profile to be bypassed and, thus, increasing the likelihood of groundwater contamination.