Cynthia Corey

Soils and Glacial Landforms on Golf Courses in

Four Northwestern Lower Michigan Counties

Introduction
The purpose of this research is to compare the type of soils and the glacial landforms that golf courses occur on in four counties in northwestern lower Michigan. The data collected will be compared and analyzed to see if there are similarities between golf courses. Texture of the surface soils on golf courses will also be mentioned to see if any similarities are noticed.

Study
Counties chosen for the study in northwest lower Michigan were Antrim, Grand Traverse, Leelanau, and Wexford. All four counties had published soil surveys. The area is covered with signs of previous glacial activity. There are gently rolling hills of glacial drift. Some areas are covered with sand, in coastal areas along Lake Michigan. There are also glacial lacustrine plains. Some low lying areas are covered with muck or swamps. The counties have many golf courses, as the area is scenic. The area is ideal for golf courses as most soils are well drained.

Methods
The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (10) (GCSAA) has a complete list of US golf courses. A list of Michigan courses was obtained via US mail and lists reviewed to find all the golf courses in the four counties. The Michigan State University map library had available soil survey, plat maps, and other various sources. Plat books (3,5,7,9) contain an owners directory where golf courses can be found. When golf course location was found, the township and range was determined to make referring to other maps easier. After determining township and range the location was compared to the soil survey general map (2,4,6,8). The general map gave the page number of the specific soil survey area. The golf course was located based on major landmarks such as roads, rivers, or lakes. Soil symbols were recorded for golf course location. To determine what soils occurred on the golf courses, each soil symbol had to be looked up in the respective county soil legend. Surface soils of each area and the drainage class of the soils was then recorded. A glacial quaternary map (1) was used to determine glacial landforms and glacial sediment. It was not labeled with township and range so major landmarks were again used to find golf course location. Once area was pinpointed the glacial landforms and sediment were recorded.

Results
Refer to the four tables of data (1.1, 1.2, 1.3, and 1.4) and notice the commonality of glacial landforms that occur on the golf courses. The four kinds of glacial landforms are: Outwash Plains, Lacustrine Deposits, Ground Moraines, and End Moraines. There were also three types of glacial sediment. These glacial sediments were Outwash Sand & Gravel, Lake Sand and Till.

Lacustrine deposits left behind Lake Sand during late Wisconsin glacial advances and retreats. Lacustrine deposits are dominated by a pale yellowish to reddish, fine to medium sized sand. They contains some pebbly sand, gravel, or silt and clay. It is moderately to poorly sorted. Deposits represent beach and near-shore facies of glacial-lake deposits. Four golf courses in Antrim, four courses in Grand Traverse, and one course in Leelanau county are on Lacustrine deposits.

Outwash plains contain outwash sand and gravel also laid during late Wisconsin glacial advances and retreats . The sand is yellow, brown, red, or gray and is fine to coarse. It also exists with beds of pebbly sand and pebble to cobbly gravel. It is an area that is poorly to well sorted and well stratified. Outwash sand and gravel occurs in outwash plains in northwestern Michigan. All four golf courses of Wexford county are located on Outwash plains. Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties each have one course that is on Outwash plains.

Ground and end moraines were also deposited in late Wisconsin glacial advances and retreats . These are both non-calcareous, sandy loamy till deposits. They are composed of pale loam and loamy sand, also non-sorted to poorly sorted sandy clay loam, sandy loam, and loamy sand. Till contains an assortment of pebbles, cobbles, and boulders. Till resembles outwash sand and gravel but contains lenses of non-sorted clayey or silty till. A ground moraine is made as a sheet of glacial till that is deposited over an area of low relief. The ground moraine has a thickness of till generally less than 20 meters thick. The end moraine has broad till ridges as it was made by accumulation of glacial drift along the margin of the glacier. End moraines are usually thicker than ground moraines. Two golf courses in Leelanau county and two courses in Antrim county are on moraines.

There were many soil series present on the nineteen golf courses. The soil series were too specific to use for generalization, so soil texture was most useful in talking about similarities that occur between golf courses. Soil textures over all four counties golf courses were; sand, loam, loamy sand, sandy loam, and some occasional muck. Loam is a mixture of sand, silt, and clay. The difference between sand, silt, and clay is particle size. Sand has larger particles, silt smaller particles, and clay has very small particles. Sandy courses then would allow for the most well drained soils and loamy moderately well drained soils as sand would be more permeable. Twelve golf courses occurring in all four counties are a mixture of the two soil textures: loamy sand, sandy loam or sandy and loamy. There are five golf courses having just sandy soils, and two with just loamy soils. Muck is present on six courses in all counties except Leelanau. The landscapes had slopes anywhere from 0 to 45%. The soils were well drained in sandy areas to very poorly drained in mucky areas.

Conclusion
In summary, most golf courses occur where soils are sandy and loamy, with a gently sloping landscape. The soils are well to moderately well drained except for scant areas of muck, which are poorly drained. The most common glacial landforms on golf courses in these four counties in northwest Michigan are outwash plains and lacustrine deposits.

References

1. Quaternary Geologic Map of the Lake Superior 4x6 Quadrangle, United States and Canada. Published by the U.S. Geological Survey, 1984.

2. S 597.M53 L2 1985 Soil Survey of Lake and Wexford Counties, Michigan FS/MAES.

3. G 1413.W4 R63 1995 Land Atlas and Plat Book for Wexford County, Michigan, Rockford Map Publishers, Rockford, Illinois.

4. S 599.M4 W4 1973 Soil Survey for Leelanau County, Michigan, USDA/SCS/MAES.

5. G 1413.L4 R6 1996 Land Atlas and Plat Book for Leelanau County, Michigan, Rockford Map Publishers, Rockford, Illinois.

6. S 599.M4 S63 1966 Soil Survey for Grand Traverse County, Michigan, USDA/SCS/MAES.

7. G 1413.G7 R65 1995 Land Atlas and Plat Book for Grand Traverse County, Michigan, Rockford Map Publishers, Rockford, Illinois.

8. S 599.M4 L38 1978 Soil Survey for Antrim County, Michigan, USDA/SCS/MAES.

9. G 1413.A7 R6 1995 Land Atlas and Plat Book for Antrim County, Michigan, Rockford Map Publishers, Rockford, Illinois.

10. Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA), 1421 Research Park Drive, Lawrence, Kansas, 66049-3859. (913) 841-2240

Table 1.1 Golf Courses of Antrim County

Table 1.2 Golf Courses of Grand Traverse County

Table 1.3 Golf Courses of Leelanau County

Table 1.4 Golf Courses of Wexford County

Drainage Class Key:

SE=somewhat excessively drained, E=excessively drained, W=well drained, MW=moderately well drained, M=moderately drained, P=poorly drained, VP=very poorly drained, and ND=not determined.