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To evaluate the quality of installation of pull-behind drainage plows, forty-four subsurface drains were installed under experimental conditions by three different drainage plows; a Soil-Max Gold Digger 3-point hitch drainage plow, a Liebrecht drawbar-pull drainage plow, and a Hoes selfpropelled cantilever-type drainage plow. Installation of the 395 m ling laterals was structured to evaluate the effects of depth, speed and grade breaks for all three machines. An apparent installation elevation of the tubing boot outlet was recorded using a Laser-based survey system, while mapping the ground surface with RTK GPS and collecting additional instrument data about the grade control system. An additional side study was conducted on a Johnson pull-behind drainage plow to compare two different grade control systems. The data sets were examined for deviations from grade and for deviations that would pool water and then compared to the criteria set forth by ASTM 449-02 as an acceptable threshold.