Doing some home work on Intex Ultra Frame - Leveling the ground

Greetings, I am doing some basic information gathering for a new Intex Ultra Frame style pool (gravitating towards 18') and had a basic question on leveling. If there is a thread dealing with soil / level prep please point me to that too.

I have an area that is fairly level and should encompass the pool plus a 2' outer ring around the pool. but does have some sloping. Currently a 3 seat swing set in right in middle of proposed pool area. There are three 'grooves' where the kids have compacted soil and lawn under the swing seats. These grooves are probably 3" below the basic level mark of the ground and would be in the center of the pool area.

It seems to me (never having leveled any soil) that if I remove the St Augustine grass to get to the soil this may get me close to the level of the compacted grooves. I should just dig down to that level as opposed to building up the low spots?

Does that make sense? Dig down or up to achieve level?

I don't know of a particular thread to point you to but you may want to search and see if you can find any that you think would be beneficial. Use the Google Search in my signature below instead of the search feature that is part of the forum software. (Until your registration is complete, you'll have to log out to be able to read the rest of the forum, however.)

And regarding the leveling, you want to dig down and take off the high spots instead of filling in the low spots.

Welcome to the Pool Forum, by the way!

We opted for "digging down" and removing all of the grass. Years ago we put up an Easy Set right on top of a grassy patch and had some of the grasses grow through the tarp and through the bottom of the pool (Bermuda and a tree root or two)