Stan The Man wrote:

It isn't. If your water tends to puddle in one place it may be
cheaper/easier to put a soakaway at that spot (a cube of gravel approx
1m square and deep). Not everyone wants an outcrop of gravel on the
lawn but it could masquerade as a 'feature' if you were to place a
sculpture, bench or birdbath on it.

My small garden used to puddle and get squelchy and muddy with run off
from surrounding properties. I dug down and replaced maybe 6-12 inches
with topsoil and so far everything is alright. The topsoil allows the
water to "drain" sideways acting like blotting paper. I've yet to see
it perform in a real downpour but for small localised puddling it's a
solution that can work. Some parts I mixed sharp sand, top soil and
compost but I've yet to see any real difference. I also in places dug
shallow soakaway channels. The clay that was beneath was so clay like
that one could have made pots with it.