Irrigation, which can be turned on when it’s not raining or when there isn’t enough rainfall, helps to stop the grass plant wilting and losing rigidity. Without an irrigation system, it’s all but impossible to ensure that a golf course can remain in playable condition.
Full Answer
How does irrigation work on a golf course?
Irrigation, which can be turned on when it’s not raining or when there isn’t enough rainfall, helps to stop the grass plant wilting and losing rigidity. Without an irrigation system, it’s all but impossible to ensure that a golf course can remain in playable condition.
Why is irrigation important for turfgrass?
Water is essential to all life, turfgrass certainly no exception. Depending on your geographic location, irrigation is more critical in some regions than others, but we cannot deny the importance of a reliable, efficient irrigation system when our livelihood relies on maintaining healthy turf, day after day.
How much does a golf irrigation system cost?
Today’s irrigation systems can range from $750,000 to $3 million-plus for 18 holes and, in extreme cases, exceed $5 million. That kind of money will get you a lot of new bunkers and then some.
Should I upgrade my golf course’s entire system?
After prioritizing your needs, you can determine what upgrades will get you more bang for your buck. Some upgrades can be recycled if you do replace the entire system in the future. If a complete replacement is out of reach, there are improvements you can make that your golf course will benefit from and are affordable.
Why is water lost in golf?
water is lost due to evaporation. inconvenience to golfers who have to play during the afternoon. higher algae levels. leaves & soil have higher chances of infection. The most important element of golf course irrigation is operation of the system.
What is the key to a good golf course?
For anyone who plays golf leisurely or for serious competition, it is widely known that one of the keys to a great golf course & great round of golf is proper golf course irrigation.
Where To Irrigate
Golf clubs must establish quality requirements for their courses. This requires club managers to work with players to create a dynamic course. Course designers use different types of grass across the 18 holes. The overarching goal for the designers is to have the highest quality grass on the greens.
When To Irrigate
In general, determining when to irrigate the golf course is done by observing several things in the field. For example, groundskeepers watch for when drought spots emerge. Additionally, they monitor the root zone to see if the grass dries out. Course managers prevent dry spots through timely and sufficient irrigation.
How Much To Irrigate
Advanced computer simulation models are used to determine the ideal amount of irrigation. Computer simulation models describe all relevant processes that occur in the soil-water-grass system. The models also calculate whether there is still enough moisture present in the soil profile to ensure the quality of the grass.
What Statistics We Need
To be able to advise where, when, and how much irrigation a golf course needs requires a few factors.
Why do golf course superintendents use drones?
Drones are flying over golf courses, capturing images and the data is then used to help golf course superintendents make decisions. And although most popular social media platforms have been around for more than 10 years, most superintendents have gravitated to them in the past decade to communicate to members and customers, as well as exchange ideas and information with fellow superintendents.
Why is it important to have an irrigation system?
A very important piece to any irrigation system is the quality and quantity of the water supply. Understand what is available today and years into the future. As water demands continue to rise, it may be worthwhile to investigate receiving effluent water or capturing more runoff water to be used for irrigation.
How much does a sprinkler level reduce uniformity?
1. Sprinklers. Did you know that a sprinkler more than 3 percent out of level has a 10 to 15 percent reduction in distribution uniformity? Three percent doesn’t sound like a lot, but unlevel sprinklers can have an overwhelming effect on uniformity. Over time, sprinklers may settle or even sink with years of heavy topdressing. Leveling sprinklers is not as monumental a task as it sounds. You can prioritize your areas and work through the project systematically.
How to audit golf course water distribution?
Perform a water distribution audit with the assistance of a certified golf auditor. An audit or “catch can test” should be performed in several areas throughout the course. Select areas that are indicative of what you can expect on the rest of the course. The audit will produce several key data points that will give you real insight into how the sprinklers are performing including distribution uniformity as a percentage. Distribution uniformity, low quarter, is a factor of the average volume of the lowest 25 percent of the catch cans divided by the average volume of all the catch cans in the area being audited. A distribution uniformity less than 55 percent is not ideal and can be addressed even without changing the spacing. For comparison, mid-80s and higher is achievable with golf sprinklers and large spacing.
Why are sprinklers important?
And golf courses can have a range of different types from valve in head to spray heads to short radius block rotors. Quality of uniformity is directly linked to spacing in the field for that specific nozzle and pressure.
What is common with older systems?
Common with older systems is undersized pipe or lack of looped main line pipe to meet today’s conditioning demands. Are you documenting repairs you and your staff have made to the system over the years? Repeated equipment failures and their locations can tell you a lot about the system. Maybe you inherited a poor installation or maybe you are seeing premature failures of different components or fittings. Documenting the repairs will help you quantify the amount of time and material costs you and your staff have invested in keeping the existing system operating.
Why is earth grounding important?
Earth grounding equipment is important to the longevity of the electrical components. When repaired, failed earth ground equipment will pay for itself in protecting electrical equipment.
Where is the mainline loop for golf course irrigation?
Golf course irrigation systems typically have a large feeder mainline looped around the course, outside the tees and fairways. We'll draw this mainline loop using the Draw Mainline Pipe tool.
What is the maintenance of a golf course?
Maintenance and groundskeeping are daily needs on golf courses. Design of irrigation systems must take these needs into account – allowing for easy shutoff in multiple areas, for example, to allow staff to maintain the grasses.
How to size a golf course mainline?
When you size the mainline for a golf course, we recommend using the Edit Equipment tool to select various shut-off valves and setting them to Closed, eventually leaving only a single green or fairway connected. In this manner, you can size the pipes for a single area, verify it is sized correctly, then close the valves leading to it, and open the valves for the next area. And so on, through the course. For information on selecting and closing shut-off valves , see Opening and Closing Shut-Off Valves above.
What does irrigation F/X check?
When you click OK, Irrigation F/X will check all connections along the piped components, starting at the water source and proceeding downstream through the mainline to the shut-off valves, lateral line, and rotors. The system will analyze all possible paths from the source to the shut-off valves, as well as from the shut-off valves to interior rotors.
Where is the shut off valve in irrigation?
Shut-off valves are available as an option from the Valves menu in the Irrigation Manager.
What is a flow zone in golf?
A golf course consists of a series of logically divided areas – tees, fairways, and greens on each hole. For each of these areas, you'll be creating a Flow Zone to control and limit the flow (GPM) coming into that area. For now, you'll group your rotors in such a way that you can group them into a logical Flow Zone.
Do golf courses need water?
Golf courses are notorious guzzlers, making efficiency all the more critical. Your system will need to maximize coverage while avoiding wasting water.
What are irrigation sources in golf courses?
Golf course architects often integrate irrigation sources such as lakes into the design of one or more golf holes.
What percentage of golf courses use irrigation water from brackish sources?
Less than 1 percent of golf facilities use irrigation water from brackish sources
What is the best source of irrigation water for golf courses?
Rivers, streams, and creeks are an excellent source of irrigation water, assuming flows are reliable. Some- times water is pumped directly from these sources onto golf course turf, and other times it is pumped into an irrigation reservoir on the golf course.
What is the source of water for golf?
Open water sources such as lakes and ponds can be either natural or man-made. Sometimes they are recharged by underground springs, streams, runoff, or wells. Quite often open water sources for irrigation water also serve as a key feature in the design of one or more golf holes.
Why are canals important to golf?
In coastal areas with high levels of rainfall, canals are a source of irrigation for a few golf facilities. Debris, poor water quality, and high levels of particulate matter can be challenges with these sources.
Where does a stream or creek go on a golf course?
Generally, the smaller the flow and supply typically associated with streams and creeks, the more likely it will be pumped into a reservoir on the golf course for later use.
Is golf course water influenced by location?
Routing and design of a golf course are heavily influenced by its geographic location . Just as a golf course in Florida will look much different from one in Arizona, water sources are going to vary geographically as well. Nevertheless, one thing remains the same in that turfgrass survival relies on access to water. So wherever golf facilities are found, access to a water source is required.
What else do irrigation maintenance personnel need to be trained about?
What else do irrigation maintenance personnel need to be trained about? If your irrigation system has smaller sprinklers that are not valve-in-head, they need to know what match precipitation is and what the flow control on a valve is for. That way the block zones water evenly and the pressure is appropriate for the sprinklers installed. Does everyone working on the irrigation system know how to make a proper wire connection – extremely important on two-wire/decoder system – that is waterproof with a consistent connector used throughout the golf course? How about something as simple as a repair coupling? Are they using solvent weld cement fittings for repairs that should be done with ductile iron or gasketed repair couplings? Do they know the proper way to install a repair coupling so it doesn’t stress the pipe and so it will last? Many golf course irrigation system repairs are repairs of previous repairs – hence the repair was probably not done correctly in the first place. Of course, there is my personnel pet peeve of keeping sprinklers level and at grade. That is preventive maintenance, not repair. Train your personnel to level and set sprinklers at grade when they are not repairing other parts of the system.
What happens when you put a wrong nozzle in a sprinkler system?
As a result, the precipitation rate changes as well as the distance of throw, how much water it uses and the uniformity.
Is an irrigation system a system?
True to its name, an irrigation system is a “system.”. At some point, someone spent a considerable amount of time designing that “system” to make sure it operated correctly and applied water as uniformly and efficiently as possible given the equipment available at the time.