A well-designed water management system is vital for your golf course, as it can help you save costs and improve the condition of your turf in the long run. Indeed, the overwatering of turf areas is one of the largest costs in this sport. Most golf courses have a budget of $1 million for water alone on an annual basis. By reducing water use by only 10% would result in a significant amount of savings.
Overwatering can cause brown patches to occur, and can potentially cause turf injuries unless fungicides are used to regulate them. Higher applications of fungicide to combat this issue may be costly too. Saturated soils are also lower in oxygen, which is harmful to root growth and turf grass vigour. From a turf health and management perspective, there really is no benefit to having soil moisture levels higher than necessary at any time of the year.
Some of the greatest hidden consequences of water mismanagement are its implications on the ability for golf players to perform well. Overwatering creates soft play conditions that almost all golfers hate. It’s frustrating to hit a majestic drive down the middle of the fairway, just to have the ball hit the fairway with a “splat” and no roll. Worse yet, the ball can just be stuck in one spot.
The solution to poor water management on golf courses
To maximise efficiency of water use on golf courses, irrigation systems should be based on several factors such as cumulative evapotranspiration losses, soil moisture retention, effective depth of rooting, infiltration rate, and specific conditions of turf being regulated.
Irrigation controllers that are powered by computers are currently available to provide irrigation programmes based on moisture data entered several times an hour and accumulated on a daily basis. Automatic programme modifications are also made daily on the grounds of rainfall, heat and other environment conditions.
Rain Bird offers a wide range of power or battery-operated irrigation controllers which are easy to navigate and install.
Here are a few notable ones:
- Rain Bird WPX Series: Battery timer-based irrigation controllers
- Rain Bird ESP Series with LNK wifi module: Allows independent setting of each valve. through a mobile application on your handphone. Thus, it also allows real-time system management.
Selective products with remote management as the controllers can be operated through an internet connection, which will lead to improved control of water usages anywhere and anytime.
Most of these controllers are designed to be operated via a mobile application for further convenience. The main advantage of this innovative and comprehensive technology is that it has been proven to save 30% of water costs via adjusting the irrigation system through weather monitoring functions.
Computer-generated irrigation systems such as the Rain Bird Automatic Sprinkler System have an Integrated Control (IC) system for monitoring the condition of your golf course. This guarantees instantaneous and seamless adaptation of the irrigation system to optimise performance, cut costs and support a balanced turf. It also contains temperature readings, humidity sensors and rain shut-off devices for the prediction of rain.
We have a solution for your turf-related needs!
If you are seeking for the right irrigation system to improve the condition of your field and keep golfers content at every game, do not hesitate to reach out to us at ask@ats-grp.com for assistance!