Irrigation Maintenance

Golf irrigation can be fascinating. There are so many variables that need to be managed for a properly working system. The system is 13 years old and with our freshwater sponge it is time to look into the efficacy of the system.

This first photo is of the sponge as it remains in our system. This finicky creature is something we will be managing for years to come.

What you see, are the bottom screens of sprinkler heads in the ground. The sponge hangs out in these screens and impacts the amount of flow and disrupts uniform distribution of irrigation water. The only way to clean them is to remove the head from the ground and flush out the screen. You will see staff doing this a lot through the season.

Last week we spent some time analyzing the pumping system. For three nights last week we monitored the pumps for pressure. Gauges used at the pumphouse and in the field monitor how the pressure changes through the course of a day and irrigation cycle. All of our sprinkler heads are designed to run at 65 psi. It is important that the pumps maintain that pressure throughout the property for effective watering. 

Next we measure our output from the irrigation heads. This is where we measure even distribution of the nozzles within the head. According to research nozzles wear out between 10-15 years. We are aiming to begin replacing nozzles next season. There are 450 sprinklers in just the Maxwell fairways. It will take a few seasons to change out all of the nozzles on the Maxwell. By the time we finish, we will move on to the Pfluger. That system is five years newer and will be prime for re-nozzling by the time we finish with the Maxwell.

Leveling sprinkler heads is another piece of the puzzle. Pictured here, you notice the grass laying over next to the sprinkler. This is a tell-tale sign that the head should be raised to clear the turf, this way the nozzles can accurately throw water. Years of sand topdressing is another big reason why heads need to be raised and leveled correctly. 

Often times tree can be another component to irrigation inefficiencies. Our sprinklers are on 70 foot triangular spacing. This means that all of our turf is designed to be irrigated by three sprinklers for the best uniformity. When trees are planted to close to fairways that can have long term effects on irrigation output. Most likely when these ash trees were planted they had very little effect on the irrigation system. Now that they are mature, they prevent the rough to be watered correctly shown in this picture. To correct this issue trees can be removed or trimmed.
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