![]() ![]() We've seen it this year, across Europe and in the UK as well. Higher levels of rainfall have been causing flooding in many areas globally. GEO Certified Minthis Golf Club in Cyprus has a 3800m3 irrigation lake for recycled rainwater and greywater. That's been proven throughout this pandemic period, where golf has been beneficial for mental health and exercise when other forms of exercise have not always been available. And golf, like any other sport or recreation, does have an important role to play in society. ![]() Golf has a vital role in leading the way to show how to sensibly manage water use in a leisure environment, as opposed to maybe agriculture or domestic use. And of course, if individual clubs and the sport don't do something to manage that, it will be decided for us by regulation and other outside agencies. So how they use their irrigation water, wherever it's coming from, will be increasingly important. There are going to be more availability restrictions for courses from now on. Apart from anything else, there's a lot of demand for it, and it's an expensive way to irrigate your golf course. And that is something that we should try to move away from for obvious reasons. In the UK, the figure is staggeringly somewhere in the region of 65 to 70 percent of golf clubs that are still using potable water in one form or another to irrigate their courses. And golf, unfortunately, is still using too much potable water. With growing populations, increased urban areas, demand for potable water for housing, agriculture, irrigation, and a lot of water used across those areas, there will be tighter restrictions. There's no doubt that water across our society is going to be in greater demand. So doing it in smaller increments is better than one big hit.Ģ. It's a no-lose situation, but you need to be careful that you're approaching it in a considered way. So play around with the system and try to find where that balance is.Īnd those savings are significant both in terms of water use and financially for the golf club, and it will do nothing but improve turf health. But actually, that probably means you're irrigating approximately 10, 15, maybe even 20 percent more than you could get away with. Most irrigation systems tend to be overused because that's the safer side for many circumstances. Reviewing how your system is operating is always a straightforward check to realize what adjustments you need to make. Otherwise, you get that sort of looping effect, which can create a doughnut shape around overwatering in some areas and not enough water in others. And so they're not actually irrigating the part of the course they should be, and you don't often find that out until it’s too late.Įveryone familiar with holding a hosepipe is aware that you will get a straighter flow and throw of water at a decent pressure. Many sprinklers get out of alignment either because somebody has adjusted them or because they've moved in the ground. Are the sprinklers pointing in the right direction?.Here are a few key points worth considering when monitoring your system: So I would always recommend that the greenkeeper should run their system at the beginning of the season, and then probably every four to six weeks, during daylight hours, so they can see that it is doing what it's supposed to be doing. Unless you're there at night monitoring it, you're relying solely on the data from your control system or from what has happened to the turf over time, which of course, could be too late. Most irrigation systems should be running at night. One clear starting point in terms of what greenkeepers and superintendents can do would be to give a visual check. And the costs of irrigating and the cost of water is something that all clubs want to monitor. Depending on where you are in the world, the pressures on water use are great, and they're getting greater. Still, equally, at the grassroots level within individual golf courses, it gets a lot of attention because irrigation is not always considered a good thing to be doing. There are many concerns about climate change, which is a broad subject. GEO was delighted to speak with Andy Brown, Senior Sales Manager - Global Business Development and Relationships at The Toro Company as he shared his thoughts on water use, sustainability, climate change and how golf courses can do more to use less water.Īs a patron of GEO Foundation and global partner of the OnCourse programme, Toro supports sustainability in and through golf. In the first of this three-part series, we explore three ways greenkeepers and superintendents can make irrigation changes that will have a significant impact now and in the future. 3 proven ways to use less water on your golf course ![]()
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