Golf and the Environment
Targeted watering is a practice adopted at some
layouts as courses take on more rounds per gallon,
depending on a variety of factors.
AN 18TH CENTURY ENGLISH
POEM, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,”
is the origin of our expression, “Water, water
everywhere, but nary a drop to drink.”
In the 21st century, that idea translates to
government prohibitions on lawn watering
or other non-essential uses of H2O, a basic
resource that once seemed limitless. But
American ingenuity is dealing with the
new premium on water use. Golf course
superintendents have been teaming up with
industry associations and turf equipment
manufacturers to effectively counter the
water-shortage issue.
Sophisticated, high-tech irrigation systems
are one of the principal tools for water
stewardship, both inside and outside of golf.
Jeff Holliday, golf course superintendent at
Salisbury Country Club, describes the new
triple-line system at his Richmond-area
club in glowing terms. It was installed in
2013—without the need for a full course
closure at the 27-hole facility—so it now has
a two-season track record. Whereas two runs
of water pipe used to lie beneath each fairway,
now there’s a trio of parallel lines. That’s one
of many features that creates versatility and
provides an opportunity to micro-target
where the water should go.
“Another important difference in the
new system is that the heads get activated
electronically, not hydraulically, as with our old
system,” Holliday says. “That means they pop
up instantly, with no delay, and immediately
deliver water to where it’s needed.”
With hydraulic activation, the delay isn’t
long—just a second or two extra during
turn-on and shut off—but over a long season
that adds up to thousands of gallons. The
hydraulic approach worked just fine when
supply and demand for water was a non-issue,
but that era is passing.
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“Another great feature of electronic
activation is that it lets you be selective,”
Holliday explains. “In a given half-acre,
covered by three heads, you might find that
only one-third of that area is dry. We can
irrigate that section of turf with one sprinkler
and leave the other two heads off. Hydraulic
lines wouldn’t permit that.”
DIFFERENT DYNAMICS LEAD
TO RESPONSIBLE MANAGEMENT
The 2014 season at Salisbury witnessed
fairly average rainfall, according to Holliday.
However, there was a dry spell of several
weeks that raised talk of precautionary
watering restrictions. Under an agreement
with the municipal water commission, the
club contributes about $3,000 annually to
a capital expenditures fund that keeps Lake
Salisbury functioning properly as a reservoir
and helps maintain its aesthetic appeal.
That public lake is the third of three lakes
or ponds from which the club draws its
irrigation water, with the other two being on
the course property.
“When the rainfall dips below average for
an extended period, we can cut off the two
outside lines on each hole and just water along
the center,” Holliday says.
Under that scenario, the roughs will survive
but they’ll get wispy and give up their green
lushness, while the fairway turf monopolizes
the available moisture.
“We’re using 40 percent less water” than
before the conservation program began,
Holliday reports. It’s a positive outcome, with
more headroom for savings still available.
Of course, it isn’t merely rainfall amounts
that influence irrigation patterns and the health
of the turf. Another big factor is the amount
of play the course receives, in particular the
number of rounds played using golf carts. Dan
CONTINUING EDUCATION AND
WISE IMPLEMENTATION
Rhett Evans looks at the water conservation
challenge in golf from a national perspective.
As CEO of the Golf Course Superintendents
Association of America, Evans was paying
special attention to the recent announcement
by the governor of California, Jerry Brown,
concerning restrictions to be imposed
throughout the Golden State.
“It had the sense of someone sounding an
alarm when California imposed its 25 percent
reduction on permitted use of water,” Evans
says. “It’s a big deal for the western U.S., but the
national media shouldn’t get the idea that golf
CARTER: BRET DOUGLAS; SCOTT K. BROWN
Strategic uses of the natural resource is increasingly becoming
part of the practice for superintendents | by DAVID GOULD
STEVEN GIBBONS/USGA PHOTO ARCHIVES
Golf Gets Smart
About Water
Taylor, superintendent at Independence Golf
Club, another Richmond notable, says private
clubs with active caddie programs will respond
differently to dry conditions than a busy dailyfee like Independence.
“The clubs with lighter play and a lot of
walking rounds can embrace the ‘brown is
beautiful’ concept a little more,” Taylor says.
Healthy turf that is kept too far on the dry
side will eventually die off if motorized cart
traffic gets excessive. Still, it’s no cause for
overwatering, either.
“A continually wet golf course is not
desirable in any circumstances,” Tayl ܈