07 Apr The Reality of Upgrading Irrigation
For golf course superintendents, the number one priority is to provide golfers with the best possible playing conditions. And as we all well know, that is no easy feat especially when it comes to turf management. Your course’s irrigation system plays a huge part in that. The challenge lies in the fact that it is probably the most expensive investment on a golf course but it can have the biggest impact. When considering making upgrades to your course’s irrigation system, it’s important to understand what’s really involved. Here’s a glimpse at the reality. (more…)
There are plenty of frustrating moments on the golf course. For players, when a drive lands in a water hazard, a green is misread, or a heavy rainstorm hits in the middle of a great round can all send them over the edge. For golf course supers, when equipment breaks down right before a major tournament, a greens committee micromanages your work, or turf that just won’t cooperate are examples of the frustration we face every day. Like everything in life, some things are out of a manager’s control and it comes with the job. But other problems, like spring dead spot popping up, are manageable. 
We’re approaching that time of year when the golfers are getting twitchy. It’s up to you – seasoned course superintendent – to stay strong in the face of pressure and not let those polo-shirted pushers force you to open a course before the time is right.
No one likes a sand trap. Golfers hate it when they see their beautifully hit shot land in a bunker and course superintendents despise maintaining them. But there’s no getting away from them. As we all know, they’re a key component of any golf course to give players a challenge, plus it adds to the aesthetics of each hole. So to keep your bunkers looking beautiful (and your members as happy as they can be on the beach), they should be regularly maintained and, eventually, rebuilt or renovated. 
As a superintendent it can be frustrating to have ideas about how things should be done to make things better and not have that vision shared by the people who make the budget decisions. You’re the boots on the ground and can see what’s happening every day, but these things aren’t always as obvious to the people who are making the financial decisions. Here are some guidelines to help in presenting your proposed budget requests and getting them approved. 
For the turfgrass on a golf course to be healthy and thrive, it needs four standard things: good soil, sunlight, nutrients, and most importantly, water. Having an irrigation system distribute the water evenly and frequently across the course helps managers keep up with that challenge. But when the irrigation sources are varied (which is common on any golf course), it can be tricky to protect the quality of the water. There are many elements that can easily get into it, and then cause costly problems when it’s regularly sprinkled across the grass. Therefore, it’s important for managers to regularly test it to stop any problems before they get started. 
