Which types of irrigation systems are right your putting green?Water is the most important chemical for turf survival. Good irrigation systems are therefore essential. Now, exactly what you need will depend a lot on where you live. In very arid desert type areas, you should go all out and make sure you put in the best irrigation system you can afford, both to put out enough water, but more importantly, to distribute evenly over the green so you don't over water one area in order to prevent another from drying out. In areas where rainfall is abundant such as Scotland, Ireland and the Northwest Coast of North America, you will need much less irrigated water and can get away with almost any method of putting water on the turf. Is it that surprising that Scotland is the birthplace of golf AND it has a naturally good climate for growing turf? When looking at irrigation systems, the first thing to consider is the water source. What is the quality like and how much water is available? A common and simple way is to tap into the municipal system if you have one. That at least provides clean water; however, they may place restrictions during times of drought or not allow irrigating altogether depending on the scarcity of the water. After all this water is treated for human consumption, and feeding your green is not the best use of that resource. Pretty much any source of water can and is being used somewhere, however, the dirtier the water, the more important it is to monitor its effects on the the irrigation system (clogging nozzles etc,) and on the turf (chemical effects on the turf or in the soil) The next thing to look at is how to apply the water. If you have enough time, you can always water by hose, but that tends to provide uneven watering. The next level would be to set up garden sprinklers or drip lines on hoses with simple mechanical timers to control. At the top of the line, we get into true golf irrigation with buried pipes, electrical valves, pop-up sprinkler heads and control systems that could even measure moisture or rainfall amounts through a weather station to produce a high degree of control and give the turf the best possible conditions. Automated irrigation systems fall into 2 categories, Golf and Residential. The big difference between the two is water pressure and flow. Golf courses use high pressure to be able to move a lot of water fast so they are able to water the large acreage they have. Residential has much lower pressures and as a result cannot throw water as far. For your project it will depend on the size of the green or course as to which irrigation systems would suit you best.
For lots more information on irrigation systems, contact me.
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