Sunday 26 November 2017

How Golf Course Irrigation Is Done

By Douglas White


The lifespan of everything is prolonged through good care. The good states of golf course also need to be maintained. The courses differ in quality meaning that the costs of care also vary. It takes a lot of resources to maintain some courses. Water is one of the most important resources that go in maintaining the playing surface of a course. Bigger courses require large volumes of water for effective golf course irrigation.

Water is precious and must be conserved at all costs. This includes efficient use of water when irrigating the courses. Sprinklers used in irrigating golf courses are a common sight and people might assume that water is wasted while this in not the case. When compared to other types of irrigation the one used in this work conserves more water.

Systems used in irrigating golf fields get water supply from many sources. The sources include effluent sources, portable sources, and groundwater. Effluent sources comprise of streams, lakes, ponds, and rivers. Large flow is required in most fields and that is why water is derived from more than one source. It is possible to use wells to irrigate a field. This is done by channeling water from the wells into irrigation ponds. From the ponds it is then pumped into the turf.

Effluent sources are the best to supply irrigation water. They are advantageous in several ways. Supply costs are reduced and the need for fertilizers and nutrients is also cut down. However, they have their bad sides. First of all effluent water contains dissolved salts which must be removed before using it. Failure to remove them might lead to serious damage of turf. Most species of grass have low tolerance to highly concentrated salts.

There are technical differences between the types of sprinklers employed in irrigating golf courses and those used in landscape. Some require five hundred sprinklers while some take five thousand. Appropriate number of sprinklers will be determined by size. Golf course systems utilized sprinklers that distribute 45 to 14 gallons in one minute. They throw water a minimum of 50 feet and a maximum of 90 feet.

Duration of watering is best kept below 8 hours. Sunshine evaporates the water. Wind cause wastage of water. For these reasons courses are irrigated when it is both calm and no sunshine. Inefficiencies are significantly reduced by watering over short periods. It is done this way to allow time for other activities like mowing and play. Sometimes system of irrigating courses and landscape are used laid on the same course. They only differ in functionality such that landscape system is used to irrigate courts, areas around pools and clubhouses.

Systems used in this work are operated by software programs installed on computers. The database used contains information on soil type, percent slope, each sprinkler, and the capability of the soil to cycle water. Every sprinkler is controlled separately to improve efficiency and precision. Pressure of each sprinkler is regulated separately regardless of the distance and elevation.

The impacts of irrigation on the environment are many. A good watering scheme ensures less destruction of the environment while fulfilling its purpose. Other human needs for water are competed by the need for irrigating courses in certain parts of the world. Underground water reservoirs in some areas have dried due to irrigation.




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