Water Restriction
The two most common water conservation practices were to stop and
to restrict irrigation water to the fairways and the rough. Restricting
water generally meant irrigation would occur only in the mornings,
instead of twice a day, or every other day, instead of everyday. Some
superintendents completely stopped irrigating the rough, the fairways,
or both. One superintendent mentioned that irrigating less helped
to keep fungicides under control, because they thrive off water. Another
superintendent mentioned that the less he waters, the more the grass
takes care of itself. He said that by not watering he is creating
an unfavorable environment for pests and diseases. He concluded by
saying, "The more we water, the more problems we get."
Wetting Agents
Wetting agents were the third most popular water conservation strategy.
Wetting agents come as both a granular material and a liquid solution.
They make water uniformly available to the root system by helping
to reduce the surface tension so the water can penetrate the leaf
blade and roots, instead of beading up and clinging to itself.
Six out of twenty superintendents used wetting agents, however only
five of these six referenced them in light of water conservation.
The figures below coincide with the current confusion and uncertainty
regarding wetting agents and their benefits.
Three out of the six golf courses that used wetting agents fell
below the average, however the other three were either the same
as the average or above it. Thus it is difficult to conclude the
effectiveness of wetting agents, especially given the small sample
size. I have the testimony from one superintendent who said the
use of a wetting agent reduced his water use by a third, yet that
same superintendent pumped over the average amount of water (5,000gal/acre/day).
The one superintendent, who used wetting agents but did not mention
it as part of his water conservation plan used less water than the
average golf course, at 3,000 gallons per acre per day. This superintendent
said he only applied a wetting agent when he was having difficulty
wetting the soil, and he did not think wetting agents contributed
to water conservation.
Hand Watering
Syringing (hand watering) was another commonly mentioned water conservation
practice. Syringing is the act of a greenskeeper standing on the
course with a hose and watering the turf manually. It involves physical
labor and time, but is an effective tool to conserve water. A normal
irrigation cycle frequently consists of irrigating in the early
mornings and syringing during the day to cool off the grass. However,
to syringe as a conservation practice, superintendents will water
in order to keep from running through the entire irrigation system.
Hand watering is more accurate because you can target the "problem
areas." One superintendent who was a proponent of hand watering
mentioned that he liked to keep his course as dry as possible. He
said disease was reduced with less water, and because he worked
at a public course, the golfers didn't care about the conditions
as much as at some private courses.
Weather Watchers
Two of the superintendents I spoke with specifically mentioned they
stopped, or did not water when it rained. Although this may seem
obvious there are cases of automatic sprinklers that run through
the night, and do not turn off when it rains. One superintendent
used a "mini
click" a small rain sensor that shut off his irrigation
system with more than 1/8in of rain.
Another tactic superintendents in RI used to conserve water was
to shut off their irrigation systems when it was too windy or there
was a high level of humidity. Humidity was measured by using an
evapotranspiration pan (ET pan), which was another means of water
conservation. The more humid it is, the less water is needed. For
example, the superintendent at a private course located close to
the ocean said did not use a lot of water, and contributed it to
the location of the course and the fact that it was almost always
humid. Indeed, the course used 2,900 gallons per acre per day, which
was 23% less water than the average private course pumped.
Technology
Four of the superintendents mentioned the use of an ET Pan,
which measures moisture lost in inches. This is a useful water
conservation tool to prevent overwatering. The grass plant needs
80% of what it looses, therefore based on the readings of the
ET pan, superintendents are able to calculate the inches of
water required on the course every day. Similar to wetting agents,
there was inconsistency with when superintendents mentioned
the use of an ET pan. Two of the superintendents who used an
ET pan, did not mention it as part of their conservation practices,
but as part of their weather monitoring system. The other four
superintendents did mention the use of an ET pan as a means
to conserve water.
Two superintendents used soil probes to measure moisture content
of the soil. Similarly to the ET Pan, this technique allows
for more precision when deciding how much water should be applied
to the course. |
 |
| Evapotranspiration
Pan. source of image:http://www.stri.org/tesp/images/Pan.jpg |
Back to top.
Mowing
Two superintendents reduced or changed their normal mowing cycles
in an effort to conserve water. This involved either skipping a
mowing once a week, or cutting the grass in the morning. Mowing
the grass less frequently conserves water because, generally, the
longer the grass is the less water it needs. For more info on height
of cut, click here.
Cutting the grass in the morning also reduces water needs because
the later in the day the grass is cut, the more susceptible it becomes
to drying out.
Member Education
One superintendent mentioned member education, as a way to conserve
water. The superintendent said he was "trying to educate members
to accept some brown on the course, as long as it still played well."
He was going about this process through the club's "Green Community
Newsletters" which summarize the activities of the maintenance
crew. He was also posting information on bulletin boards and in
the pro shop. He said he had had a good response, and that the members
like to be informed.
The Irrigation System
Having a good irrigation system can make a huge difference in the
amount of water that is pumped, and the amount that is unnecessarily
pumped. I encountered a wide range of irrigation systems in RI,
and the quality of the system correlated with the smile of the superintendents
as they spoke about them. I conversed with one superintendent from
a course that had been open for two years. He said he had the best
irrigation system on the market, the Toro LTC Plus. The system provided
him with a wall-sized map of every sprinkler head on the course,
the soil content, and relative shade and sun located around each
sprinkler head. Each sprinkler head could be individually controlled
from the central computer. Thus if half the heads on one green were
located in the shade, the superintendent could program a lower output
of water from those sprinkler heads. The superintendent of this
course said, "control and isolation are most important in an
irrigation system." This product provided both, and they are
factors other superintendents often grumbled about lacking.
Fertilizer
One superintendent mentioned he reduced his fertilizer use in order
to conserve water. This was effective because fertilizer encourages
growth, which meant he had to cut the grass more frequently, and
subsequently, apply more water.
Course Mapping
One superintendent had mapped out the water needs of every part
of his course, and ranked them according to high, medium, and low.
He then adjusted his sprinkler system accordingly, and said it cut
back on his water use. This superintendent used a Motorola Toro
OSMAC irrigation system.
|
