Irrigation or Irritation
Just mention pump failure or main line break during a hot spell and most superintendents’ dispositions suddenly head south. Irrigation difficulties during any part of the golf season can put the club, course and the superintendent in a tough spot since most of Northern California golf courses are open for play year-round. This demand for play is great for clubs’ or courses’ bottom lines; however the demands placed on the irrigation system for nine to ten months out of the year can be quite frightening.
Several superintendents have recently told me about irrigation-related failures this past summer. Incidentally, isn’t it funny how these problems happen during the hottest part of the summer? Regardless, irrigation emergencies can be issues that generate a lot of conversation in boardrooms, committee meetings, locker rooms and even in the pro shops.
I recently spoke with Dave Bigler, an independent golf course irrigation consultant, and asked him his views on irrigation and the inherent problems a superintendent is likely to face. Dave used the example of an equilateral triangle to explain common problems that superintendent’s face when dealing with irrigation issues. An equilateral triangle has three equal sides and in this case imagine each of the points is represented by an important irrigation component. Head spacings/uniform distribution are on one point; proper flow (GPM) is on a point and acceptable water pressure on the third point. If everything is in balance and working properly, then acceptable results are the typical outcome. When any one of the three points is not equal, then unacceptable results are soon to follow.
Bigler also said that every golf course has its own unique problems and challenges based upon the age of equipment, soil conditions, drainage, microclimates, and the amount of training the individuals who maintain the system have acquired. It is now evident why irrigation-related problems have some of the best and brightest individuals throwing up their hands in frustration.
In today’s mobile society, superintendents routinely inherit a system in which they do not know the history or the reoccurring problems. Many times the person in charge of the irrigation system has a limited knowledge of the system or has been taught the bare minimum to keep the system functional. This process of hand-me-down instructions can lead to several important aspects of the system not being accurately relayed to the next person. Therefore, the system is frequently left alone and status quo is the crew’s choice.
A recent example of this was when an area superintendent moved to an established course. The superintendent came on board and discovered that the irrigation system had several flaws. The superintendent began asking questions and inspecting the system and determined that routine maintenance of the system was not being performed on a regular basis. By researching the problems and a taking a look at the whole system, this superintendent observed a variety of obstacles but found several valves that were broken, rusted out and way past their life expectancy. Needless to say, these devices were not performing as they should and the results were sub-par (pun intended).
After several years of neglect, many courses face the distinct possibility of a complete overhaul of their irrigation system. This is a major expense to the club or group who holds the checkbook. Adrian Bertens of Hydro-Engineering has performed many renovations throughout Northern California. One of his biggest challenges when arriving at a site is not having enough documentation of the existing system (“as builts”). Many parts of the older systems have been modified, changed, or removed over the years. Rarely do these changes ever get transferred to the original blueprints or a master plan. This presents a logistical nightmare for his company as they are trying to work around the old system and install the new one.
Another concern for Hydro-Engineering is having a knowledgeable person on site every day to oversee the installation process. Bertens suggests that this person be an assistant superintendent or irrigation technician, because the superintendent is frequently called away and some aspect of the installation process could be overlooked. This “liaison” can be on site to inspect the installation and understand the intricacies of the system. Adrian recommends the person videos or photographs each step of the process for future reference (see previous point).
According to a Northern California superintendent, the pump station is the heart of his golf course maintenance operation. Pump stations should be the focal point of routine maintenance schedules; at least that is what John Dexter of Pump Repair Service Co., would like to tell people. John recently listed the top four problems for pump stations. They are 1) high temperature failure of VFD (variable frequency drive), 2) pressure relief valves are stuck in the open position, 3) excessive drainage around the base of the pump, and 4) deficient discharge pressure out of the pump station. There are several reasons for the low discharge condition such as failure of the filtration system, overloading the pump motor by requesting more flow than the pump can produce and fluctuations of the incoming power supply whether it is power surges or outages. Obviously, power outages are out of the control of the superintendent, and they occur during the most inconvenient times.
A preventative maintenance program can curtail most of these problems. According to Dexter, the overall station performance should be evaluated on a semi-annual basis to keep the system running at the maximum efficiency.
Perhaps there is a need for more local training for golf course superintendents and assistant superintendents on irrigation-related topics. Granted, there are several classes taught at the national GCSAA convention on a variety of irrigation topics, but inevitably those classes are filled up and individuals have to get their information elsewhere. Normally, the “elsewhere” is on-the-job training that requires many hours on the business end of a shovel or elbow deep in a muddy hole trying to fix a broken head or line.
As the summer winds down and the rainy season gradually gets a little closer, the yearly irritation of poor irrigation will be a distant memory. Of course, that is until it flares back up the next year.
