An Introduction to Golf Course Irrigation

The Three Main Reasons

First: aesthetics

You want those water features looking good! You want them looking good. You want them smelling good. And you certainly want them safe for your patrons.

You don't want any snakes around the edges that could bite them. You don't want any insects emerging out of them that could swarm them. And you certainly don't want any aerosolized toxins from the blue green algae or cyanobacteria coming out of there.

So aesthetics are very important for all your water features. They contribute to the overall experience, of course, but also to the safety of your players.

Second: functionality

You want good drainage of water off your golf course, but you also want that water and those irrigation systems to flow. You want to avoid clogs in your sprinkler heads and pumps, so you can get great water to your turf.

Third: water quality

This is a very broad category, but a very important one, because your irrigation water can harbor turf algae that can infect your turf.

• Blue green algae can produce toxins that can negatively impact your turf.

• Low-quality water can be a vector for a lot of different turf diseases. So you may be spraying that water over your greens and spreading different turf diseases like phytophthora.

So water quality is very important, including water chemistries like the salinity and the pH of your water. In those numbers are out of alignment, it can make it more difficult for you to manage your golf course reactively.

Key Takeaways and Future Episodes

Overall, golf course irrigation water management is vitally important to keeping your course beautiful — and functioning properly.

Be sure to check out our full episodes coming up for more information on managing golf course irrigation waters. We have proactive and reactive management approaches to share with you in future episodes. And we know these management plans are going to help improve your overall water quality, as well as the functionality and aesthetics of your water systems.

As always, feel free to contact us with any questions!