It's That Time Again

Over the last couple of weeks we have been consistently spot watering the golf course's more exposed areas. Now that larger scale areas of snow have melted away, we have begun expanding the scope of areas that are being watered.

The holes that have southern exposures are the first ones being watered on a full scale basis. Water is being applied via our new frost free system that allows us to irrigate even thought the ground remains frozen. The frost free mainline is five feet deep and feeds a series of stop and waste hydrants that are located every 110 feet from tee to green. These hydrants were modified with quick couplers attached to them allowing easy access to water with a cannon or a hose.

There is nothing automated about this frost free setup, but with a little hard work we can still adequately protect the golf course from desiccation.

The Down Side of Too Much Rain

The month of July brought us nearly 3.5" of rain which was great, except for the problems that come with too much of anything.

Mowing has become even more of a challenge than normal due to the fact that the steeps slopes have remained wet causing traction issues with the mowing equipment. Traction is questionable on most of the course when things are dry let alone wet. There is nothing flat about this golf course which makes it interesting from an aesthetic and playability standpoint. Maintaining it is a whole different story.

Another issue that has developed from the excessive rainfall has been numerous drainage system failures. We have been spending a lot of time repairing drain tile that has not truly been tested in many years.

Relief

After nearly two weeks of battling the weather some minor relief has come in the form of snow. Early this morning we received just over an inch of snow which will help keep the flames at bay.

My staff and I have felt like we have been fighting fires over the last two weeks in which the weather has been unseasonable warm. Temperatures have consistently been in the sixties coupled high winds and humidity in the teens. Add all of these factors together and that creates the perfect storm for turf loss.

Each day during this time period my staff has been actively watering the course to keep everything alive. We have been running the overhead sprinklers as well as keying in on the problematic areas with site specific hand watering.

We will enjoy this short reprieve, but this snow fall still leaves us significantly below normal precipitation levels for this time of year.

Time To Water

As the snow has melted on and around the golf course, it has become necessary for us to add supplemental moisture to the turf. The golf course as a whole will get watered over a specific period of time, but the areas that are of initial focus would be Southern exposure and mounded areas.

These areas are watered by either running large impact heads (agricultural type) or with a hose by hand. Currently we are using portions of both the old and new irrigations system to accomplish these goals.

In Colorado with the humidity being so low, we quickly lose soil moisture by evaporation and wind. A rule of thumb for me has always been, if natural precipitation has not occurred in two weeks then it is time to begin watering. There are some exceptions to this rule such as tree drip lines and Southern exposure areas.

The Big Soak

As the unseasonably warm and dry weather continues, measures are being taken to maintain adequate soil moisture levels.

Typically we blow out the irrigation system the week of Thanksgiving, but this year I am not so sure. In the last week we have begun to try and saturate areas on the course that typically dry out during the winter. This is being done by running the sprinkler heads as well as hand watering these areas.

There will come a time that the sprinklers will have to be blown out even though moisture levels aren’t high enough. As the nighttime temperatures drop and daylight gets shorter the ground loses it ability to maintain above freezing soil temperatures. It is at this time the sprinkler heads will begin to freeze and become non operational. Also the heads become susceptible to damage from the freezing which causes frozen water to expand inside the sprinkler head cracking it.

After blowing out we will rely on our frost free component of the irrigation system to maintain the golf course throughout winter. The winter watering operation is all done by hand using hoses and agricultural type cannons to apply the water.

Close Up Of Cannon



Cannon in Action