From Blow Out To Snow Out

The day started off nice, but the weather was predicted to change by days end and it sure did.  We are into our second day of blowing out the irrigation system and it turns out our timing was pretty good to put the irrigation system to rest for the season.

Unfortunately we did not complete blowing all of the system out and we will have to finish up a few holes tomorrow with snow on the ground.  The hardest part will be getting the compressors around in the snow, but we will get it done one way or another.

Blow Out

The winter blow out of the irrigation system has begun on the golf course. Over the last several weeks we have had significant snows that have provided more than adequate moisture levels throughout the golf course.

We are probably a week or two ahead of when we would normally blow out, but for the above reasons we have decided to go ahead and blow out now. This is one of the most difficult agronomic decisions that I make all year and getting the timing right is never easy. If you blow out too late the heads will freeze and blow out becomes difficult at best and if you blow out too early then the turf begins to dry out. Fortunately if we miss the timing on the early side we can utilize our frost free component of the irrigation system rather than re-pressure the summer or shallow system.
The Compressor

Blowing Out The Heads

Blow Out

One of the final procedures performed to the golf course before winter sets in is the blow out of the irrigation system.

Blowing out is done by using compressed air to physically remove all of the water from the underground piping. This is done to protect the pipes and sprinklers from damage caused by the expanding water when freezing occurs. The new HDPE pipe will expand and not be harmed by the freezing, but the non HDPE materials will still break.

The New Sprinklers Being Blown Out Last week

The new sprinklers were blown out last week while the weather was still nice, whereas the old system heads are being blown out this week. From this point forward I will have to be more careful with the timing of blowout due to the freezing sensitivity of the new heads. This timing is critical so that the last watering is done to the course before temperatures consistently stay below freezing.

Blow Out Today

Fortunately we will still have the ability to water the golf course during the winter even after blow out has occurred. Similar to the old irrigation system, the new system will have a frost free irrigation component. I will have the ability to water the main play areas such as greens, tees and fairways with quick coupler valves located every 110 feet.