November 19, 2010 -- Volume 48, Number 24

Irrigation Performance Guarantee

The irrigation brain trust broke the mold with a performance guarantee at Paradise Valley Country Club, AZ

by Rob Collins, Brent Harvey, Jim Wright, Dr. Paul Brown

Achieving DU values greater than 80% is rare on tee boxes where sprinklers are irregularly spaced and located on slopes.

Several years ago, we exceeded our state water allocation and were facing possible fines. We set a goal to reduce water use by a robust 76 acre-feet (AF), a target that we felt was achievable if irrigation performance was substantially improved. However, green committee members at Paradise Valley Country Club (PVCC) wanted a guaranteed performance level, but such a guarantee had never been considered before among industry professionals. Irrigation designers, manufacturers, and researchers were challenged to forgo industry standards and guarantee an elevated level of efficiency.

The solution seemed simple enough; reduce irrigated turf, improve efficiency, and meet the water allotment. In 2006, the facility used 620 AF of water on 122 acres of turf, or 5.1 acre-feet/acre (AF/A). This total exceeded the water allotment by about 40 AF. As we began to evaluate potential solutions, more questions were raised. For example, how does irrigation efficiency affect water use? If we improve the efficiency by 10, 15 or even 20%, how much water is saved? How much turf can we remove without negatively impacting the design and character of the course? These were questions we were unable to answer ourselves, so we sought professional advice from Brent Harvey, Harvey Mills Irrigation Design; Jim Wright, Toro Irrigation; and Dr. Paul Brown, University of Arizona. See how this project turned out.

An Insurance Policy and Much More

by Bob Brame, director, North-Central Region

A North-Central Regional Update
by Bob Vavrek, senior agronomist

Before and after pictures are useful for documenting dramatic changes made to a golf course, such as aggressive tree removal. Try to maintain the same perspective in both images to provide the most impact.

Losses of turf that ranged in severity from annoying to devastating have been the topic of numerous updates from every Green Section region this summer. The aftermath of intense disease activity, long periods of severe heat stress, flooding for some and drought for others is still visible and definitely front and center in the minds of many golfers and superintendents...well, at least for now. However, for those of us in the northern states, it won't be all that long before a serene, snuggly blanket of pure white snow covers all the ugly scars of this summer's turf carnage.

It would be great to put this difficult season completely behind us and look forward to a less stressful time. However, those who hold the purse strings need to be constantly reminded about turf maintenance issues while you prepare and submit the 2011 operating budget. Granted, money cannot magically transform a cool season grass into a warm season grass, and there are times when you can cover the greens with $100 bills and still lose turf due to extreme stress from heat or disease activity. On the other hand, deep budget cuts will definitely limit management options and make it difficult to address small turf issues before they become more serious problems. Read the rest of this update.

A Mid-Atlantic Regional Update
by Darin Bevard, senior agronomist

On a recent visit, the casting of earthworms was a major source of damage in some fairways. Conversations with golf course superintendents have indicated that the problem is fairly widespread.

As most superintendents are aware, the sale of technical-grade PCNB was stopped by the EPA in late summer. Essentially, this means that PCNB is not available to most superintendents going forward. PCNB was the most popular product used in the Mid-Atlantic Region for snow mold control. Really, there is no other single product that offered the efficacy of PCNB at such a reasonable cost. Future applications for snow mold diseases will be more expensive. Application timing also is more important. Many of the alternative control options are systemic fungicides, which need to be taken up by the plant. Thus, applications may need to be earlier than previous years. Read the rest of this update.

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