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The Value Of Irrigation Technology

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The Value Of Irrigation Technology: When the Madejski Stadium, home to Reading Football Club and London Irish Rugby Club, underwent its first major pitch reconstruction for ten years, contractors, MJ Abbott and Premier Pitches, worked closely together during the time-critical close season over a six-week period. The venue became the first to have a dual-use pitch with the added durability of the SISGrass hybrid system turf technology.

After removing around 15 miles of existing pipework, MJ Abbott completely reconstructed the pitch, taking the old one out and starting from the bottom up, reshaped all the sub-base levels, reinstalled the drainage, undersoil heating and rootzone layers. Premier Pitches took responsibility for pitch cultivation and seeding. The company also maintains their involvement by way of annual pitch renovation.

The Value Of Irrigation Technology

During the later stages of construction employing effective irrigation to the grass root zone was critical to enable the final pitch levels to be accurately graded and to allow for successful cultivation and seeding of the new surface. Nathan George, Contracts Manager at MJ Abbott was confident that selecting Rain Bird products for the new pitch’s irrigation requirements was the way forward: “The irrigation cycle is determined by both the weather in general as well as the effects of sun and shade caused by the inherent design of the stadium. We had a high level of confidence in Rain Bird irrigation technology for the project because of the overall quality, performance and versatility of the company’s products,” he says.

Rain Bird’s highly durable 8005 rotors were specified for the central area of the pitch and with their easily adjustable arc from 50° to 330°and 12 to 24.7 metre radius were well suited to the application. Featuring Rain Curtain™ nozzles, the 8005 rotors ensure optimum distribution and close-in watering resulting in superior irrigation uniformity.

Rain Bird’s 950E rotors were selected for the pitch perimeter as they are specifically designed to withstand the rigours of sports field irrigation applications, including hybrid grass. They offer full or part circle and irrigation up to 345° and feature a top adjustable pressure regulator, factory preset at 5.5 bar.

Rain Bird’s Site Control System, used by Adam Grantham Reading Football Club’s Grounds Manager and his team, can be controlled both through a PC and remotely through an iPad. It gives complete control over the irrigation and the flexibility to set up and match the irrigation cycles precisely to the prevailing and predicted weather.  The software provides a quick and easy way to build irrigation schedules and programmes based on set parameters. The system’s many advanced features include an interactive map interface that displays the position and operation of individual rotors, displaying real-time irrigation activity and for close monitoring of the system.

The Value Of Irrigation Technology

Adam Grantham commented: “The Rain Bird system is great and very user friendly, and can be as complex as you would like it to be. I have found it very easy to monitor moisture levels with the sprinkler system coverage being very consistent. The pitch is holding together well and receiving good feedback from the coaching staff and players”. From MJ Abbott’s viewpoint the success of the Madejski project was reflected by the fact that the company has gone on to secure further contracts from Reading FC for new training ground pitches.

Meanwhile when the decision was made to install a new playing surface and irrigation system before the start of the 2017-8 Premier League season at Newcastle United, a fast response and close cooperation between pitch contractors MJ Abbott and Premier Pitches was essential. As part of the project the club had to select a new fully automatic pitch irrigation system.

After removing the existing vegetation and old fibre root zone, MJ Abbott removed the existing lower sand layer to a suitable depth to expose the existing slits within the drainage system that was to be retained. An imported rootzone was laid to re-establish the original pitch levels, followed by cultivation and seeding carried out by Premier Pitches. The new pitch was then stitched with the SISGrass hybrid pitch system. The St James’ Park project was successfully delivered a week ahead of schedule.

For the new irrigation system, MJ Abbott had to take into account the particular conditions created by the configuration of the pitch within the stadium. Nathan George, Contracts Manager, explains:  “ The stadium design means that at certain times of the day, the southern end of the pitch is in full shade with the remainder in full sun. Complete control over individual sprinkler application rates was therefore essential. We knew from experience that Rain Bird offers high quality products for stadia applications in terms of rotors, sprinklers and automatic irrigation control systems so would be an excellent partner for this project.“ Rain Bird 950E valve-in-head sprinklers were selected for the perimeter and the corners of the pitch whilst 8005 pop up rotors were chosen for the central areas.

The Value Of Irrigation Technology

Integral to the new pitch is the SISGrass Hydrobox system which was developed specifically for use with pop-up irrigation systems, including Rain Bird. Nathan explains ” Hydrboxes are installed to all central pitch sprinklers. The box is filled with rootzone and stitched in the same configuration as the main pitch. To access the sprinkler for maintenance purposes, the Hydrobox is simply lifted out, leaving the sprinkler clear of any pitch construction. To reinstate the pitch surface around the head the Hydrobox is lifted back over the sprinkler and replaced into the hole.” The system not only makes maintenance much easier but also allows grass to grow right around the sprinkler head for an optimum playing surface.

Rain Bird’s IQ Cloud Platform, used in conjunction with an ESP-LXD controller fitted with a network communication cartridge, was selected to give the groundstaff a real time fully automatic remote irrigation control system. The installation can be managed remotely by a web enabled computer, tablet or smartphone connected to the internet.

The ESP-LXD controller enables employment of IQ-Cloud’s full suite of remote water management tools. Groundstaff know in real time which zones and irrigation systems are operating and can access information on flow rates and performance. Reports can be automatically created and shared, saving time and providing information on irrigation times, total water usage and other significant data. Automated e-mail alerts and alarms can be set up to help manage potential problems.

The overall result has delighted Eddie Rutherford, Stadium Manager, who says it is probably the best the pitch that the club has had since he has been there. The quick planning required and success of the project was helped by Premier Pitches’ long term experience at St James Park and Director Russell Latham also recognised the experience and expertise of MJ Abbott.  “ We have worked with MJ Abbott on pitch construction projects for over five years now. Their efficient and meticulous way of approaching a project from design and planning to delivery is everything that our key clients want to see.”

For more information, visit: www.rainbird.com

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The Impact Of A Heatwave

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The Impact Of A Heatwave: Ten weeks of drought has posed a major challenge to Irish golf courses. Kevin Markham interviewed two greenkeepers to assess how course conditions have been impacted.

Listening to Met Éireann tell us we haven’t had weather like this since 1976 makes you realise how much we miss hot, dry summers.

Golf courses that were under three feet of snow in March are now burned brown by the long days of sun. If you’ve been on social media, you’ll have seen an unforgettable image of Ballybunion, which looks more like the Sahara than a golf course.

The heatwave may have cooled but the trouble is, 10 weeks passed without significant rainfall and greenkeepers have had their work cut out to maintain their courses.

Here are the views of two head greenkeepers: Paul Coleman (PC), Golf Course Superintendent at Dromoland Castle; and Dave Edmondson (DE), Links Superintendent at The Island.

What are the key challenges facing golf courses in a heatwave?

PC: “The main challenges facing parkland courses are trying to provide good quality playing surfaces in the face of intense and prolonged drought. The golfer’s expectation is still the same no matter the weather and we need to at least offer a product worth the money.

“As the majority of playing areas are comprised of sand for the purpose of better drainage, they obviously dry much faster and consequently wilt. Also, having staff working in this heat is not ideal as there is prolonged exposure to the sun.”

DE: “Dormant turfgrass is not growing or recovering from daily wear and tear, such as traffic patterns. Areas of The Island are also becoming hydrophobic (water repellent) due to lack of precipitation.”

Have you experienced anything like this in your career?

PC: “The last time I can remember a similar prolonged period of hot and dry weather was in the summer of ’95. I was working as a seasonal greenkeeper at Woodstock Golf Club, and there was no irrigation on the course. The only method of applying water was through a bulk tanker which drew from a nearby river.”

DE: “In my six years at The Island, 2013 was similar with prolonged dry conditions. I have also experienced similar low rainfall years in France and Belgium, although these were slightly easier to deal with due to lower traffic.”

How do you tackle these issues?

PC: “Irrigation. We have an automated system on tees and greens but it’s not as simple as just turning them on and forgetting about it. Moisture levels need to be constantly monitored as too much is worse than too little. Some members are amused when they see us out with hoses, knowing we have sprinklers.Without getting technical some areas on the greens become water repellent and will not wet with just water. They need to be treated with wetting agents.

“Unfortunately, it’s a logistics game and we do not have the capacity to water the entire golf course.”

DE: “We are targeting our water onto key areas: greens, tees, greens surrounds, and heavily divot-prone landing zones. As a classic links, based on sand, The Island is prone to drying quickly and we are utilising wetting agents for moisture retention and to avoid water repellancy issues.

We are also using traditional watering methods, i.e. hand-watering on putting surfaces, as much as possible. This allows us to target water onto the high parts of greens (slopes) and leave lower lying areas. This method has allowed us more uniformity of moisture throughout our putting surfaces with an improvement in playing characteristics.

“With all of our watering practices we utilise soil moisture probes daily to determine the needs of specific areas. This is deemed to be good practice, allows us to micromanage our greens and conserves water.

“The club recently purchased a pogo moisture meter that allows us to test moisture content in a given GPS location, sends the information to a cloud network, and creates a map which helps the greenkeeper handwatering for the next day to target dry areas or hotspots.”

How much time is spent dealing with the current challenges?

PC: “We have two guys each watering for approximately 50 hours per week. Mowing has decreased and so we can tackle other jobs we normally wouldn’t be able to get done.”

DE: “As turfgrass is presently mainly dormant, our mowing has reduced drastically so I have three guys hand-watering during the day. One of these will be collecting moisture content data to help us make key decisions regarding the next day’s watering.”

Are the grasses able to cope with these conditions?

PC: “Typically we go by transpiration rates of the grass plant and this can mean approximately 5mm to 10mm of water is required per night (in or around 8,000 to 12,000 litres).”

DE: “Native links grasses are Fescue and Browntop bent, and both species are native to links sites and are extremely drought resistant. They can withstand periods of stress. In many areas these species are predominantly dormant at present but will bounce back once the rain returns. From a sustainability perspective, these grasses require little to no pesticides, and limited fertiliser or water inputs.”

How serious a threat is a prolonged drought to the golf course?

PC: “It is serious as 90% of the course is burned out and in great water deficit. It will take a few weeks of rainfall to recover. No water means dead grass on greens and tees. This can make the course unplayable. There will also be a cost down the road in regressing some turf areas lost.”

DE: “I don’t see it as a major problem as long-term forecasts predict a break in the current weather. If we do get any thinning of turf coming out of the dry weather, we are due to overseed again in August with fescue throughout.”

What can golfers do to help the course and greens staff during these periods?

PC: “Members and guests can help by not driving golf buggies carelessly on fairways and where they don’t need to be. The wheel lines are being burned into the grass.”

DE: “Golfers should understand that greens teams throughout the country are doing there utmost to produce quality products for their members and guests. Patience is required through these challenging periods until we all return to normal weather conditions.”

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Reesink Reliability Seals The Deal

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Reesink Reliability Seals The Deal: Orsett Golf Club in Essex has long been a Toro customer and plans on keeping it that way for the next four years as it signs its third lease deal with Reesink Turfcare. This is thanks to Toro putting in the hours and keeping its residual value, as well as having Reesink supporting it with back-up.

Set over 112 acres of undulating heathland, the par 72 Championship course has a demanding layout of over 6,600 yards, and as a result the machines are expected to work hard, as course manager Perry Lowe explains: “This is a really big course and the machines are used heavily. Toro gives us a good amount of hours yet keeps its residual value, which is an important factor in our four-year machinery replacement programme. In the last four years, we’ve had hardly any issues, but the peace of mind we get from having Reesink for backup should we need it is really important.

Reesink Reliability Seals The Deal

“We’re almost 100 percent Toro here. We feel it has the edge with having Reesink as distributor. When Reesink took over as distributor for Toro three years ago, we wondered if things were going to change and if it would affect how things work. But we’re more than happy with the customer service, the speed with which any problems are dealt with is incredible – the next day and it’s sorted.”

This latest four-year deal includes the Greensmaster TriFlex Hybrid 3420, Reelmaster 3575-D, Groundsmaster 3500-D, Groundsmaster 4000-D, two Reelmaster 3100-D mowers, a Multi Pro 5800-D, GreensPro 1260 and a ProCore SR72 aerator.

Perry concludes: “It’s important we maintain course standards for our members. The results we get from Toro and Reesink have grown better every year and that is why we stick with them time after time.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Kubota Makes The Grade In Bath

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Kubota Makes The Grade In Bath: For Penny Snowden, Grounds Manager at Bath Spa University, the biggest challenge facing her grounds maintenance team is managing the balance of diverse student activity whilst keeping the historic 88-acre Newton Park campus in pristine condition all year round.

Newton Park, leased from the Duchy of Cornwall, is located to the west of Bath in the rolling Somerset countryside.  It’s the largest of the university’s three main campuses, featuring an 18th century pleasure ground with lake and extensive open spaces, sports pitches, a walled garden and Italian garden, as well as buildings from a mixture of ages including many listed buildings like the Grade I Listed Mansion House.  The campus is also home to a variety of wildlife, including great crested newts and several species of bats.

Kubota Makes The Grade In Bath

Penny said: “This is a fantastic campus in an idyllic location with a great mix of old and new buildings and some first class facilities.  My role as grounds manager is to keep it looking its best all the time. There have been some big changes to the campus recently with new residential accommodation units being built along with modern academic buildings as part of massive development plans to enhance the campus further, so it’s a huge job but my team and I love the challenge!”

Penny learnt her trade by watching her dad who was also a Head Gardener and has followed in his footsteps by choosing a career in horticulture. Penny took the role at Bath Spa University and has never looked back.

Penny continued: “This is such a demanding and varied job.  Being able to keep up with the grass cutting cycle is our main challenge, but there’s also a lot of general horticulture work, like pruning, mulching and planting.  We have a conservation management plan in place to ensure the biodiversity and special character of the place re well managed, we try to ensure we maintain everything to the highest standards and are extremely proud of how good the site looks.”

Kubota Makes The Grade In Bath

Having the right equipment and machinery that can help Penny and her five strong team achieve the best results is absolutely paramount.

“We use Kubota groundcare machinery because of its reputation as the best on the market,” continued Penny.  “We need machinery we can trust, that doesn’t let us down and that can get the job done effortlessly.  Operator comfort and ease of control are also vitally important.  We get all this and more with Kubota.  This is backed up by first class aftersales support from our local independent Kubota dealer – Lister Wilder.”

Penny’s most recent addition to her machinery fleet is a Kubota STW40 compact tractor.  With the ability to handle a range of tasks with quick and powerful performance, the STW40 features hydrostatic power steering and Kubota’s unique Bi-Speed turn to make turning much easier and smoother with minimal potential damage to a ground’s surface.  With 360-degree visibility thanks to its four-pillar cab design, the 40HP STW40 is powered by a powerful Kubota engine, renowned globally for its innovation and performance.

“When we purchased the Kubota STW40, we were able to replace a physically larger tractor with this smaller model because the Kubota could match the performance of a bigger machine and do exactly what we needed it to,” said Penny.  “This is testament to the power of the machine.  The tractor is an invaluable asset for our team, carrying out mainly trailer work for tasks like delivering mulch and transporting arisings, but we have also used PTO units for reseeding a large part of the Parkland.  It’s also performs exceptionally with our snake mower on our sports pitches.”

Along with the STW40, Penny also has a Kubota diesel ride-on mower in her fleet, the G26.  Ideal for precise and clipping-free mowing in high presentation areas, the G26 is a versatile mowing solution that helps the team increase productivity and tackle difficult jobs with ease.  Bath Spa University’s estates team also have two Kubota RTV utility vehicles for getting around the site and across difficult terrain with ease.

Kubota Makes The Grade In Bath

Penny continued: “Not only is the G26 an absolute workhorse when it comes to grass cutting, but it’s also fantastic for leaf collecting too in Autumn, allowing us to produce our own compost for the beds and borders, saving us valuable time and money.  The two RTV’s not only allow us to access areas that others vehicles can’t reach, but they also enable us to be more efficient when transporting materials around the campus, meaning we can split our team up to get more done.

“All four machines play their part in helping Bath Spa University look a first class site that everyone involved with at the campus, from the lecturers, students, and my grounds team, are extremely proud of.”

For more information on Kubota UK call 01844 268000 or visit www.kubota.co.uk

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Golf Club Feels The Heat

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Golf Club Feels The Heat: The impact of the UK’s current heatwave can be seen at Oxford Golf Club.

Just a month ago Oxfordshire’s oldest golf course resembled a lush green oasis, but after the driest June on record, the fairways have frazzled.

Now the most verdant parts of the course on Hill Top Road, Headington, are the greens and tees, which are watered via an irrigation system.

Doug MacGregor, the club’s head greenkeeper, said: “I’ve been a greenkeeper for 25 years in Oxford and Scotland and these are some of the most extreme weather conditions I’ve experienced.”

Meanwhile in Oxford University Parks, walkers are likely to have blamed falling water levels in the pond on the scorching weather.

It is thought hundreds of fish died last week after levels plummeted rapidly, but the water loss was not the result of evaporation – the university suspects river gates on the Cherwell were opened to increase depth of water downstream, without realising the implications.

Golf club worker Mr MacGregor took a photo of the course one month ago and again this week from the 10th hole, to demonstrate the impact the weather can have.

The experienced greenkeeper and his team of five are working to keep the course in good shape amid sizzling temperatures of up to 30 degrees C, with the hot spell set to continue this week.

Mr MacGregor added: “We had a tough winter but came through it and then had a very wet period and a lot of grass growth before the heatwave.

“The course has looked magnificent in recent months and now the weather has changed the fairways and rough have really struggled to maintain moisture levels.

“This, coupled with the lack of a mains irrigation system at the club, has meant that they have suffered in terms of grass density and colour but they are still playable.

“The weather has a massive impact on the course and we have to adapt daily -we live by weather reports.”

The team’s day starts at 6am with an analysis of data from the club’s weather station.

The information informs them which areas of the course have lost moisture and enables them to establish where to focus their efforts.

“With the heatwave we have adjusted our tactics significantly,” said Doug.

“We also have a high-tech moisture meter which we use by hand to take readings on different spots of the greens.

“Wind is a big factor and different parts of the green will need more water than others.

“The readings enable us to focus on areas which require attention and apply the necessary levels of water accordingly.

“The soil is very warm and dry, and we continually aerate it. We have reduced the amount of grass cutting we do.

“I love looking after the course and it’s great when people comment on the quality.”

Met Office forecasters said today’s temperatures would be cooler than yesterday.

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