Luffness, Scotland: The installation of a new Rain Bird irrigation system has delivered flexibility and uniformity to course conditions at Luffness New Golf Club after an extended period of dry weather. 

After a decade of dry spring weather and with a 30-year-old irrigation system, Luffness New’s Course Manager David Coull faced challenges shared by many counterparts across the United Kingdom and in Europe – bone-dry surfaces through the season with loss of grass cover starting as early as April.

Yet against all odds, the club had managed to keep the aged irrigation system operational.  

Irrigation Consultant Adrian Mortram was appointed in 2019 to design a system to accommodate the current course layout, offer more flexible control and allow additional areas to be irrigated. 

Mortram said: “Having completed a GPS survey of course outlines and mapped sprinkler locations we began finding out which areas the club wanted to focus on.

“They had done their due diligence so had a lot of ideas and suggestions. We shared examples of system installations and results at other links courses which helped us decide priorities together.”

Ocmis scheduled installation work between September 2021 and February 2022. The Rain Bird IC System with the latest CirrusPRO Central Control software offers multiple watering options and data capabilities.

752 Series rotors were selected for timeless compatibility, flexibility of arc control, irrigation efficiency and accuracy. 752IC Valve in Head rotors, 752B Block rotors and 1806 with R-VAN high performance nozzles combine to optimise control and coverage on greens, tees, fairways, approaches, surrounds and walkways.

Coull says the new system targets all the right areas and has shortened the irrigation window.

He said: “We’ve amended our irrigation process and saved hours of staff time. Previously I had two people hand-watering for six hours, four days a week so that’s 50-60 hours a week saved.

“That’s been one of the most significant benefits. Grass cover hasn’t been lost at all this year and we’re now seeing grass recover, even with the recent drought.”

Rain Bird is an Executive Member of the Asian Golf Industry Federation.