Saint-Raphaël, France: Considered to be a jewel in the French Riviera crown and one of the best golf courses in the south of France, Golf de Roquebrune is located between Cannes and Saint-Tropez, offering players breathtaking views over the bay of Saint-Raphaël and the Massif des Maures.

Created in 1989, the 18-hole course was designed by Dutch architect Udo Barth, remodelled by leading French golf architect Michel Gayon in 2009 and, with over 40 bunkers and six water features, presents golfers with a variety of different challenges.

In the south of France, the climate is the hottest in France and with average summer temperatures as high as 38° Centigrade, course irrigation is an increasing challenge.

The water supply comes mainly from the Canal de Provence and is directed into a retention lake, a major advantage allowing the course to avoid water shortages even when there are periods of drought.

Even though water use is not currently restricted, central to Roquebrune’s water strategy and commitment to sustainable water management is optimising golf course irrigation. Greens and fairways are a priority while non-playable areas such as roughs and the driving range are not irrigated in summer, significantly reducing overall water consumption.

Renovation of the unreliable and obsolete irrigation system began in 2019 when Avignon-based AGME Consult were approached for guidance about several potential solutions. The 18-hole course had been built in two phases, firstly nine holes with seven satellites and then nine holes with 80 MIR decoders in a block system formation. 

By converting the previous control system to Rain Bird Central Control, the course was able to have a hybrid system, enabling them to control both satellites and IC System seamlessly through one Central Control system.

This would allow the course to be altered, extended or holes upgraded in future no matter what’s in place.

Rain Bird’s FloManager feature prevents over-watering, irrigation windows can be optimised, improving overall irrigation efficiency and reducing pump station power consumption.

With one control system and hardware updated in the field during 2020, the final step in the renovation was an upgrade, in March 2024, to CirrusPRO, Rain Bird’s leading-edge control technology.

Greenkeeper Florian Maldonado says the main benefit of having CirrusPRO is that it’s a practical and proactive tool. It auto-generates a daily report that’s very useful for trouble-shooting as it’s possible to see immediately if there’s a rotor or anything else that needs attention.

Being able to personalise the system by adding widgets allows the team to access their weather station data from the main screen too.

Maldonado said: “Having geo-location built-in means you know exactly where you are on the course and can see the changes you are making to the irrigation, instantly. You can identify the specific rotor that is working and which rotors are being queued up to operate.

“Having that visibility helps us manage irrigation much more effectively and it saves us a lot of time. We used to have one of the greenkeeping team out in the field and one on the PC in the office – now it can all be done by one person and that saves labour costs.

“CirrusPRO is intuitive, so easy to use and all on a smartphone, or any device. You just open it up and there it is – on one page. Anyone who is not very IT-confident can easily manage it. And with technology updates that keep coming through from Rain Bird, we’re discovering new features all the time.”

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