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rotary spray nozzle to apply water
in limited areas, approximately 20
feet in diameter. Since the tops of
mounds tend to dry out first, using
rotary spray nozzles – which allow
extremely precise irrigation to irrigate
just these areas – saves water by
reducing the need to turn on the
larger sprinklers. Akins comments:
“Many times we don’t turn on the
larger overhead sprinklers like we
used to because the rotary nozzles
apply a small amount of water every
day and keep the mounds looking
good. Without rotary nozzles, the
new sprinklers would still do a better
job than the old irrigation system, but
rotary nozzles just take the efficiency
to another level. We use them to
manage moisture on bunker faces
and surrounds too.” And they have
eliminated over-watering.
Some rotary nozzle stations were
installed after completion of the
project. One of the advantages of
the IC System is that each wire
path has capacity for 750 stations
with unlimited simultaneous
operation. This allowed Bonita Bay
Club to add additional stations of
rotary spray nozzles anywhere on
the course. It was easy to install a
new zone simply by locating the
closest pipe and control wire which
could be as close as the nearest
large sprinkler. When a new rotary
mister station was connected to the
control system, the central control
software communicated with the new
station immediately. This flexibility
eliminated the need to install a wire
from the station back to a satellite
box in a traditional control system.
Akins acknowledges that it is more
expensive to install rotary mister
zones and that they have to be
carefully managed during aerification,
but the water savings being achieved
by not turning on the larger
sprinklers is worth the investment.
After 14 months of operation with
the new irrigation system, the results
are dramatic. Comparing water use
at the Marsh course to the adjacent
Creekside course, which has an old
irrigation system, the Marsh course
used 32% less water, on a water-used-
per-acre basis.
Akins observes: “I’ve heard it said
that ‘more sprinklers use less water’
and I wondered about that at first,
but we’re using less water. If I could
do it all over again, I would do it
exactly the same. I wouldn’t know
what to do differently. We tried
to incorporate every new piece of
Stuart Hackwell and
Matt Corentin
Stuart Hackwell, International Sales
Manager, has been with Rain Bird
Corporation for 22 years and works
with golf course specifiers on water
management projects worldwide. Matt
Corentin, Rain Bird’s District Sales
Manager for the Southeast USA, has
been in the golf industry for 20 years
and has a degree in Turfgrass from
University of Georgia.
Rotary spray nozzles enable the club to be
extremely precise with water application
technology into this system and I feel
we were very successful in doing so.”
Saving water and delivering more
consistent playing conditions are
critical for Akins. As Bonita Bay Club
starts the next phase of the irrigation
upgrade, he comments: “What does
this mean when we finish all 54 holes?
The benefits will be huge.”
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