2026 Irrigation System Replacement

Water is the source of all life on earth and the grass on the golf course, or turfgrass, is no exception. In fact, at 90% by weight, turfgrass is mostly water. Consequently, an irrigation system is an essential part of a golf course maintenance operation. The system at University Ridge is original and was put in during construction of the course in 1989 and 1990. Like most infrastructure, it has a life expectancy and eventually requires replacement. Generally, irrigation systems last about 20-25 years. Over time, components fail, and leaks are more frequent, causing loss of function and requiring costly, time consuming, and unsightly repairs. This is certainly the case with U-Ridge’s current 36+-year-old system. So, this season, the system is being replaced. Unfortunately, the installation will cause some inconvenience, but the new system will provide many long-term benefits. Here are a few (click on the cards below to get more info on each):

Provide more consistent playing conditions

The new system will allow more ability to adjust where and how much water is applied, which will promote healthier turfgrass and greatly reduce isolated wet and dry spots.

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Minimize wasting of water

As with most industries, technology and engineering have produced great improvements. This is no different with irrigation sprinklers and their control systems. New technology will allow for much more efficient watering.

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Reduced golfer disruption for maintenance and repairs

The new irrigation system will be much more reliable, which means less interference to golfers from staff needing to dig holes for repairs the middle of play areas.

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The replacement process will be a time-consuming endeavor and cause individual holes to be out of play temporarily, but is a necessary long-term investment. On the plus side, the healing aspect of this project is relatively quick and out of play holes are able to return to play as soon as work is finished with little disruption to conditions. The U-Ridge maintenance team thanks you for patience this season, and hopes to see you back when we are back in full swing this Fall.

Sincerely,

Phil Davidson, Golf Course Superintendent, and the U-Ridge Maintenance Staff

Minimize wasting of water

New sprinklers have changed significantly over the last 30 years, particularly in efficiency and in precision adjustments.
- Greater efficiency. The uniformity of how a sprinkler puts out water now allows for more water to go exactly where it is supposed to providing better coverage with less waste.
- Sprinkler adjustment. Older sprinklers could only be manipulated more than adjusted. Basically, the only way to change an older sprinkler was by changing nozzle sizes. This would change the water output (gallons per minute – GPM) which also changed how far the water threw (radius). Today’s sprinklers have the true ability to be adjusted. Some of the many adjustments that can be made now are: with a much wider selection nozzles, better adjustment of GPM; the ability to fine tune the radius independent of GPM; adjustments for the nozzle arc (how high or low the water comes out of the sprinkler), which is important if a sprinkler is on a hill or for windy sites; adjustments for how far the sprinkler rotates in a circle (full vs. part circle); and the ability to adjust how fast the sprinkler turns. All these adjustments add up to more precise and efficient watering, saving water and creating healthier turfgrass.
The Control system for new sprinklers is far more precise now as well, with programing to the second instead of run times being round up to the minute. This is possible because the rotation speed of the sprinkler has become much less random, allowing for better uniformity from sprinkler to sprinkler. A reduction in 30 seconds per head over the course of a season is hundreds of thousands of gallons of water saved.
The new system is adapted for today’s smart phone technology and has diagnostic tools built in to be able to see and fix issues before they become big problems. Being able to see if a particular sprinkler is not working, will allow repair before the turfgrass gets stressed or burnt out. Translating into better conditions for play.