Golfers who played Coronado Municipal Golf Course this fall surely noticed the construction in progress. What they saw was a $500,000 irrigation control system overhaul completed by the City of Coronado.
The overhaul was a badly-needed upgrade at one of the region’s most popular courses, according to the city’s Director of Golf Services, Roger Miller.
“We had a 30-year-old system, and that system was prone to failure,” Miller said. “The system was from the 80s and the design of the system was probably from the late 70s/early 80s. We went from ‘The Flintstones’ to ‘The Jetsons’.”
The system consists of 29 separate irrigation zones, each managed via a ‘satellite’ control box linked to a central computer via radio frequency signals. The City replaced the central computer and all the satellites.
The City also installed a new weather station (pictured above) adjacent the eighth fairway. This installation gathers meteorological data such as temperature, solar radiation, wind speed and humidity, which the central computer uses to calculate watering times each night.
“The old system was really manual,” Miller said. “Generally speaking we guessed pretty close but we were guessing, so on some days we probably guessed wrong. Now it’s more precise.”
Some local golfers speculated that the digging seen on the course meant that water pipes were also being replaced, but this was merely the work needed to upgrade the electrical system powering the satellites. The City laid 12,600 linear feet of conduit to house all new power wires, which were previously buried directly in the ground, a construction practice out of compliance with current building codes.
Golfers also saw a number of fairway and rough areas not looking their best during the project. The dry conditions were a product of the failing control system during our hot and arid fall season, plus the inadvertent cutting of some wiring.
Though the typical dormancy of warm season turf species makes accurate assessment of course conditions difficult this time of year, the course seems to be rebounding nicely, with most fairway and rough surfaces looking healthy.
The new system could start generating cost benefits immediately. Miller estimates a 10% total water usage reduction is achievable, but additional measures will undoubtedly be needed down the road.
“We had a water efficiency test run on the pipe system and it’s in fair condition although it’s very old as well,” Miller said. “Sprinkler heads also need to be replaced.”
With water costs soaring, irrigation management is just one of several strategies course owners must consider to keep costs down.
Read more at at SanDiegoGolfReport.com.
