TC Newslines Summer 2018 v8_web

news lines . summer 2018 . 11 OTTERBINE DIFFUSES THE SITUATION Two years ago, Frilford Heath near Oxford, had an Otterbine Air Flo 3 diffuser installed in its 6m deep, 10-million-gallon reservoir. Three months in and the results had impressed course manager Sid Arrowsmith, above. Here we catch up on what happened next: “We always knew this was a long-term and challenging project, and the diffuser had its work cut out. The water had an inordinate amount of organic mixture in it, and the silt and sediment at the bottom of the reservoir hadn’t seen daylight for ten years. “We experienced, as anticipated, algal growth; the surprise was how much!” But the Air Flo 3 kept busy and Sid “never once doubted” it was up to the job. The water now is crystal clear again and while Sid is under no illusion that another algal bloom is possible, the diffuser is ready for the challenge. “There is more oxygen in that reservoir than ever before and the water is in the best possible position to counteract another algal bloom.” Meantime, the water is being used all over the course, doing exactly what Sid intended: it’s made 10-million-gallons of water ready to use and given the club a degree of self- sufficiency it hasn’t experienced before. And as Sid, a greenkeeping veteran, says: “greenkeeping wouldn’t be greenkeeping without a few challenges along the way!” So, at what saving does this come? “Back in the very dry summers of ‘94, ‘95 and ‘96, we were spending £25,000 a year irrigating the course off the mains. It’s literally a fraction of that now. The only thing we use mains water for is washing the turf machinery and toilet facilities.” Double irrigation renovation for Breadsall Priory Breadsall Priory Marriott Hotel and Country Club in Derbyshire has renovated two ageing irrigation systems to one Toro Lynx control system on its two 18- hole Championship Priory Course and Moorland Course. Course manager John Smith, pictured above, explains: “The systems urgently needed to change, but we didn’t want to unnecessarily overhaul all the wiring and pipework. Completely replacing everything would have resulted in huge costs, but with the help of Reesink, especially Peter Newton and Cevan Edwards, we discovered we only needed to upgrade the two control systems and have saved a lot of money thanks to renovating rather than replacing.” Having been witness to how well Lynx performs, John decided to add to the renovation project by upgrading the sprinklers, too. The perfect partner to Lynx, Toro Infinity sprinklers have replaced the sprinklers across multiple greens on the Championship Priory Course, and John has decided he says: “to phase an Infinity upgrade on all of the greens over the next few years.” With the successful renovation behind it, Breadsall is looking to further innovate the way it irrigates the courses: “Using Lynx and Infinity from April has already made the quality of our turf far better. We want to extract water from our lake to irrigate the courses and, given the great experience we’ve just had with Reesink, we will be working with them again to improve our lake’s water quality with a n Otterbine aerator.” Four guys made fast work of completing the install in just one and half weeks, with no disruption to golfers or our maintenance programme. John Smith, course manager True innovation with every renovation When Toro developed its irrigation strategy one of the primary areas of emphasis was longevity. Toro sprinklers dating all the way back to the 1960s are easily updated when clubs look to renovate their irrigation. The existing sprinkler body is simply fitted with the latest Toro head technology not just replacing new for old, but for more precision, accuracy, efficiency and economy. In the case of Toro pop-up sprinklers, the company’s 600 series that launched in the US back in 1967, and 700 series first seen in the 1990s, can be easily interchanged with Toro sprinkler head conversion assemblies, in as little as 60 seconds! The same applies to the more recent DT series and 835 series, too. And most of the time these upgrades can be made without the need for mini-excavators and massive disruption. Infinity, shown in action below right, has been designed to be upgraded from the top down, with the Smart Access feature allowing future upgrades to be faster, easier and cheaper. Upgrading with Toro brings true innovation to your irrigation. Every replacement sprinkler on offer brings with it design improvements – you aren’t just replacing the plastic casing, but addressing specific irrigation needs, such as arc retention meaning rotation is to a strict start-stop without unwanted movement, eliminating dwell points and subsequent pooling, ensuring even distribution. And it’s not just the sprinklers that can be upgraded , Turf Guard in-ground moisture sensors and Lynx control system software can be integrated into existing irrigation systems, too. Some have credited Toro’s Lynx control system with bringing industry buzzwords 'interchangeable' and 'future-proof' irrigation to life.