Lynx Control For A Links Course

Portmarnock Golf Club not only offers golfers a stunning view of Velvet Strand beach, but the William Chalmers Pickeman, George Ross and Mungo Park designed course makes the most of the natural terrain to keep players on their toes. Links manager of ten years Gary Johnstone also thrives on the challenges presented by the course, saying it: “keeps the job interesting.”

So when the club’s cable network started to degrade, leaving the old irrigation system unreliable, those at Portmarnock Golf Club saw it not as an obstacle but an opportunity to update the system to suit the course down to a tee.

Gary explains: “We looked at all the irrigation products on the market over a two-year period to find out which company had the best products to suit our needs, and Toro was the clear winner.”

He continues: “Local contractor Aquaturf Solutions Ltd installed our Toro irrigation system and carried out the work over six months with minimum disturbance to the course, in a very professional manner.”

According to Gary, setting up the new system was simple: “With Lynx, it’s easy to set up specific irrigation programmes to meet the needs of Links turf.”

Gary’s favourite aspect of the new system is the accessibility: “The control system is easy to operate and can be accessed anywhere via apps, allowing us to monitor the course’ water needs at all times. This gives us greater control over our irrigation management, as real-time adjustments can be made to give turf the right amount of water.”

The 1,220 Toro Infinity Sprinklers installed course-wide have impressed too: “The Infinity sprinklers have so many good points: their ease of operation, that you can access the top of the sprinkler for repairs, and they are future proof,” says Gary.

“Before, it was difficult to keep the course up to Championship standard with our failing irrigation system. Now irrigation is easy thanks to Toro and we can focus on the challenges ahead, such as hosting the Amateur Championship in 2019, knowing the grass plants will be healthy and play will be great.”