ET. ( EVAPO-TRANSPIRATION ) is the measurement of the combined loss of water by evaporation from the soil and transpiration from the plant. The weather station which is linked to the irrigation software gives us this information . In the past two months there has been no reason to look at this measurement due to all the rain. The saturated soil that we have experienced deprives the roots of oxygen and without oxygen the roots decline. With a shallow root zone and the weather pattern changing to a high pressure system, golf course superintendents will be keeping a close eye on ET and irrigation systems will be used sooner and more frequently than previously thought.
Watering golf course turf is much more difficult than watering your home lawn. Golfers like a firmer surface for shot-making and further ball roll. Superintendents compensate for this by applying just enough water to keep the turf alive one day at a time. There is an art to irrigating the golf course but ET measurements have put an exact science to work in respects to course conditions and playability.
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| Weather Station at MCC - Reports ET |
One of the most important tools, if not THE most important, we use on the golf course is the irrigation system. In the early 1970's Meadowbrook was watered with manual sprinklers and a night water person. In the late 70's we automated the greens and tees. Shortly after, the fairways were converted to automatic sprinklers using electro-mechanical clocks that allowed us to eliminate the night water person. Starting in 1997 we began replacing the old system with a computer controlled system that allowed us to turn on each of the approximately 1100 sprinklers individually from a hand held radio. This was a quantum leap in technology and flexibility and gave us the ability to water quickly and more efficiently. The next step in the evolution has arrived and Meadowbrook is updating the computer and the software that controls the system. This new software will decrease the "water window" (the time it takes us to complete an irrigation cycle) by about 30%. This will mean lower utility costs, less wear and tear on our pump station and more accurate timing of watering. The system can be activated and adjusted from a remote computer or a "smart phone", meaning that last minute adjustments can be made more quickly when weather conditions change. Another addition to this system is a network of "in-ground" sensors that monitor soil temperature, moisture and salinity from the irrigation computer giving us a real time snapshot of conditions on the course which will help determine watering needs. 
