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. Monday, April 18, 2011
Evolution of Irrigation
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. 
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This is such great information. We just moved into a new house and have been looking for information on a south Jersey irrigation company. All of our neighbors have irrigation systems and we are new to that idea. Thanks so much for the information, it was very helpful.
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