Water Savings Hard Data

The water issues at The Rim have been a common topic each summer for many years. There has been some changes in the where we have gotten water in the past and how we get it now. In the past there were well on site that used to supply us with some water and now we rely on the sanitary department for our water. These past years have left the range and the rough of the golf course thin and in some areas dead from lack of water.

The past two years have been different. We have been able to make it through the summer with the range in tact and the golf course healthy. We did a large reassignment in the computer to get the computer and the field on the same page with water usage. We also made hundreds of head adjustments along the perimeter to correct alignment so all the water being applied is being used efficiently with as little over spray as possible.

The next step was balancing the irrigation system. Many people like to say they do this each winter by reseting their system and adjusting from that point on but unfortunately that is only part of the balancing process. The way we make adjustments from that point on is a major portion of the balancing. This is where we have succeeded in saving water and being more efficient.

This chart shows the average water use from 1999-2008 and our last year to date water usage. You can see the extra use during monsoon season because of the lack of monsoon moisture. If we had a normal monsoon season you would see even more savings.

The average water usage for the past nine years has shown our savings over all. We have tried to keep the course firm and dry with some off color areas. The soil media that supports the grass is made up of mostly organic matter (thatch). Growing grass in thatch is very difficult. There is not much between too dry and wet. Our aerification process and additional sand topdressing will begin to alleviate this issue.

2009 is on track to be the smallest amount of water received from the sanitary district. Not only did we have the lack of rain but, we are also looking at the population of Payson being much smaller. Less people using water, equals less reuse for the courses.

We are on the right track to keep saving water and begin to have consecutive years of healthy grass. This will help the turf stand get thicker and healthier. Over time with sound cultural practices and proper irrigation management the course will get better year after year and produce better and better playing conditions.

I have mentioned quite a bit about our water management process and I will be presenting our practices at the GCSAA show in 2010. We are always trying new ways to save even more water. Our next procedure that I will present to the greens committee will be the idea of removing some turf to help save even more water. Essentially this is our BMP program. A combination of practices to save water.

If anyone has questions about our processes or anything about irrigation please contact me.

justinr@therimgolfclub.org

Using Growing Degree Day Prediction Models

Only a few years back The Rim Golf Club was devastated by multiple pests. Disease and insects attacked fairways and rough brining the course to it's knees. My first season here my assistant and I created an Integrated Management Program to directly address our specific pests. Our best way to predicting for the problems so that we would not endure the same damage ever again we decided on using growing degree days to anticipate our pest's development. We started out with our worst pests.

A growing degree day is basically a measurement using a base temperature at which insect development begins. If the average of the high and low temperature is above that minimum threshold than degree days are accumulated. This can help us predict when different stages of an insect will develop and when we can target the most vulnerable stage.

With this information in our hands we were able to anticipate our pests for the last 2 seasons and have become very successful. We have since expanded our IPM program to cover more pests and one day plan on becoming accurate enough to make use of strictly biological and organic control methods.

Now that we know when to expect certain stages of insect development we can also make use of cultural practices to help discourage egg laying or disrupt critical stages with cultivation. This powerful tool has helped us bring The Rim Golf Club to the next level in quality. Our effort have been recognized by the positive movement in our national rankings.

Even though our process is not an overnight change in quality but as each season goes on and we reduce the stress to the turf from multiple directions we will continue to get healthier. Each season will be better as the turf will gain more endurance against outside antagonists. If anyone has questions about our program or how we calculate the degree days feel free to contact me. We have stumbled across some great information to make things even more accurate each year.

Justin C. Ruiz, CGCS

justinr@therimgolfclub.org