John Deere Press Room 2009

Glen Lodge Bawburgh Golf Club in Norfolk is the first course in the UK to feature a complete, fully working John Deere irrigation system, which was officially commissioned at the end of April 2009.

Installed by Irrigation Services (UK) Ltd of Norwich, the system covers the club’s existing 18-hole course and an additional new nine holes that are due to open in 2010. Course manager Mike Ward is able to operate, interrogate and programme the entire system – from anywhere in the world if required – by radio control or via the internet using a computer or mobile phone, as well as save water using the Aurora control system.

Both the irrigation components and a third generation course equipment fleet including 16 new John Deere machines have been bought from local dealer Ben Burgess, with the new fleet purchased on a six year finance package from John Deere Credit.

“We had already stretched our last five year deal by an extra couple of years, and it had got to the point where the age of the machines was making the parts bill too high, so it was time for a change,” says Mike Ward. “We always give the whole fleet a thorough strip down and full service each winter, and this was just taking up too much time.

“What with the expansion of the course, as well as taking over responsibility for maintaining the driving range, we thought a new finance deal made the most sense from a budgeting point of view,” adds Mike. “In particular, we were having ongoing problems with our old irrigation controller which meant we often didn’t know a problem existed until parts of the course dried out, or faults were signalled but we didn’t know where to find them in the system.”

Irrigation Services started installing a complete new system on the nine hole course last October, and all 27 holes were completed by early March this year. Existing pipe work on the 18 hole course was upgraded with new solenoid valves, sprinkler heads and decoders, plus a new Aurora control box mounted in the green-keepers’ shed and an outdoor pedestal controller, each of which can control the other as required.

The new system now irrigates all the tees, approaches and greens, some fairways where necessary, and the club’s five gardens. It even controls a fountain with lights situated in a lake by the 18th hole.

An evapo-transpiration (ET) meter linked to the system precisely calculates the amount of water needed for irrigation based on prevailing weather conditions and rainfall, to prevent over or under watering. The Aurora controller also provides programming to the second rather than the minute, which can lead to potential savings of large amounts of water over a season.

“This also saves on electricity usage, and long-term wear on the sprinkler heads and pumps,” says Mike Ward. “Agronomists love it too, because if you’re not over watering you avoid the build-up of disease, etc. I can run multiple programmes, turn individual heads on and off on different parts of the course, and turn individual programmes on and off as required while leaving others running – the whole system’s extremely flexible.”

As a newcomer to John Deere’s irrigation technology, director Paul Muddel of Irrigation Services has also been impressed by the system’s performance. “The sprinklers give a good throw and flow of water, it’s very easy to set and adjust the arcs without taking the insert out of the sprinkler housing, and access for general maintenance and service is very straightforward. With their willingness to listen and take on board suggestions, John Deere’s record of constant research and development and quality back-up makes for a good irrigation package all round.”

July 2009