"Welcome Back" Wind

The forecast was correct and the wind is intense this morning.  The ACC team play match will be a challenge with these conditions.  As of 9 a.m. the course has sustained minimal damage with minor tree debris/small branches having been the only casualties.





Course Photos January 2012













Spring 2012 Flowers











Moisture- finally.... 2011 Water Use

This past Saturday and the following Monday we received some much needed natural irrigation.  The rain total of .71 inches for the two separate events is the first moisture seen in the month of January.  It has been over 30 days since the last measurable precipitation event in early December.  2011 Rainfall totals are lower than the average for the region and our window for "winter/spring" rain is diminishing by the week.

On a positive note, our extraction/water usage total for the year of 2011 was 385 acre foot on 90.2 acres of turfgrass.  That is a decrease of 11 acre foot of water from the previous year and continues the trend of water savings by Greenway Golf at Arrowhead Country Club.



Main Line Leak

We recently repaired a leak in the 6" mainline in front of #13 tee.  The damage to the pipe was caused by the wear of a rock in contact with the pipe.  Typical practice is to backfill any/all pipe with rock free material to prevent this phenomenon from occurring.  This leak is the second leak of it's kind in the past month.  A similar repair was made on the 4" mainline on the left side of #2 fairway earlier in the month.  


The PVC pipe that carries water throughout the course was installed in 1978.  It has held up quite well, but it's wear is beginning to show with an age of 33 years.   The typical life expectancy of an irrigation piping system is 10-30 years based on information provided by the ASGCA.



Drainage Solution #3 Cart Path

The topography surrounding the cart path behind #11 green that transports golfers from Hole #2 green complex to Hole #3 tee presents a drainage problem.  The cart path sits below the homeowner's property grade and this particular area that holds water is the extreme low point of the path.  To assist in the movement of water from this collection area we installed a NDS 12" square catch basin, which drains to a rock-filled sump several feet off of the cart path.  This solution should alleviate the standing water on the path during routine irrigation cycles and small rain events.


Landscape Irrigation Auditor's Class

This past December I participated in a two-day Landscape Irrigation Auditor seminar hosted by Ewing Irrigation in Irvine, CA.  The event was a nice refresher on techniques and formulas utilized to determine "efficient" watering practices.  Over the past three years, Greenway's efforts and auditing of Arrowhead Country Club's irrigation system has resulted in considerable savings in not only application efficiency and water consumption, but power savings as well.  This past season, we consumed 11 acre foot less water on the property than in 2010.  The 385 acre foot total usage on 90.2 acres of turfgrass is 4.27 acre foot per acre of turf.  That is exceptional in our region based on soil conditions, length of season, and climate. 


Soccer Field at a school in Irvine