Ill-Timed Irrigation Break

Around 3:30 last Friday afternoon, we found a large irrigation break behind the green on #3 Red Feather. The break was on an 8" mainline which forced us to shut down the pump station and left us without the ability to water Red Feather and Black Bird until the problem could get fixed.

The first real issue this posed was it prevented us from hand watering and syringing the course on what was a very hot and dry afternoon. The second issue we encountered was that repair parts of this size are not easy to find on short notice, especially on a Friday afternoon. For a while, there was a chance that we were going to have to overnight the parts in which would have rendered us waterless through Saturday afternoon.

The effects of that particular scenario on the golf course would have been catastrophic. We would have experienced wide spread turf loss. We were extremely fortunate that the renovation contractor, Duininck Golf, was on site. They had the equipment, manpower, and the ability to access the parts we needed.

Excavation of the break began around 5:00 p.m. The area we were digging in was full of irrigation and power wires making the dig more tedious. Once exposed, removal of the broken parts went fairly quickly and assembly of the new parts began. When working with large pipe and iron fittings, assembly and installation processes are labor-intensive and time-consuming. It was around 1:00 a.m. when the thrust blocks were installed and back-filling could start. By 3 a.m., we finally had the irrigation system fully charged and watering.

A normal irrigation cycle takes between 8-9 hours and begins at 9:00 p.m. On Saturday, morning we had to try and get what we could watered in 4.5 hours. I had to prioritize which areas needed water, so I decreased the water on Gray Hawk as that is the course that will be shut down in a week for renovation. I also cut the water back in the rough on all 27 holes. This allowed us to get all 27 greens, tees, and fairways watered early Saturday morning.

We made it through fairly well considering the circumstances. The primary issues we experienced were not the result of the shortened water window Friday night and Saturday morning. We were affected the most by the loss of hand watering and syringing capabilities on Friday afternoon. As a result, we have some hot spots on the course but considering what could have happened, we fared well.

Duininck Golf and my assistants Jeff and Nate deserve alot of the credit in helping us get through this. Without the hard work of the Duininck Golf crew, this would not have been fixed in the time frame it did.

In 13 years of working on golf courses, this was, without a doubt, the worst scenario I have experienced. To have a break of this size and loss of water on a day during a summer with historic heat and drought, the results could have been catastrophic. There were moments on Friday evening that I genuinely thought we might lose large portions of the course. Fortunately this wasn't the case.

Although the break is fixed and a major catastrophe was avoided, I can't help but be a bit dejected today. Prior to Friday afternoon, I was extremely pleased with the way the course was handling the weather. It looked good and was playing well. We had successfully planned and managed the course this spring as to avoid the issues we had last year. This event on Friday set us back and I cannot shake that frustration.