Ten Things Every Golfer Should Know
About Water Use On Golf Courses
The proper use of an irrigation system is both an art and a science.
BY CHRIS HARTWIGER
Rainfall varies greatly across the United States, but the availability of water and its regulation are important topics in all parts
of the country.
D
id you know that a turfgrass plant
is 80 to 85 percent water by
weight? Did you know water is
continuously being lost through its
leaves and absorbed by its root
system? Keeping water at the proper
balance within the plant is one of the
core functions of a golf course super-
intendent, who relies on an irrigation
system and rainfall to meet the water
requirements of turf. Making the
decision about where, when, and how
much water to apply embodies both
the art and science of turfgrass
management. This article sheds light
on the important topic of water by
explaining 10 things every golfer
should know about golf’s use of Years of drought have left massive reservoirs far below full capacity in some parts
water. of the U.S.
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1. Irrigation is applied for plant
health, not necessarily optimum
color.
There is no question that the appear-
ance of a golf course is part of golf’s
appeal. Whether a course is green
space in a city or located along an
ocean, every course is unique and
beautiful in its own way. Fortunately,
turfgrass species have the ability to
provide quality playing surfaces under
a variety of soil moisture levels. How-
ever, irrigation is still required at times
to support healthy turf growth and
performance. This requires a proficient
understanding of how and when to use
an irrigation system. With limited water
In areas with high rainfall, storage ponds are generally small and can be depleted resources in most parts of the country,
quickly when rainfall stops or water regulations are implemented. This is why golf combined with golf being considered
facilities in these parts of the country can go from plenty of water to not enough more enjoyable when played on dry,
very quickly. firm ground, the best use of an irriga-
tion system is to supplement natural
rainfall, not replace it. Supplemental
irrigation should be applied to promote
healthy turf that can tolerate stress
and provide a desired playing surface.
Irrigating to attain a desired color is not
recommended and wastes valuable
water. Furthermore, excessive irrigation
can lead to problems for turf, including
increased pest pressure, reduced
stress tolerance, additional expenses,
and poor playing conditions.
2. Turf stress can necessitate
changes in irrigation practices.
Turfgrasses on golf courses are
constantly subject to environmental
Although irrigation systems are highly engineered and sophisticated, their stress, including drought, flooding,
distribution of water is not perfect. diseases, pests, and temperature
extremes. Simply considering the
range in temperatures many turf-
grasses can endure exhibits the
extraordinary ability of turf to tolerate
environmental stress.
Unfortunately, turfgrass stress does
not stop with the environment. Golfers
may play tens of thousands of rounds
on a given golf course every year, and
this contributes a significant amount of
traffic stress through golf cart and foot
traffic. Soils often become compacted
in high-traffic areas. This is common
for tee and green complexes and entry
or exit points from cart paths adjacent
Hand watering is a valuable conservation technique because water can be applied to landing areas. Furthermore, regular
only where it is needed without overwatering other areas that already have ample maintenance can add additional traffic
soil moisture. and mechanical stress to further
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Page 2
exacerbate the problem in areas
already suffering from soil compaction.
When soils become compacted, water
infiltration into the soil is compromised;
therefore, additional irrigation may be
needed to reach an adequate level of
plant-available water in the soil.
Finally, turfgrass stress can occur
in the form of pests that may compete
with turfgrass roots for soil moisture or
damage roots so that the plant’s ability
to take up water is compromised.
Common examples include competition
from tree roots and root-feeding pests,
such as nematodes, both of which
compromise the ability of turfgrass
roots to absorb water. Consequently,
additional irrigation water may be
needed to mitigate stress caused
by these factors.
3. Soil type influences watering
practices.
Different soils have different water-
holding capacities. A sandy soil con-
tains individual soil particles of larger
size and will hold less water than a
fine-textured clay soil. Therefore, turf
grown on a sandy soil requires water
more frequently than turf grown on
Soil moisture sensors provide golf course superintendents with real-time soil
finer-textured soils. Superintendents
moisture status and are an affordable resource-conservation tool.
base irrigation schedules, in part, on
soil type(s) present on the golf course.
Often, there are multiple soil types on
a golf course, so irrigation practices
must be adjusted accordingly.
4. Aeration and soil cultivation are
not performed to ruin your game,
but to decrease runoff and improve
water infiltration into soil.
Superintendents determine when to
irrigate and how much water to apply.
However, even with a well-designed
irrigation system, site-specific condi-
tions, such as compacted soils, can
interfere with irrigation effectiveness.
When a soil is compacted, the rate at
which water moves into the soil, known
as the infiltration rate, is reduced.
Water that is unable to enter the soil
due to a reduced infiltration rate may
instead be lost as surface water runoff.
This creates small, isolated areas of
overly dry, stressed turf because the
soil contains an insufficient amount of
water for turf roots. Water that is lost Aeration is an important water-conservation technique because it helps prevent
as surface runoff typically collects in the loss of surface water as runoff.
©2014 by United States Golf Association. All rights reserved. Green Section Record Vol. 52 (6)
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Repeated cart traffic compacts soil and wears down turf. Instead of being taken up by the soil, irrigation and rain are more
likely to be lost as surface water runoff, further reducing turfgrass quality.
low-lying areas, which causes turf and overcome soil compaction, improve 5. All water is not equal and
soils in these areas to be too wet. soil structure, and encourage water turfgrass can be managed with
Fairways with both overly wet and infiltration. Although aeration may lower-quality water.
overly dry areas make for poor playing create short-term disruption to the It is easy to assume that all irrigation
surfaces. playing surface, it is a resource water applied to any given golf course
Aeration, the practice of poking conservation practice that helps is of the same quality and equal benefit
holes into the soil with either solid or keep irrigation water on intended to turf. This is not true. Sometimes
hollow tines, is an effective method to areas. irrigation water contains components
such as sodium, bicarbonates, and/or
soluble salts at levels that can accumu-
late in the soil over time. When these
components accumulate to problematic
levels in the soil, they become harmful
to turf. Negating the harmful effects
of these compounds may require the
use of natural amendments, such as
gypsum, and/or flushing the rootzone
with water to leach compounds deeper
in the soil and below the root system.
Alternatively, scientists have
discovered that turfgrass and soil can
be great filters of not only salts, sodium
and bicarbonates, but other compounds
such as heavy metals. Thus, turfgrass
and soil can act to purify water before
it reaches an aquifer or groundwater
source. This indicates that turfgrass
Water that is high in salinity can damage soil and turf. The green grass pictured systems are well suited to receive
here is a more salt-tolerant turfgrass species called seashore paspalum. treated wastewater, or effluent, from
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local water treatment plants for 7. Different grass types have pivotal role in maintaining turf that
irrigation use. different water requirements. meets golfer expectations while
There are numerous cool-season conserving water.
6. Water applied to a golf course is and warm-season grass species used Despite incredible sophistication,
not necessarily drinking water from on golf courses throughout the U.S. no irrigation system distributes water
a municipal water supply. and world. Although they can all be perfectly, nor can it account for all
There are numerous potential managed to provide quality playing surface undulations, playing area
sources of irrigation water for golf surfaces, the inputs they require to contours, or localized soil conditions.
courses. Consequently, only a small remain healthy vary by species. Some For this reason, hand watering is
percentage of golf facilities use drinking turfgrass species have better internal sometimes necessary to supplement
water from municipal water sources. mechanisms to tolerate or avoid drought areas that are inadequately irrigated.
Below are several of the most common stress than others. Therefore, whenever Hand watering is actually a sound
sources of irrigation water: there are different turfgrass species on resource conservation strategy. Small
● Effluent, i.e., wastewater — Efflu- a golf course, golfers may notice the amounts of hand watering in areas
ent water comes from a wastewater superintendent watering one part of the without adequate irrigation coverage
treatment plant. Effluent water course more frequently than another. can prevent overwatering that is likely
receives several levels of treat- to occur if the automated irrigation
ment, but it does not meet the 8. Irrigation systems are highly system is relied upon as the sole
standards for drinking water. sophisticated and improving. source of irrigation.
● Runoff captured on site — In A typical golf course irrigation Precision turf management will
areas with high rainfall amounts, system is likely to have in excess of further aid water conservation efforts.
ponds or other reservoirs on golf 1,000 irrigation heads with precisely Precision turf management incorpo-
courses can capture significant engineered nozzles to maximize the rates the use of soil moisture sensors
amounts of surface runoff that can uniformity of water distribution, hun- that are placed strategically throughout
be used to irrigate turf. dreds of miles of in-ground wiring, a the golf course. In-ground, wireless
● Streams and ponds recharged vast network of underground pipes, a soil sensors provide superintendents
with groundwater — Streams and powerful pumping station, and a with real-time information regarding
ponds that are recharged naturally sophisticated computerized control the amount of plant-available moisture
with groundwater are sometimes system that enables superintendents in the soil.
used as irrigation sources. to control when, where, and how much
● Groundwater — Many golf facilities water is applied. Irrigation systems 9. Water use is an issue in all parts
have wells that pump water into require regular maintenance to ensure of the country.
ponds or streams for irrigating the they function as intended. A properly The amount of rainfall across the
course. functioning irrigation system plays a United States ranges from more than
Golf courses are well suited to use reclaimed water. Not only
is the water used for plant growth, but the turfgrass, thatch
Powerful pumping stations are kept behind the scenes, but layer, and soil all serve to purify the water before it enters an
they play a vital role in delivering water to golf course turf. aquifer or groundwater source.
©2014 by United States Golf Association. All rights reserved. Green Section Record Vol. 52 (6)
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Page 5
prevent volatilization, a change from
a solid to a gas, of some fertilizer
components.
As mentioned earlier, the presence
of sodium, bicarbonates, and/or soluble
salts in irrigation water may require
periodic flushing of the soil to leach
these compounds from the rootzone.
Rainfall can aid greatly in this process,
but sometimes not enough rain moves
through the soil to complete the flush-
ing process; therefore, additional water
must be added by the irrigation system
to complete the process.
CONCLUSION
The USGA has been and continues to
be committed to promoting the conser-
vation of important resources, such as
Grass is 80 to 85 percent water by weight. Irrigation systems are critical to water, through research, education,
replenishing soil moisture when rainfall isn’t sufficient so that turf remains healthy and outreach. Currently, the USGA
enough to withstand the daily stresses and rigors faced on a golf course. Green Section is supporting research
efforts to develop grasses that require
60 inches per year in parts of the golf facility sometimes irrigate after it less water while maintaining accept-
Southeast to only a few inches per rains? Did our superintendent forget to able playing conditions. Water is a
year in the West. However, concerns turn off the sprinklers?” Managing a precious resource, and the USGA is
about water use are not limited to golf course is a year-round effort that working hard to conserve it. For more
areas that receive less rainfall. requires the application of inputs such information on this very important
Broadly speaking, regions east of as fertilizer to help the turfgrass grow issue, we encourage you to visit our
the Mississippi River receive ample and plant protectants to ward off harm- Golf’s Use of Water Resource Center.
rainfall on average, but quite often ful diseases or insects. When certain
storage capacity of water is limited. types of fertilizer are applied, they CHRIS HARTWIGER has played golf
When there are a few months of little must be watered in to ensure that through rain, snow, and an occasional
or no rainfall, stored water reserves plant nutrients reach the soil and do irrigation cycle while serving as the
are used rather quickly and it may not move from the intended applica- USGA Green Section’s director of the
become necessary to impose stricter tion site. Further, light irrigation can Course Consulting Service.
regulations on water use. In regions
southwest of the Mississippi River,
rainfall levels are much lower than
those observed in the East; however,
water storage capacity is typically
greater. States in the Southwest
intensely monitor and regulate water
use due to the inability of infrequent
precipitation events to recharge
storage reservoirs. Many golf facilities
in these areas have limitations on the
amount of water they are allowed to
apply each year. Furthermore, golf
course water use is regulated by a
variety of local, state, and federal
guidelines.
10. Sometimes irrigation is applied
when it is raining or when there is
already adequate soil moisture.
Occasionally, USGA agronomists Golf course superintendents have the ability to create an almost unlimited number
are asked by golfers, “Why does our of irrigation programs from one central computer.
©2014 by United States Golf Association. All rights reserved. Green Section Record Vol. 52 (6)
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Page 6
