Turf Talk
Highland Pacific has a very good irrigation system, but the electrical control component has been slowly failing. When it was installed between 2006 and 2010, it was considered a top-of-the-line decoder operating system. Like buying a top-of-the-line automobile, as we all know, nothing is perfect.
The maintenance team has been doing their best to keep it running smoothly. This year, we presented our situation to the Board of Directors and received approval to upgrade the electronic operating system. We are now converting the system to a Rain Bird IC Series, a project that will take approximately 4–5 years to complete.
We are starting on Pacific holes #4 and #5. This area was chosen because it’s what we refer to as a “clean” portion of the course, and it allows us to troubleshoot the installation more easily as we go.
The crew photos were taken on Pacific #5 on January 6–7—some of the wettest days so far this winter. During that time, the team dug up approximately 40 sprinklers to attach the new modules and to raise and level them. The wiring photos show the new boxes being built to replace the decoders. These will be installed in standard valve boxes throughout the fairways and rough, with additional drainage added where needed to ensure the installation goes as planned.
Thank you to the team pictured here, from left to right:
- Bob Flood, Crew Foreman
- David Rowat, Plant Health Specialist
- Josh Burke, Irrigation Technician
- Craig William, Master Labourer
- Sean Valikoski, Assistant Superintendent
Not pictured—but a big part of this project—are Jack Valikoski (Master Labourer), Dave McKellar (Mechanic and master of all things—we rely on him for box construction and his many words of advice), and Geoff Sheffield (Course Superintendent and the original installer of the system).
Keep an eye out for this team as they begin Pacific #4 next week.
