Toro chosen for SSSI irrigation intricacies at West Sussex Golf Club

The background

Selecting and installing the right irrigation network is a complicated process when the site is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Set on the rare landscape of Lowland Heath where extensive heather, Scots Pine and Birch grows, West Sussex Golf Club had very clear expectations of what it wanted for both the course and its members. The new system also had to meet the specific requirements of Natural England in their approval of the required work.

The brief

The project required an advanced level of diligence and care. This is because a large part of the course is set within a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest and therefore Natural England insisted that water should not be sprayed or allowed to leach on to the heather areas, falling only on the fine grass fairways.

The site was fairly dry and lacked hydration from any natural water supply, so it needed an efficient and sustainable irrigation system for the club. Water throw had to be carefully calculated so a three-row system was installed on the fairways instead of a two-row alternative. This provided greater accuracy and efficiency. Pipes couldn’t simply be installed in abundance, it had to be planned with precision and out of respect for the natural surroundings.

The club, led by the Green Committee, undertook a thorough process to find the right products to replace the old system which at 40 years old didn’t cover the fairways. After a series of meetings, presentations and sourcing references from other clubs, the board at West Sussex opted to use the market-leading equipment offered by Toro.

The results

The system was designed by irrigation consultants, Irritech Limited, who used their expertise in understanding the resident natural flora and fauna to handle the challenges of the course.

With Toro chosen and the design finalised, Irritech Limited worked alongside West Sussex Golf Club to appoint a contractor to handle the installation of the system. This was handled by Lancashire-based, Reesink-approved contractor, LS Systems, starting in October 2020 and finishing in May 2021.

Despite some weather days presenting challenging conditions with heavy winter rainfall and spring frosts, the installation was  completed during weekdays, avoiding the club’s busy weekend periods. An unscheduled government-enforced winter lockdown also presented additional quiet spells, slowing progress.

The installation included over 27,000m of pipe, 27,000m of cable, 958 sprinklers and the state-of-the-art Lynx Smart Module; the brain of the system. Infinity sprinklers were used on the fairways, greens and approaches as well as the larger tees. T5s and T7s were used on the smaller tees.

The conclusion

When asked about the impact the new system has had on the club, course manager Kerr Rowan is resoundingly positive: “It has the precision we need to tailor the setup to suit the varying areas of the course. We can spot-target areas that need it, and when we do water, we water less so the water goes exactly where we want it. This makes a significant cost-saving to the club.”

“We appreciate the speed, responsiveness and ease of the entire system. With the Lynx app on my phone, I’m able to turn on tailored irrigation as and when we need it, something which gives us ultimate control and flexibility.”