The golf industry is constantly evolving, and when we see a new trend about to emerge, we like to be there first to understand how the panorama might change soon.
When we recently spoke with Daniel Martin, 2023 winner of the Toro Young Student Greenkeeper of the Year Award, about the new opportunities unlocked by winning, we also heard about his new Irrigation Manager role and were eager to learn more about this relatively new role – not just for Daniel but the industry too.
Certainly, a more common job role for American golf courses, the job description in general involves being responsible for the operation and maintenance of the golf course irrigation system to optimise playing conditions through correct water management. Quite often experience is specific to a certain irrigation system and always includes specifics such as programming the central control system and irrigation controllers, troubleshooting and correcting electrical faults that may occur in the control systems and pump stations, and recording and logging water usage and pump station performance.
So how does this compare to Daniel’s role at the London Golf Club? Daniel is expected to manage the club’s extensive PVC system and associated infrastructure including eight lakes feeding through the central irrigation system, one main reservoir and two loops of 18 holes, the pump house and IT system. He is responsible for repairs, head levelling, nozzle replacement, electrical testing, and repairs to cabling and satellite boxes, rotor repairs and replacement, system modifications and improvements, and keeping a daily log of all work carried out.
Providing more detail, Daniel says: “The system is reaching the end of its lifespan. It’s an old PVC-based and satellite-based system, which brings up the number of issues and breaks we have throughout the year. My role is to keep it working well and reliably while eventually getting the club in the position to renovate or replace the system.
“When we asked about the benefits Irrigation Managers can bring to golf clubs, Daniel replied: “I think it depends on the club. One that is in the position to have an Irrigation Manager as a dedicated role is either doing quite well financially or in need of a specific value from this job.”
According to Daniel, while his main role is to maintain an ageing irrigation system and prevent potential breaks, managers handling a newer system might have different day-to-day priorities. For instance, they will likely be doing more daily moisture testing and refining of the irrigation cycle – with more fine management of the moisture level of the course surfaces.
While the role keeps Daniel busy full-time, we were interested to hear, in many scenarios, that might not always be the case in the UK. He says: “To be entirely honest, I don’t think the average UK club needs one. If you’ve got a relatively modern, technologically advanced system and you’re not pushing to become a top one percent club in terms of turf quality, just having someone who’s had good training and is competent in operating the irrigation system should be enough for most courses.”
However, that could change, says Daniel. “If you look at what’s happening in France, for example, they’ve already turned to the point where some regions are not allowed to irrigate during the day and face restrictions on their use of mains water. If this happens in the UK, it will put pressure on the clubs, increasing the scarcity and value of water. At that point, ensuring efficient water management will become more of a priority for everyone and will need proper dedicated resource management.”
He concludes: “As of 2023 61 percent of golf clubs rely on mains water for their irrigation needs. If that access becomes restricted or is charged to the club, suddenly, the cost of having an Irrigation Manager in your greenkeeping team becomes much easier to justify – compared to the current situation where water is relatively easy and cheap to access.”
Reesink supports Toro irrigation customers with irrigation training, provided by Toro trained engineers, covering everything from sprinklers to controllers. You can discover the latest news and trends on irrigation and learn how Reesink can help you find the right water management system for your needs here. And if you’re interested in seeing what fantastic new opportunities can arise for you by being involved with the Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year Award, here’s everything you need to know about the 2025 awards.
