The new Toro irrigation system at Royal St David’s has brought almost immediate changes and noticeable results to the traditional links course on the west coast of North Wales.
The project involving Toro, Reesink Hydro-Scapes, Adrian Mortram Associates and Green Irrigation has increased membership, income and ranking for the club.
Links Manager Rhys Butler says: “The goal was to irrigate just the right amount to keep the grass alive, we wanted to promote the fast-running links game, without overwatering and having soft surfaces.
“We suffered a series of dry springs and droughts, and the fairways especially were struggling for recovery. We needed a system that could give us control of the moisture on all areas to keep good grass coverage and consistency of playing surfaces even in times of drought.”
With an incredible 46 years of service from the club’s previous Toro system, Rhys was impressed with Toro’s performance and longevity and how it had met the course’s needs. He was also impressed with the service from Reesink Hydro-Scapes, which meant he didn’t look anywhere else when the time came to proceed with the full upgrade.
The project commenced in the spring of 2022 and completed in early November of the same year. All new mains and controls were required as was full fairway irrigation for the first time.
The club chose the Flex series of sprinklers on greens and fairways, T5 Rapidsets sprinklers on all tee surfaces and 590GF sprinklers for newly installed walkways and the entire system is controlled using Toro’s Lynx Control System with LSM technology.
Robert Jackson, Division Manager for Reesink Hydro-Scapes, explains how the system has provided Rhys and his team with to-the-second runtime accuracy across all newly installed stations via either the central controller or remotely using Toro’s smart app.
He says, “Using the app in the field gave a level of flexibility and control to be able to water dry spots, water in wetting agents and be minimalistic with water application as is natural for a links course. Water is now used wisely, as and when it is needed.”
At conception of the installation the grass was visibly starting to strain and as each hole was turned on the difference was almost immediately noticeable to members thanks to the new irrigation system accuracy and targeted watering.
The result is healthy turfgrasses and maximised efficiency of resources, to which Rhys adds: “The project was a resounding success and has transformed Royal St David’s Golf Club: membership has increased, visitor income has doubled, and our rankings have improved. This is because the irrigation system has given us moisture control on the golf course to produce great playing surfaces.”
