Pacific Irrigation Consultants

Last week we were on site at the historic Niakwa Country Club in Winnipeg, Manitoba designed by Canadian Architect Stanley Thompson. The advance planning process is well under way for a complete irrigation system and pumping system upgrade. Pacific Irrigation Consultants is proud to be working with Niakwa Country Club.

The historic Castlegar Golf Club, located in Southern B.C. has retained Pacific Irrigation Consultants to prepare an Irrigation System Master Plan Design for the property.

The championship course is nestled in the Selkirk Mountains overlooking the mighty Columbia River. Treelined fairways with gentle elevation changes and mountain backdrops make this an outstanding site.

Although the weather this spring has been difficult, the new wall-to-wall coverage Toro irrigation system installation at the Picture Butte Golf Course in Southern Alberta is moving along nicely.

Soil conditions are perfect for trenching which allows for easier cleanup and compaction over the large diameter HDPE pipe. Accurate sprinkler head staking and layout is critical to the success of the project.

The warmer spring weather has finally arrived (a few weeks late) in the Calgary area. That means the golf construction crews are also back on site at the Bearspaw Country Club to complete the improvements to the 5th green & pond, and new tees on the 3rd hole.

Pacific Irrigation is assisting the golf club with the upgraded irrigation design and layout.

You know spring is here in Southern Alberta when it’s time to get back on site at the Picture Butte Golf Club to continue more irrigation system layout prior to construction.

The course will quickly green up with some daytime heat and water - although they received 2” of snow today.

We are looking forward to completing this wall-to-wall 1,000 plus sprinkler head project by early June (weather permitting) for another great client.

The new 18 hole irrigation system installation at the Picture Butte Golf Club in Southern Alberta is moving along nicely. Grassroots Landscaping & Irrigation is now focusing on installing the small diameter 2" HDPE pipe and decoder cables for the sprinkler heads utilizing a vibratory plow machine. The advantage of using a vibratory plow is it minimizes the damage to the existing turfgrass and course restoration work.

Just before the golf club winterizes the irrigation pumping system, Grassroots was able to flush and test the new Toro Infinity sprinkler heads and related irrigation system components - which look great.

For those of you that don't live in Southern Alberta, those intimidating looking clouds in the sky are known as a "Chinook Arch" - which forms when warm, dry westerly winds flow over the Rocky Mountains to create a wave-like cloud formation. On Friday it was 19C / 66 degrees in Picture Butte which is warm for the end of October.

The initial irrigation system installation work at the Picture Butte Golf Club in Southern Alberta is progressing nicely thanks to the nice fall weather. Grassroots Landscaping & Irrigation has now completed the first major section of HDPE main line pipe, isolation valves, communication cables & associated grounding components.

The photo below shows them installing one of the many 8' long copper ground rods using a motorized device to vibrate the rods into the ground. Then they are tested for resistance to ground to insure they meet spec in the clay soil - which they did.

Next week they are starting to install the sprinkler heads, small diameter HDPE pipe and control wire. In preparation for that work, the sprinkler head locations are carefully staked for the green complex, tees, fairways & roughs by Pacific Irrigation Consultants & the assistant golf course superintendent following the irrigation plans.

At the Picture Butte GC we are replacing the old irrigation system that was installed when the original 18 hole golf course was built in the mid 1980s. Irrigation technology has come along way in the last 40 years. Back then pop-up sprinkler heads utilized brass agricultural impact sprinklers installed in heavy bronze or cast iron bodies for turf applications, which were operated in groups of 2, 3 or 4 sprinklers by a 1-1/2" or 2" 24V control valve in the ground.

As shown below, these first generation sprinkler heads (manufactured by Royal Coach / Buckner) were heavy, awkward to repair & inefficient - but they lasted for almost 40 years in the field which is impressive. List price for this sprinkler head in 1985 was around 60.00.

The new sprinkler heads are manufactured with an injection-molded ABS (plastic) body, with plastic & stainless steel drive assemblies. The Toro Infinity bodies have room within the body for the smart module and wire connections to protect them from the elements in the ground. List price in 2025 is around 600.00.

Each sprinkler head is operated individually via a computer program with a Smart Module in the sprinkler head. A Toro Smart Module is a component in a two-wire irrigation system that uses two wires to communicate commands and feedback between a central hub (computer) and individual sprinkler modules. The Smart Module, located inside the sprinkler, receives commands for watering schedules, and sends back diagnostic information like its operational status. This two-way communication allows for precision watering, remote diagnostics, and easy system management. The irrigation system can also be operated with a iPhone or iPad in the field via an app.

Here's a link to a video from the Antique Sprinklers YouTube page that describes the same exact Royal Coach / Buckner sprinkler heads we are replacing at Picture Butte.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDcTDSvP_4M&t=402s

Work has now started at the Picture Butte Golf Club just north of Lethbridge, Alberta. The first section of new HDPE main line pipe, wire & isolation valves are being installed using a trencher (rather than a backhoe) due to the great soil conditions.

It’s not often we see a trencher being used for the smaller diameter pipe (3” to 8”), it certainly makes for a tidy installation. The 2” pipe for tees, greens & fairways will be installed with a vibratory plow which should also work well in these soil conditions.

Last week we wrapped up the new 18 hole irrigation and pumping system installation at the City of Red Deer owned River Bend Golf Course in Red Deer, Alberta. In an earlier post we highlighted the installation of the prefabricated pumping system and enclosure from MCI Flowtronex in Dallas, Texas. Here are a few shots of the finished product.

Special thanks to Alpine Irrigation and CTC Golf who did a great job at River Bend, which was completed on time and on budget. Wade Horrocks from Ground3 Architects also did a great job as Project Manager.