From the show floor

Brian Vinchesi

Another Golf Industry Show – where all the new products, industry issues and hot topics were on display for all to see – has come and gone. From an irrigation standpoint, though, it certainly was not very exciting.

Water was a hot topic once again at the conference, with some 23 water-related talks, seminars, panels or presentations. Many of these were presented at the Design and Construction Solutions Center sponsored by the American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA) and the Golf Course Builders Association of America (GCBAA). Pinehurst’s Bob Farren and golf course architect and fellow GCI columnist Jeff Bauer discussed “More Heads, Less Water? Or Fewer Heads, Lower Budget?” This presentation centered on Pinehurst No. 2’s renovation and conversion to single-row irrigation.

There were two very interesting panel discussions regarding water presented by GCSAA. On Monday, “Got Water? Water availability, reductions and efficiency in the golf industry” was moderated by Greg Lyman; GCSAA’s director of environmental programs, and discussed the availability aspects of water for golf. The session included an update on last fall’s USGA’s Water Summit and speakers from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and the Southern Nevada Water Authority who discussed their golf course water-use policies. It concluded with a presentation from Toro on how technology can reduce water use. The discussion’s basic conclusion: since all water issues are local, the solution must be local. So GCSAA members need to get involved locally to ensure they will have water.

On Tuesday, “Politics of Water: Golf industry engagement leads to practical public policy” looked at the regulatory side. These presentations and panel featured speakers from Texas, Conn. and Southern Calif. about how their associations got involved and shaped and/or changed regulations that were affecting golf course water use in their region or state. These presentations should be viewable on the GCSAA website.

On the show floor, both Rain Bird and Toro prominently displayed soil sensing, which is becoming popular with superintendents. Along with interactive booth displays, several talks focused on soil sensing’s benefits.

The biggest irrigation news was Hunter’s unveiling of its new golf course irrigation products. This includes what is now a complete line of Totally Top Serviceable valve-in-head sprinklers and the addition of a part/full sprinkler in one which is now the industry norm. Hunter introduced their new Pilot control system, which includes completely new central control software on a new platform and its associated field controller or decoder system. The maximum count on the new controller is 80 stations. It seems station count keeps growing with every new manufacturer’s controller introduction. As part of the product roll out, Hunter has enhanced its distribution network to sell and service its golf products.

Not exactly irrigation related, but generating buzz was the concept of ultrasonic algae control. These ultrasonic sound waves vibrate through the water, causing the vacuoles inside the algae cells to resonate and break, which over time damages the algae and causes it to die. If you are having trouble managing your irrigation or other ponds, this might be something to try.

While 2013 GIS was nothing special from an irrigation standpoint, it did reiterate water’s importance to the industry and that water issues are not going away.