Step by step to supreme efficiency in irrigation

Total renovation of sprinkler system

De Palingbeek Golf Club is facing a hefty transformation. Indeed, the 18-hole Ypres open park course, located on the iconic World War I battlefield, will grow into a 27-hole course in the coming years. To support that expansion and at the same time fine-tune the golf course's water management, the club is investing in a complete renovation of the sprinkler system. Dutch company BAS Beregening will prepare the system for the future in several phases.

There is some planning at Golf Club de Palingbeek. After the construction of a new practice area with putting, chipping and bunker green last year, a total of 22 hectares and nine new holes are to be added by 2028. That expansion immediately includes the construction of a new sprinkler pond and the installation of a new green, front green and tee sprinkler system. “The existing sprinkler system was not prepared for such an increase in capacity,” notes head greenkeeper Wim Vanoverberghe. “Moreover, that sprinkling was still controlled manually with an old walkie-talkie. If that device broke down, we had a problem. The expansion was therefore the perfect moment to take the entire sprinkler system in hand.”

From A to Z

The search for a partner who could take on both the renovation of the 35-year-old sprinkler system and the construction of the new installation finally brought Golfclub De Palingbeek to BAS Beregening. They suggested a phased approach for the overall project. “In a first phase, we already provided the new pipes and Toro sprinklers for the practice area,” explains managing director Ronnie van Oosterhout. “For now, these were connected to the existing GTI control system with decoders, but this winter all decoders on the site will be replaced and we will make the switch to the state-of-the-art Toro Lynx control system with unlimited expansion possibilities.” 

Since the main PVC pipe of the existing sprinkler system does not cause many problems for the time being, BAS Beregening then focuses first on the renovation of the sprinklers on the greens and tees. “The impact on the course will be limited,” assures van Oosterhout. “We will simply leave existing pipes in place and new ones will be installed trenchless. In this way, we aim to tackle three to four greens per week, with a green never having to be out of play for more than one day.” In the next phase, the existing PVC main will then eventually be replaced by one in PE. In principle, the installation of a transmission line to the new sprinkler pond will also follow at that time. The installation of a new pump pit and sprinkling on the new holes will be the final piece of the overall project.

Precision leads to savings

However, capacity and operational reliability are not the only reasons why Golf Club De Palingbeek opted for a total renovation. With a current area of some 70 ha and a maximum water consumption of 11,000 m3/year, water conservation and efficiency are also high on the agenda. “The current system contains PVC pipes with o-rings that are interlocked,” says Vanoverberghe. “After 35 years, the risk of leaks in that system is high. Furthermore, the sprinklers around the green all come up at the same time and irrigation is invariably rounded to the minute. That causes uneven water distribution on the green and more consumption than strictly necessary.”

Thanks to the combination of a new and leak-free pipe network, new control cables, new Toro sprinklers and the Toro Lynx LAC control system with single-head control, Golfclub De Palingbeek will fortunately be able to use the available water much more efficiently in the future. “Not only can all sprinkler heads be controlled separately with this system, but you can also determine very precisely how long sprinkling is required,” says Peter Van Beers, calculator at BAS Beregening. “Yes, even if only a few seconds are involved. That degree of precision quickly leads to significant savings on a golf course like De Palingbeek.”