Druids Glen
Golf Course
Nestled in 360 acres of countryside between the Wicklow Mountains and the Irish Sea near Dublin lies a golfing sanctuary called Druids Glen. One of two 18-hole championship courses was significantly reshaped and extended and as a result, the irrigation system needed to deliver precise and efficient coverage. Rain Bird provided the ideal solution.
Introduction
Considered to be one of Europe’s finest, most challenging golf courses, Druids Glen is one of two championship courses at the Druids Glen Hotel and Golf Resort on Ireland’s east coast.
The previous irrigation system had not been upgraded since being installed in 1995, and its leaking PVC pipes and old pumps didn’t meet modern-day standards.
And with new updates on the way, the course manager and resort owners made the decision to to consider a new golf course irrigation to maintain the course in a pristine condition, be efficient and easy to operate.
Challenge : Replace an original, outdated irrigation system and provide coverage for a redesigned course.
This inland parkland course was overdue for a makeover to bring it up to modern tournament standards for the elite golfer—potentially for a future Open—yet it still needed to be an enjoyable experience for everyday golfers. Golf course architects reimagined and reshaped the course to create a more interesting and dramatic aesthetic that would be more visually attractive, open, and appealing. Twenty greens were reshaped, tiered, and extended with new tee boxes and repositioned bunkers.
Solution: An irrigation system for establishing new turf and providing easy ongoing course maintenance.
The decision to choose a Rain Bird® IC System™with CirrusPRO™ Central Control software was informed by the experiences of course manager Jonathan Bradshaw’s peers and feedback gained from Irish courses currently operating Rain Bird systems.
A brand-new system design included double- and triple-row coverage on fairways with full and part circle Rain Bird 752 Series rotors installed across the course, plus isolation valves to allow irrigation for a specific green or fairway to be shut off if needed.
The course manager can be in the office working while CirrusPRO is fully operational in the background. Whether using a mobile phone, tablet, or PC, the course manager and greenkeeping team have access to the full central control software that provides instant control and reliability.
Financially, the long-term benefit is in the time saved — many hours were previously spent running and maintaining the old and inefficient system. A greater area of maintained turf is now being irrigated, and the real-time interface alerts the team immediately if anything isn’t working properly.
After a 17-month renovation and enhancement project, the restored course reopened for play in June 2023.
Testimonial
“What’s so great is the real-time interface and the control it brings—it’s extremely easy to use and the new IC system is dependable, giving us everything Rain Bird promised it could.“
-Jonathan Bradshaw
Course Manager
Druids Glen Golf Course
Continue Reading
Maridoe Golf Club
The team at the acclaimed Dallas-area club have relied on their Rain Bird® irrigation system for 10 years now. How has it performed and what did their recent upgrade to CirrusPRO™ add to the mix? Read on and find out.
North Oaks Golf Club
In 2022, North Oaks Golf Club — one of the last designs by the great Canadian architect Stanley Thompson — was ready for a total irrigation makeover just as John Cameron returned to become superintendent. The club was committed to a new system and largely left it to Cameron to sort out which system and pump station technology would be best for their 70-year-old course. In the end, the Minnesota club went with Cameron’s recommendation and installed the Rain Bird® CirrusPRO™ system and a Rain Bird pump station. Why? It all came down to quality rotors, simple programming, seamless integration, and the ability to deliver consistently great conditions.
