Identifying Irrigation System Needs for a Championship Future

Prairie Dunes had hosted a slew of important championships in the past but, when he arrived in 2022, superintendent Cory Griess knew infrastructure was the only potential roadblock. “Our goal was to get another big tournament back,” said Griess. “We looked at infrastructure issues, and irrigation was at the top of the list. The front nine was 30 years old and the back was 20 years old. It was all PVC pipe, and the spacing and head coverage weren’t great. We needed to get it into this era and take advantage of modern capabilities.” Additionally, they knew they’d need a bigger, better retention pond for the future.

The membership agreed to move forward, and Griess and his team made a plan from there. “It was a very positive process,” he said. “Water is pretty crucial in our area so they (members) were fired up to do it. We worked with Brian Keighin, who’s a phenomenal irrigation designer/consultant. He’s a guy that can walk into a board room and really tell the story.”

Griess had worked previously with Rain Bird and other systems—both new and old. “I was familiar with the Rain Bird IC system and I knew it could deliver. At the time, CirrusPRO was new to the Midwest but when you hear contractors and architects saying, ‘We’re very comfortable with this,’ it makes a big difference.”

Brian Freeman of regional distributor TurfWerks says flat out that Rain Bird is the best product out there. Why? “A big reason is the Rain Bird IC system,” said Freeman. “Their IC system is very different from the decoder system offered by others. Those can fail prematurely and they’re very susceptible to lightning and power surges. They’re hard to fix. In the last 15 years or so, the Rain Bird IC System™ has really become the standard. Most of the top courses in the world have gone that route.”

Software is a huge differentiator. “The CirrusPRO™ release was a big upgrade and a big factor in Cory’s decision,” said Freeman. “Having your Central Control on your phone or iPad at your fingertips all the time makes the operations, control, and management of the system so much easier. You can give anyone on your team control from anywhere. You have the ability to see all your heads and location on the course. It’s really invaluable.”

For Griess, service and relationships were the biggest drivers in choosing Rain Bird. “We knew Rain Bird and TurfWerks were the right choice. We knew they could deliver.”

Selecting a Proven Partner With Modern Control Technology

Griess and the club used livestreams to provide updates to the members. “We initially had meetings with the board and committees to move it forward but then used videos and town hall meetings to provide updates and do video livestreams to members. Those meetings were great, and we had some terrific engagement from members.”

Water savings and other topics were important considerations for the membership, but they were really intrigued by the idea of not having boxes littering the course. “It was one of those things. Water savings? Yes. But getting rid of the boxes? That was awesome.”

Another thing that was appealing to the club: doing more with less water. “Brian Keighin showed us what Rain Bird can do, and how to get tighter spacing between heads to combat the wind,” said Griess. “Then they realized we wouldn’t have to hand-water fairways anymore. We don’t have to have 12 of our people out there for four hours a day spraying water on fairways. We could save time and labor.”

It was a big win. “Water savings is great. We’ve reduced gallons used by roughly 30% to 40%, but we probably save $40,000 per year in labor thanks to not having to hand-water fairways. We had plenty of other things to do with those hours.”

Designing a Custom Golf Course Irrigation Strategy

What were the must-haves for Griess and his team? “The IC irrigation system, no satellite boxes, a central controller like CirrusPRO with way more ability to dial down to the head/nozzle level, tighter spacing, and a center line design with left and rights on fairways.”

The goal was to focus more down the middle and less on the edges. “We fully covered the fairways, but we’ve dialed in the program so we can apply more down the center line and then reduce it back 20% to 30% as the fairway bleeds out to the rough. We like a little of that ‘burned’ look. That’s always been a part of the Prairie Dunes culture.”

Both Dave Axland of WAC Golf Design and Keighin agreed with that concept. “Brian knew what those Rain Bird heads could do, so we were able to choose exactly the right heads to accomplish the look and playability we wanted.”

Other must-haves: the evapotranspiration (ET) package and weather station. “I water primarily off playability, not ET, but I always want to know what that number is. It’s kind of an ego check. With cool-season turf in the Midwest, bad things can happen unless you’re careful. ET data is there to help guide you through.”

The team chose the Rain Bird 700 Series heads on 60-ft spacings versus 70- to 75-ft spacing before. “That made a big difference. The 700s had the right throw length and allowed tighter spacing. We didn’t really need the capabilities of the 900 Series with our undulating fairways.”

Integrating the Rain Bird Pump Station and Reservoir for a Fully Synchronized System

Installation of the new Rain Bird pump station was aligned with construction of the new retention pond. In retrospect, Griess says he might have done it all as one project. “We limped along with the old station for a year or two and, in hindsight, I kind of wish we’d done it all at once.”

When the time came, they chose the Rain Bird pump station. “The members said let’s get it right. One longtime member said, ‘We bought the Ferrari so we need a Ferrari engine.’”

The pump station was co-designed by Keighin and Rain Bird. “Brian knew what pump station components were needed to support the system he designed, and then the engineers from Rain Bird knew how to make that work. It all went very smoothly.” The new station, with a vertical lift, sits on a new pad and building next to a brand-new 25-foot-deep irrigation lake the club built as part of the infrastructure process.

“Cory’s vision all along was to have good communications between the new system and the Rain Bird Pump,” said Freeman. “A lot of people talk about central control talking to the pump station, but it’s not always perfect. They wanted that reservoir-to-rotor integration.”

What appealed to the club about using a Rain Bird pump station? “Our big focus was on being synchronized in terms of functionality, support, and service,” said Griess. “With Rain Bird, I knew I could call the hotline for system questions but I can also talk to them about the pump station. It’s one big network and that was an important factor.”

Executing a Phased Installation While Maintaining Playability

“Landscapes Unlimited [LU] did the whole job and they were phenomenal,” said Griess. “We did one hole at a time so the golf course could stay open through the three-month installation window. Par fours took about two days; par fives were three days. It worked really well that we did mainlines first and ran laterals second.”

The club kept a map in the pro shop to show members where the work was being done every day. “We let them know where the disruption was, but a lot of members were just curious to go out and see the work being done too.”

Griess raved about the value of having LU back to do the work. “I hadn’t done a big reno like this and I was amazed at LU’s capabilities and how fast they could work. They’re so experienced that they understand what expectations their clients probably have and manage them extremely well. Landscapes really had our back. It was a great fit. The membership remembered them from their work here decades ago and that was reassuring.”

“The project went really, really well,” said Freeman. “The irrigation decision is important. They had a great designer, a great product, and a great contractor in Landscapes Unlimited. Choosing a contractor is the most important decision you need to make. Prairie Dunes picked Landscapes and they did a fantastic job.”

Griess sums it up: “If you hire a great contractor and you have a great distributor and a product you can trust, that communication with the membership is going to be honest and fluid. You can go into it with confidence. Confidence and good communications were key.”