Shaun Anderson, Golf Sales Specialist for Rain Bird in the UK, Ireland, and Iceland recently attended the summer meeting of the North West Region of the Golf Club Managers’ Association (GCMA) at Lancaster Golf Club. This region covers Cheshire, Lancashire, Cumbria, and North Wales with over two hundred members representing 180 golf clubs. Rain Bird is a strategic partner of the GCMA.
Shaun gave a presentation to around 40 GCMA members and partners about the importance of having an emergency water Irrigation Action Plan, water supply safeguarding and outlining the benefits and savings an efficient irrigation system can deliver.
Shaun Anderson “My aim was to emphasise that water management has become an urgent and pressing issue right across the British Isles and that to rely on rainfall could risk the future of the club.
Rain Bird’s Intelligent Use of Water™ is all about the fundamentals; beginning with assessing what you have to work with by carrying out an internal audit. By understanding how much water and power are being used for irrigation, the club can identify the true cost and look at what’s possible in the short to medium term. We know that making even modest changes makes a huge difference to costs and overall efficiency and staff productivity.
An irrigation evaluation can also support the General Manager and club members to make well-informed decisions about investment and strategies for the longer term to keep courses in the best condition for golfers.”
Given the very dry weather, high summer temperatures, soaring energy costs, and staff recruitment challenges experienced in the UK this year, this presentation was a timely reminder of the need for General Managers to re-focus on water management strategies.