July 25, 2016

Water use: Home lawns vs. Golf Courses

A number of people stopped me this weekend asking about their irrigation strategy for their lawn.  Most centered around the concept of watering during the day, as they watched us scramble through the Member/Member tournament trying to alleviate drought and heat stress on the turf.  
Before you follow the link to an excellent article on residential irrigation, I want to explain what we were doing, and how it differs from from what most people are doing at home.  The water we apply during the day is meant to cool the turf, not add moisture to the soil.  Cooling occurs as the water evaporates, which is how our body cools itself through perspiration. If we perspire at an excessive rate we experience dehydration, and in extreme cases heat stroke. During the initial stages of drought stress turf experiences wilt, and extreme drought stress leads to significant damage to leaves and other vital tissues.   We apply very light doses of water to help the plants regulate internal temperature, especially in July and August when root systems may be compromised as a result of excessive maintenance (double cutting, rolling, etc.).
Many people strive to have a front lawn that looks like turf found on golf courses. I would like to point out a few key differences in the use and management of these turf systems. First, most of the turf on golf courses is cut very short and very often, requiring a very high level of maintenance including additional irrigation and fertilizer applications.  Home lawns typically require less maintenance, and therefore excessive fertilizer and irrigation should be avoided.  
The link below will bring you to an excellent article about the right and wrong way to manage water on lawns. As with fertilizer and control products, more water does not necessarily mean better turf. When it comes to irrigation, deeper and less frequent is often the best strategy.  




Peter Gorman
Golf Course Superintendent 
Pine Orchard Yacht and Country Club
2 Club Parkway
Branford, CT 06405
203-483-9948

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