Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 9.9. Reel-type gang mowers pulled behind a tractor are one of the most popular
types of mowers used on golf course fairways.
Irrigation of fairways is less critical than that of greens and tees.
Because of differences in slope, shade, soil texture, etc., each fairway
and each portion of the fairway should be irrigated separately. The
sprinkler heads on the golf course should be grouped into zones of a
few heads that water turf growing under similar conditions so that the
run time can be most efficiently adjusted.
Irrigation should wet the rooting zone thoroughly, but should be as
infrequent as possible. In arid climates, especially on shallow sandy soil,
irrigation may be required daily or every 2 days. In the humid tropics,
especially when soil is loamy, deep irrigation may be needed every 7-10
days. As explained in Chapter 7, the preferred time of irrigation is before
dawn, but if the irrigation system has inadequate pumping capacity,
watering throughout the night may be necessary.
The normal cultivation operations used on fairways include periodic
coring and vertical mowing performed as described in Chapter 8. Top-
dressing with soil or sand would be helpful, but on areas as large as
fairways it is too expensive and is only occasionally applied.
Excessive numbers of divots frequently occur when turf is dense and
closely mowed. Fairways should be continuously inspected by mainten-
ance personnel and repaired as needed.
