With climate change and population growth, our demand for water is ever increasing, with many areas in England already experiencing water shortages. It's now more important than ever to save as much water as possible, use water more efficiently and stop the millions of litres of water lost per day through leaking pipes and taps. So while I hope we are all at home taking a little more care about not wasting water - here is what we are doing at Colmworth.
Unlike many golf courses, Colmworth is fortunate to already have a sustainable water harvesting system in place. Most golf courses still rely upon main water supplies to irrigate their greens, tees and sun some cases fairways - this is a huuuuuge amount of water.
Fortunately, our lakes act as reservoirs, they harvest water from the golf course when it is wet - it is this great drainage system we are known for that allows us to remain open throughout the wet winter months. The lakes then store the water ready for the summer months, where it is then utilised to water our greens to keep them alive and healthy.
We are beginning to install sprinkler systems to our tees, a luxury we have not enjoyed before. This is only possible thanks to our great water harvesting system, but it is still important not to be wasteful and only irrigate when needed. We have been updating our whole irrigation system over the past few years so that almost all of our greens are now controlled remotely - meaning we can turn them on and off easy as required. It also means we can irrigate at night - the most efficient time, reducing evaporation in the heat of the daytime sun.
Just when we thought we'd had enough of the wet, the "Great British weather" strikes again and here we are crying out for more rain! Luckily thats where our irrigation system comes in.
Water is pumped all around the course to every green, all that water comes from the 12th lake which is harvestedfrom around the course and stored for times like this. The majority of the sprinklers are on timers set to be watered overnight - the most efficient time to water to minimise evaporation in the heat of the day.We still have a few, that if you play early morning, you may see us watering by hand or needing to turn the sprinklers on manually. Although water is necessary for grass to survive it is important not to overwater. Overwatering can cause moss build up, shallow roots and prevents the thatch layer from breaking down naturally, all of which lead to an increase in fungal disease and create a perfect environment for pests
