At Silvermere Golf Course, irrigation plays a critical role in maintaining the high standards expected of its 18-hole championship parkland course. Under the guidance of Course Manager Tim Muir, the Surrey venue has undertaken a major in-house irrigation upgrade project using a range of Hunter irrigation products supplied by KAR UK.
Tim, who has been Course Manager at Silvermere for nine years, explained that the project was born out of the need to replace an ageing PVC irrigation system which had become increasingly unreliable.
“Probably four or five years ago we were running on an old PVC system, and we had endless problems with it, so we made the decision to upgrade,” he said. “We started a three-year project of an in-house irrigation install, which originally covered greens, tees and approaches.”
During the early stages of the project, Tim was introduced to KAR UK’s Carl Sharp - Golf Sales Manager UK & Ireland, who recommended a range of Hunter products including G-85, I-25 and I-20 rotors.
Following the success of the initial installation, Silvermere expanded the project further by introducing fairway irrigation across the entire course using Hunter’s G-85 golf rotors.
“The last year just gone, we decided to add fairway irrigation to the full course, which we then went with the Hunter G-85 heads,” said Tim. “They’ve been great. We’ve just finished the install now and have been running them over the last few weeks with great results, so we’re really pleased with them.”
The Hunter G-85 rotor is designed specifically for golf applications and is renowned for its durability, torque output and efficient water distribution. Its patented gear-drive system and self-cleaning design have proven particularly valuable at Silvermere.
“I really like the self-cleaning system and the way the heads run,” Tim explained. “We’ve had no problems with anything getting stuck or gears getting blocked up with sand. The throw on them is great and the nozzle ranges are amazing.”
The flexibility of the nozzle selection has enabled the Silvermere team to tailor irrigation precisely to different areas of the course.
“Some fairways tighten up in places, so we’ve adjusted certain nozzles so we’re not over spraying,” said Tim. “We’ve gone with a twin-row 180 design on the fairways, so we’re not losing loads of water into the roughs. The nozzles have allowed us to minimise the water we’re wasting and use it where we want it.”
Efficient water use was a major consideration throughout the project, particularly as the club relies heavily on mains water.
“We haven’t got endless amounts of water here,” Tim said. “We really needed to use it only where it’s needed.”
For the tees, Silvermere installed a combination of Hunter I-25 and I-20 rotors, allowing the team to match sprinkler performance to different tee sizes and layouts.
“We’ve got the I-25s on tees and I-20s on the smaller tees,” said Tim. “They’re running really well too. It’s allowed us to just water the tees and not waste any water again.”
The Hunter I-25 rotor is widely regarded for its durability and versatility, offering a large nozzle selection and built-in check valve to improve water efficiency. Meanwhile, the I-20 provides flexibility for smaller areas thanks to its broad nozzle options, vandal-proof drive mechanism and precise arc adjustment.
Tim believes the improvements in irrigation performance have already had a noticeable impact on course conditioning.
“Historically, the old heads gave uneven coverage, and we’d be out hand watering loads on corners of greens,” he said. “You wouldn’t know if it was the make-up of the greens or a problem with the irrigation, but since putting in the G-85 heads there is so much more even coverage. We still hand water in places, but it’s more shady patches now.”
Another key factor for Silvermere has been the long-term reliability of the Hunter products.
“Some of them have been in the ground three years now and we haven’t needed to touch them since we set the arc and put the nozzle in on the day they were installed,” Tim said.
Tim also praised the support and service provided throughout the project by KAR UK.
“KAR are great,” he said. “The service is good, Carl’s always been there and the supply was excellent. Everything ran smoothly, so we’d definitely recommend them.”
Looking ahead, Tim is confident that the partnership with KAR UK and Hunter irrigation products will continue long into the future.
“It has been very productive working together,” he said. “I’m sure we’ll cross paths a lot in the future and carry on working together.”
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