Publications
Erik Christiansen is published monthly in "Golf Course Industry" magazine. Please check his current article, as well as the archives.
2009 Has Been a Big Year for Regulatory Efforts . . . Here’s a Recap - December 2009
Whether we like it or not, as we look ahead to 2010 there’s no question that water issues will continue to be at the forefront. According to the USEPA, 36 states could be facing water-shortage problems by 2013.
On October 5th of this year, the President of the United States issued an Executive Order focusing on Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy and Economic Performance. According to the White House, improving water efficiency is a top priority with “reducing potable water consumption intensity by 2 percent annually through fiscal year 2020.”
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Boost Turf Performance & Overall Efficiencies with Minimal Irrigation Upgrades - November 2009
Times are tough so you’re not going to get that new irrigation system this year. But let’s pretend, because it’s always more fun, that you just received a budget windfall – a 5-percent goose in capital funds over last year without any foreseeable increase in expenses. It’s not a huge chunk, but an opportunity for upgrades.
Your turf maintenance equipment is in pretty good shape, so you’ve elected to dedicate the entire lump to irrigation upgrades. Finally, those recurring hotspots that show up on your approaches and collars can be more permanently addressed. Where to begin?
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Joint Restraints versus Thrust Blocks For System Fortification - September 2009
When considering an irrigation design and a budget to match, one of the items that always come under fire is whether to use joint restraints or thrust blocks. On the surface, a joint restraint system appears to be a premium – especially if your focus is material cost. However, if one takes the time to survey site soils and contractor installation capabilities, material costs become a smaller part of the installation price.
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Star Wars…What to Know About Commissioning a GPS Survey - August 2009
GPS mapping can be as complicated as the purchase of your first cell phone…if you’re like me after you get the first bill you then realize that you didn’t understand the program. GPS is sometimes a loosely used term to describe the process; however, not all surveys are comparable. The end product that the course receives needs to be highly accurate, as that’s the purpose of creating the map in the first place. As GPS mapping options and levels of accuracy can be a bit overwhelming and just as confusing as that cell phone plan. Hopefully this article will provide a few points that should aid you in choosing a service, but first let’s take a quick moment to review just how the GPS collection and the mapping process works.
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Picking a Professional Consultant - June 2009
I just returned from the annual ASIC (American Society of Irrigation Consultants) 2009 Conference held in St. Augustine, Florida.
The American Society of Irrigation Consultants (ASIC) was established in 1970 to provide a wide range of irrigation development and irrigation consulting services. A primary motivating factor was – as still is – the independence of professional members from the influence of equipment manufacturers and their agents. Independent Irrigation Consultants represent the best interests of their clients, comprised of golf and land developers, municipal and private Owners and operators, by specifying irrigation products that are most appropriate for the project.
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Show Me The Savings! - May 2009
The most common question asked of our firm when getting involved with any irrigation renovation is, how can we show the club true cost savings? The answer is always more detailed than most people expect, but we always start out by stating that in most cases you cannot turn your irrigation system into a profile center…not directly anyway. If anyone states that an irrigation system renovation will show up in a spreadsheet on the General Manager’s desk in black ink is most likely misleading your course. Now, that being said, as we always try to get the fine print out upfront, an irrigation system is without question one of the most important tools for providing quality turf conditions to any club. Conditions that golfers expect in today’s competitive market and are the major reason why people come to a golf course or country club…to play golf!
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The Challenges Imposed by Alternative Water Sources - April 2009
There is no question that high quality water is becoming limited and alternative sources are being sought for use on turf throughout the country.
Experts say that sewage effluent – the wastewater from sewage treatment facilities – is probably the most available alternative source of irrigation water for turf that is being widely used. This trend began more than 30 years ago in the arid regions of the Southwest. However, in recent years it has become increasingly popular in humid regions as well, as older treatment facilities have been upgraded and now produce a very high-quality effluent.
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Water-Use Regulations . . . Be Proactive! - March 2009
One thing is certain; our office is constantly involved with more and evolving regulations being applied to our industry. I’m still surprised by how many new codes, standards, procedures and requirements are being imposed on golf by everyone, from regulatory bodies to community organizations.
Water, power and trade are the most obvious parts of an irrigation system continually being analyzed by our ever-increasing exposure to . . . well . . . people who want to regulate our industry. At one level, the scrutiny highlights just how much science and precision is provided in efficiently designing and managing a large-scale irrigation system. But on another level, the mountain of research and paperwork can be suffocating. And, this all falls on a golf industry that doesn’t need the challenge of extra operating costs imposed to meet all of these new laws, restrictions and even taxes from regulatory bodies.
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Is it Time to Buy an Irrigation System? - February 2009
Due to the general state of the industry (both reality and emotional) I thought it would be appropriate to pull together some factual information as it relates to buying opportunities in the irrigation industry. Ever since the hurricanes of 2005, damaging our ability to receive raw material needed to manufacture irrigation products and refineries needed to fuel the extruding fueling our skyrocket pricing. Allied products (pipe, wire, fittings etc) constitute anywhere from 30%-40% of the total cost of an irrigation system budget. Therefore, the increase in pricing due to the hurricane as well as global demand for allied products have caused jumps as much as 100% for goods in a very short period of time. These increases, along with the work load that contractors were carrying in ‘05-‘06, made projects not only extremely expensive but also provided challenges to purchase quality goods and schedule installations.
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Efficient, Effective Use of Water through Precise Design and Product Applications - January 2009
It’s certain that our industry has made great gains in the past years in an effort to maximize our irrigation system efficiency and application methods. This has been brought about for various reasons, but most notably in the last decade it has been the need to conserve one of our most precious resources . . . water.
In my humble opinion, superintendents have always been stewards of conscious irrigation applications. Golf course irrigation systems have a direct impact on turf playability, therefore no superintendent benefits by poorly watering his or her property.
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