9 and boundary maintenance. In consultation with the club’s woodland management advisor and agronomist, a tree removal programme has cleared sightlines and revealed more of the course’s dramatic topography. MJ Abbott first installed the Rain Bird system 20 years ago on tees, greens and approaches and had continued to maintain it until commissioned, initially, to add fairway irrigation to accommodate much wider fairways planned by the architects. The intention had been to expand the system at a later date to enlarge greens, taking them back to their original shapes and sizes and to add coverage to surrounds and tees. However, there were major cost savings to be made by upgrading greens and surrounds at the same time as fairways, and doing so would also avoid the disruption of a second installation in a few years’ time. So the decision was made to go ahead, broadening the project scope significantly to encompass the wider remit of the architects’ plan; notably to enable the course to complete irrigation overnight across the whole site within an eight-hour window. In a period reduced from 11 to eight hours, watering would take place between 10pm and 6am, primarily so golfers could play on into the evenings during summer months. A new pump station, a 500-cubic-metre Permastore tank, a borehole pump and increased mains water feed were installed, and the existing control system upgraded to Rain Bird IC System with Cirrus Central Control, Rain Bird’s most advanced irrigation solution, combining computer-aided design with GPS geo-referenced images and stateof-the-art ET-based scheduling. Valve boxes on tees were also replaced in readiness for improvement work to bunkers and tees scheduled to take place over the next three to four years. By adding three and five-row irrigation on fairways where none existed previously, upgrading and adding new Rain Bird 752 Series rotors on reinstated larger greens and back-toback rotors on surrounds, irrigation is precise, more focused and deliberately limits coverage to rough and restored heather. Jim Price, operations director at MJ Abbott, says: “We’ve been involved with The Addington for many years now, and in the first phase from October 2020 to March 2021 we worked with the client, liaising closely with golf architects Mike Clayton, Mike DeVries and Frank Pont to turn what’s a large scale, very forward-thinking approach into reality, on site and in the ground. It’s been very exciting and refreshing to see investment on this scale and the approach doesn’t cut any corners. The irrigation system is ultra-future-proof and uses the very latest technology including 65-inch screens for mapping course irrigation.” Ryan Noades, the club’s managing director, says: “The new Rain Bird system limits the amount of water we’re applying, putting us in line with the best systems being installed today. Designing the whole system together significantly improved efficiency of water use. Reducing overwatering gives us the firmer playing surfaces we want and what this course was designed to offer golfers. We’ve massively extended our irrigation coverage yet we’re using 30 to 40 per cent less water even with larger playing surfaces, which is far better for the environment and the course, and saves us money. Rain Bird’s commitment to products being backwards compatible also means we can easily extend and upgrade our irrigation system in future years. As custodians of The Addington, we’ve two very clear aims – sustainability and playability. Our ambition is for the course to be as interesting and fun as it was in the 1920s and to restore its recognition as one of the best golf courses in the world.” For more on Rain Bird, turn to page 46 or visit www.rainbird.com/golf
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