£300k irrigation system at Abbey Hill

28 April 2010

Abbey Hill Golf Centre is the UK is installing a new irrigation system to reduce water consumption.

The public pay-and-play facility is owned by British firm Burhill Golf & Leisure, which has committed £300,000 to spend on course improvements over the next three years.

The new irrigation system is the first part of the plan and will see 4,400 metres of new piping laid to carry water around the 18 hole course as well as the par three short course. Abbey Hill hopes to reduce the amount of water used to maintain the courses by 10 per cent.

General manager Gordon Forster said: “The new system will use less water in the long run. Abbey Hill is committed to helping the environment and ensuring we run as sustainable facility.”

Both courses are staying open during the build. Course manager Ross Edmonds said: “The way the pipes and electric cables are laid is fascinating. There has been no need to dig up any part of the course as everything is laid using the latest methods. I can control every sprinkler head remotely, so if an area of the course doesn’t need watering, it won’t get watered, saving on wasted water. With the old system the sprinklers were on blocks of two to four, but now they are controlled individually, so if the back of a green is dry, but the front is wet, I can just turn the back sprinkler on.”

The system is being installed by local Milton Keynes-based company SJS Irrigation, and will be laid in three stages over the next three winters.