41 Madrid’s Centro Nacional club has updated irrigation across its golf course, a 2006 design by Dave Thomas Photo: Hunter Industries responsibility, agronomic excellence and world-class play. For Centro Nacional, water use is directly tied to its ‘2030 Agenda for Sustainability’. The ability to precisely control every sprinkler has allowed the team to significantly reduce its environmental impact. Rather than watering based on fixed assumptions, staff now make datadriven adjustments based on real-time conditions. System-wide visibility enables them to fine-tune runtimes, balance flows and maintain uniform coverage across varied soil profiles. This minimises overwatering while promoting healthy turf. The result is healthier playing surfaces that reflect the course’s original design vision. One of the most meaningful outcomes of the Pilot installation has been improved playability and surface consistency, with the maintenance team now able to implement irrigation strategies aligned with how the course is meant to be played, rather than how the previous infrastructure allowed it to be watered. For a facility created to promote competitive play and training, irrigation is no longer an operational constraint. Today, it protects the course’s design integrity. Superintendents rarely spend their entire day in the office. The Pilot Navigator App delivers mobileoptimised control from any location on any device. Manual watering adjustments can be made while walking the course. Stations can be run simultaneously or sequentially to fine-tune coverage. Custom station notes can be updated in real time, and a shutdown can be performed instantly during unexpected rainfall, even if the superintendent has left the property. Wireless architecture has simplified field work and troubleshooting, lowering the time spent diagnosing issues. Installation and maintenance costs have also been reduced by eliminating extensive cabling. The future-ready connectivity of the Pilot network ensures that irrigation will continue to evolve alongside sustainability targets and performance expectations. Centro Nacional demonstrates how intelligent irrigation can elevate sustainability, enhance playability and protect design integrity. As water regulations tighten and expectations for management efficiency increase, the ability to command a course intelligently will become even more important. The future of golf irrigation isn’t just about delivering water, it’s also about maximising control. Carl Eberts is senior category manager at Hunter Industries
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