Minnesota Golfer - Directory 2023 - 21

" The problem is only going to get bigger, " says Dave Erickson,
superintendent at Eagle Valley Golf Course in Woodbury. " It's
a natural resource. Everybody needs water. So, the issue is not
going away. We can't deplete the aquifers because you need
water to live. We have to watch everything we do. "
According to Aumock, superintendents throughout the state
have been doing just that for more than a decade, and he is taking
that message to the state legislature. Efforts are underway to
get golf courses (currently on the lowest level of DNR permits for
water allotment) recategorized higher, so they aren't among the
first water users to be shut out if the state spigot is turned off.
" We are considered non-essential water users-the bottom
rung, " says Aumock. " But if the DNR decided to implement
strict drought condition water usage, we could lose our permits
tomorrow-we'd be among the first to lose access. We're
trying to get bumped up one level. We'd still not be essential,
but we're trying to guarantee that minimal access. We just
want to be able to keep our basic turf alive. "
Super Solutions
In 2015, the MGCSA published a presentation entitled " Golf
Course Water Management Uses and Solutions. " At the time,
they reported 500 golf courses in Minnesota averaging 7.8 billion
gallons of water usage per year-which was 0.76 percent
of all water consumed in the state. According to Aumock-
who came to the job after 15 years of experience as a superintendent
and assistant superintendent at private clubs, public
courses and the municipal level with Minneapolis Park and
Recreation courses-those usage numbers have come down.
Aumock says that more than 600 superintendents at 450
golf courses in Minnesota have lowered the volume of water
usage significantly statewide. Since the advent of automation
and new technologies more than a decade ago-including
more efficient computer-controlled pump stations, low-pressure
adjustable sprinkler heads for pinpoint irrigation; chemical
wetting agents (that help plants absorb more water) and
drought stress-tolerant turf varieties-he saw a 20 percent
reduction in his water usage during his last years as superintendent
at Theodore Wirth Golf Club and Meadowbrook Golf
Club. And other superintendents report similar numbers.
" We are using wetting agents to make 'water wetter,' "
says head golf course superintendent and director at Edina
Country Club Brandon Schindele, whose course underwent
a renovation in 2010. " All of our sprinkler heads that were
put in are still individually controlled so we can change the
percentage of what goes down based upon our software system.
We incorporate a weather station into our irrigation
system so if we get two-tenths of an inch of rain, we can shut
the whole system off and conserve that water. "
Holding ponds at Eagle Valley Golf Course in Woodbury capture
water to manage drought conditions.
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Directory 2023
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PHOTO: EAGLE VALLEY GOLF COURSE
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Minnesota Golfer - Directory 2023

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