Major renovation work at Emirates Golf Club
sees the world-renowned Majlis Course, home of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic,
install new state-of-the-art, environmentally-friendly irrigation system
Golfers playing the highly-acclaimed Majlis Course at
Emirates Golf Club, Dubai, are reaping the benefits of a multi-million dollar
investment, that pushes the conditioning of the World Top 100* golf course to
new levels.
Celebrating its 25th
anniversary next year, Emirates Golf Club has used a seven-month period, March
to September, to install state-of-the-art, environmentally efficient irrigation
systems that significantly enhance the quality and consistency of all playing
surfaces on the Majlis Course, while at the same time significantly reducing the
course’s water consumption.
Craig Haldane, Director of Golf
Course Maintenance at Emirates Golf Club, said: “The irrigation project, which
took 208 days and over 150,000 man hours to complete, is another major
milestone that allows us to maintain the course to the exacting standards that
our members and guests have been accustomed to enjoying, ensuring that Emirates
Golf Club remains the premier club in the region for many years to come.
“The previous irrigation
system was almost 25 years old and technology has moved on considerably since
this was installed in 1988. The new system, using over 8,800 metres of mainline
piping and 33,500 metres of lateral piping, makes use of the latest technology
and delivers water savings by ensuring increased distribution efficiency throughout
the golf course.”
As part of the upgrade, a new
state-of-the-art pump station that allows up to 6,500 gallons of treated sewage
effluent (TFE) water per minute to travel through the network, has been
installed. Because of this added pump capacity, watering time has been
significantly shortened, essential from an agronomic perspective.
Craig added: “The system is
so technically advanced that I can effectively stand on the first green of The
Majlis Course, take out my mobile phone, connect to the irrigation system and
turn on individual irrigation sprinklers, then update the daily irrigation
schedule to tell an individual head to run for an additional minute, all at the
touch of a button.”
One of the key considerations
for upgrading the system was to make it environmentally sound by improving the
distribution of the golf club’s most valuable resource, water, and minimising
all waste where possible.
Key features include:
• Designed so that minimal
water will be sprayed on anything other than turf grass
• Individual head control to
2,208 sprinklers throughout the golf course
• The greens on the Majlis
feature two sprinkler complexes, one to irrigate the greens themselves, the
other to irrigate the fringes
• The Majlis course is the
first course in the region to use the latest software operating programme ‘Toro
Lynx’ to control daily run times and individual areas throughout the golf
course
• Tighter run times, reducing
the time it takes to complete a full cycle, meaning a reduction in energy
costs, general wear and tear and less man-hours. Through efficiency of design and a world
class pump station, combined with the Lynx software, the watering window has
been reduced from 10 hours to five hours, meaning an overall reduction on
energy costs, wear and tear and loss of water through evapotranspiration
• High Density Polyethylene
(HDPE) piping is used to feed water around the golf course. This special piping
is incredibly durable, flexible and has no manual joints. The pipe is fused
together through electro fusion making the entire length work seamlessly.
Golfers playing the Majlis course
will see an immediate improvement in the firmness of the playing surfaces, as
the system reduces areas of standing water. Desert areas will also be noticeably
drier, ensuring native desert plants reduce in size and are not over-watered.
Christopher May, General
Manager of Dubai Golf, said: “This is an extremely important period in the
history of the Majlis course. This has not been a quick decision, but one that
has been worked through and thought out over a lengthy period of time. We are investing
in the next 25 years of our core product and the system had to offer measurable
benefits to our members, our visitors, and the environment.”
The Majlis Course plays host
to the Ladies European Tour Omega Dubai Ladies Masters, Dec 5-8, 2012 and the
men’s European Tour’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic, Feb 9-12, 2013. For further
information about Emirates Club and its sister course Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht
Club, visit www.dubaigolf.com
* Ranked in Golf World Magazine’s World Top 100
Courses.
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