Atlanta Athletic Club converts to Rain Bird Integrated Control (IC) system

Throughout 2016, the Atlanta Athletic Club enhanced and upgraded its Highlands Golf Course using a plan developed by Golf Course Architect Rees Jones. As a part of the course’s renovation, the club upgraded its previous Rain Bird block irrigation system to Rain Bird’s single-head-controlled Integrated Control System (IC System) to improve watering efficiency.

“The IC System and new irrigation heads will make the course firm and fast for the players while helping the Atlanta Athletic Club conserve water and spend less time on irrigation system maintenance,” said Matthew Corentin, advanced technologies sales manager for Rain Bird’s Golf Division.

Installing the IC System was fast and simple, as it requires 90% less wire and 50% fewer splices than a typical golf course irrigation system. And, because the Highlands Golf Course’s irrigation system pipe was only 10 years old, the Atlanta Athletic Club was able to continue using it, replacing only the sprinkler heads and wiring instead of the whole system. The ease of installation made the choice of going with the IC System an easy one.

“By renovating the course in this way, we were able to get a state-of-the-art system for a lot less money,” said Lukus Harvey, the Atlanta Athletic Club’s director of agronomy. “Now, we can feel secure knowing that we’ll be able to depend on our new Rain Bird irrigation system for the next 25 years.”

Rain Bird’s IC System also allows golf course superintendents to enjoy all the water management benefits of Rain Bird central control systems, including advanced diagnostics, ET-based scheduling, customized course programming, multiple mapping options and the ability to “see” the placement and operation of individual rotors.

“The Highland Golf Course’s former block irrigation system typically ran three to four sprinklers at one time, making it difficult to apply water to the turf with precision,” Corentin said. “The new IC System features single-head control, making it possible for the course to apply water exactly where it’s needed without operating additional sprinklers in other areas. As a result, the course now has complete control of every water droplet, making it possible to save money by using less water and electricity.”