Grass-Roots Movement

Course irrigation has never been more precise, and thanks to new technology, it will only get more so

- Evan Rothman

Bill Murray’s performance as Carl Spackler in Caddyshack was over the top in just about every respect—except the part where he’s manually twisting a valve to water the fairways and greens of Bushwood. Conniving gophers aside, that’s the way it was: As Carl himself might put it, “In the immortal words of Jean Paul Sartre…limited control.”

Today, course irrigation has evolved to satellite or hardwire controls, allowing superintendents to sit in their office or truck and manage the system. Which is nice…but hardly the end of the evolution. In this era of Big Data, irrigation systems are getting smart.