Irrigation Transformed At Sutton Coldfield Golf Club

Sutton Coldfield Golf Club has completed a multi-year project to replace its ageing irrigation system, installing almost 180 Hunter sprinkler heads across its greens, approaches and tees.

The club say their previous system dated back to 1991 and had become increasingly difficult to manage, with leaks, ageing UPVC pipework and poor sprinkler coverage contributing to turf loss and a reliance on hand watering.

Course manager, Chris Roberts, initially worked with KAR UK’s manager of international golf sales, Wes Henshaw, to improve irrigation on a particularly problematic putting green. Catch cup testing identified poor head-to-head coverage, and changes to the sprinkler layout significantly improved distribution uniformity.

Following this work, the club opted to install the Hunter Pilot irrigation control system across the course. The project was carried out in-house, with modern polyethylene mains replacing the existing pipework.

The location presented particular challenges. The course sits within Sutton Park and is designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument, meaning trenching had to follow existing pipe routes to avoid archaeological features including Roman roads and historic boundary ditches. The work was also undertaken under the supervision of Historic England.

KAR UK provided technical support throughout the installation, including quality control and guidance on the installation of the system.

The completed system has reduced the need for staff to monitor irrigation overnight and carry out hand watering. Automated irrigation programmes can now be managed remotely, while the Hunter Pilot mobile app allows individual sprinklers and areas to be controlled.

The club has also integrated POGO moisture meters, using moisture data and AI analysis to help refine nozzle selection, irrigation run times and water distribution.

Chris Roberts said the upgraded system had freed staff to concentrate on other aspects of course maintenance. “Man hours used to get lost dealing with irrigation,” he explained. “Now we’re able to focus on fine-tuning greens and improving other aspects of the course.”