Oldham Country Club: A Rain Bird IC Story

The last major irrigation system upgrade was completed in 1989 at Oldham County Country Club. The system was single row rotors on the fairway with four rotors on each green. This is a story from Rain Bird.

The piping infrastructure was in very good condition and had been trouble-free. However, the mechanical central control and satellites we obsoleted by the manufacture and failing more often. Finding repair parts was getting next to impossible.

In 2009, Superintendent David McCarty decided maintaining his current system was no longer feasible. Yet, we were in the trough of a recession and money for capital improvements was hard to come by. Dave began researching his options.

Making a Decision

Dave could have stayed with his rotor layout and simply upgraded the central control system. Even his existing wire could have been salvaged. The rotors could have been updated with new internal assemblies. This may have been a lower cost option.

However, The Rain Bird IC system intrigued Dave. Overall acquisition cost was a little more, but the control abilities and system enhancements well overcame the extra cost. Switching brands to achieve the IC benefits was Dave’s final conclusion.

Oldham selected the Rain Bird Stratus LT central utilizing the IC technology. Rain Bird 900 rotors replaced his old fairway heads. Rain Bird 700 rotors were installed on the greens, and he was able to get Rain Bird 750 rotors for perimeter irrigation. In essence he was able to obtain a nearly all new system with exciting features within his tight budget.

After investigating contractor options, Dave selected Gowin Land Development, a local irrigation contractor. John Gowin has a strong history of installing large advanced irrigation systems in the commercial landscape world.

The system was installed in 2010. Installation proceeding very quickly. Party because of John Gowin’s work ethic and partly because of the simplicity of installation with the IC system.

The Success Story

Now entering his third year of successful operations, Dave is presently upgrading his pump station to further improve his irrigation operating efficiency. The new pump station will communicate directly with his Stratus central control so he knows real time activity to monitor and react to conditions as they happen. The Rain Bird SmartPump interface allows the entire irrigation system to be under the watchful eyes of the Stratus central and the system operator.

What is the Rain Bird IC system? Simply put it is the communication and control system between the central control and the rotors. A digital system using a 2-wire path. Similar to a decoder based network, but the logic is built into the IC module on each rotor. The 2-wire cable runs from the interface panel in the office out to each rotor where there is but one wire splice. Simple and limits wire splicing. IC modules have built in logic and memory to support future devices.

An advantage of the IC system is the enhanced real-time status. The operator knows exactly what is running and if it’s running properly at all times. Even down to the current draw at each rotor.

Dave’s existing piping was salvaged. The only issue was slightly undersized pipe around his greens. But the Stratus Flow Management capabilities easily handled the scheduling to get around that small issue. In fact, even with more rotors, Dave’s water window decreased drastically.

Another ability that excited Dave was his ability to access the central from his Smartphone. This meant he didn’t need dedicated radios or an FCC license to have remote access anytime and anywhere he needs it. Now he can operate his central wherever he happens to be.