Golf Course Irrigation Systems: Financed and Installed?
Pass on this article about financing complete irrigation replacements for golf courses if you know of a golf course badly needing a new system.
80% OF GOLF COURSES IN THE USA ARE OVER 25-YEARS OLD, WHICH MEANS THEIR IRRIGATION SYSTEMS ARE PROBABLY REDUNDANT.
Statistics available on the Internet indicate that there were 12,400 golf courses in the USA in 1990, which means 80% of the 15,500 in the USA now are at least 26-years old. If they are still on their original irrigation systems they are probably ready to be completely replaced.
I wish I could guarantee that a completely new irrigation system can be financed, but this is the first time in 25-years I've heard anything but, "NO!"
COST OF CARRYING A NEW IRRIGATION SYSTEM LIKELY OFFSET BY REPAIR EXPENSES TO KEEP AN OLD SYSTEM OPERATING
I believe, for instance, that the cost of carrying a newer irrigation system may be offset by savings in the cost just to keep on older system properly running. I've experienced the headaches of older irrigation problems like broken pipes, broken heads, failed controllers, impeller replacements, silt build-up, even lost heads.
I managed a golf course in Sarasota in the 1990s and we had two employees dedicated to fixing irrigation leaks virtually every day. Repairs included digging up at the leak area, use of expensive quick-couplers and pipe connectors to repair the leak. The annual cost to keep the Sarasota system running reliably ran over $50,000 a year. I ran into the same irrigation repair issues while acting as an adviser to a golf course in the Daytona, Florida. In both cases a new system, fully financed would have cost less than the costs to keep repairing the old system.
Anyway, I hope to have the lender's criteria (wish-list) available soon in a later posting here.
We're talking mainly about golf courses with 25-year-old outdated irrigation systems needing complete replacement. Of course, at a cost of $1 to $1.5 million the nature of golf course irrigation systems have made them impossible to finance. However, I've recently been approached from an irrigation installation expert who tells me he can install a completely new system financed by a leading US bank.
A completely new irrigation system may include:
- Pump house and pumping system
- Pipe in the ground
- Up to 1,200 sprinkler heads
- Controllers
- Radio controlled
- Fertigation tanks
If your golf course or country club is running on an old irrigation system more than 25-years-old it is on its last legs. So, you may want to stay in touch. I know there aren't many golf courses out there in 2017 with $1.5 million in ready cash to buy a new irrigation system.
BTW: I have had direct on-the-job experience with golf course irrigation. I've been part of an installation crew. I've operated my own system. I have participated in the design of a complete irrigation system. I've experienced hydraulic and electrically operated and radio controlled systems. Along with my associate, Bill McIntosh, we have reviewed hundreds of golf course irrigation systems around the USA.
Mike: 941-739-3990, mike@golfmak.com
