Placing Irrigation Tubing in Golf Greens

Cooperating with New Mexico State University Turfgrass Research

Jose Makk, Turfgrass Researcher at the New Mexico State University Extension Service,
developed a concept to place drip irrigation tubing under golf greens with a minimum amount of
disturbance to the turf. This is critical because the greens are mowed daily to approximately one
eighth of an inch height. If the wound made by the implanter is not closed so it aligns
perfectly on both sides of the cut, grass will die and the green will not be playable.

The USDA-ARS-SW Cotton Ginning Research Lab was approached to provide
assistance with this project, donating design and fabrication services.

The implement has just been fabricated and painted at the USDA-ARS-Southwestern Cotton Ginning Research Lab.

A compactor from the paving and construction industry was rented to provide a controlled source of vibration.
Compactor vibration allows the implement to easily cut through turfgrass roots and underlying wet packed sand.

A small tractor on loan from a local dealership provided pulling power.

The implement is being pulled through the turfgrass almost like a knife through butter.

Except for a bit of sand (later mitigated by machine adjustments)
there was little sign of the disturbance that took place while placing
a tube five inches below the surface. The wound closure is perfectly
aligned; all signs of the intervention vanished within a few days.