Compiled by Ray Mann
In early times, irrigation was by rainfall or not at all. Club opening days would
revolve around a guess at the date of the season’s opening rains. The putting surface was sand but tees and green surrounds needed some form of vegetation to hit off and anything on the fairways to bind the sand was a bonus.
Derek Trigwell headed the irrigation sub- committee in the late 70s and it was
March 1979 before three phase power was connected to the first real water source on the right side of no.5 fairway. A 40 H.P. motor was donated by Leith Shepherdson, pipes were being laid by January 1980 and the two small dams were linked by a trench in March 1980.
This early water supply was later supplemented by bores on no.10 and no.11 tee
which pumped into the trench. The water delivery was a series of hoses and sprinklers shifted manually by the likes of Derek Trigwell, Vic Solonec and Peter Huitenga. Green surrounds and tees were the main priority and the Cowaramup crew would supplement this with a water truck to help out the top nine tee stations.
By 1981, pipes had been laid to some tees on the bottom nine holes and a ring
feed pipe had been installed to no.6 green to eliminate some of the problem of hoses interfering with play. Ray Arthur was the committee man in charge of irrigation in the mid 80s and most work done was still being done by volunteer labour. Apart from the bores mentioned above, efforts to find a more extensive water supply were frustrated and for along time course development was restricted by lack of available water in summertime.
In 1991, Richard Rangnow dug the dam adjacent to no.1 fairway which held an
estimated 570,000 gallons of water. By September of 1991, plans were in place to pump from this source, at a cost of $15,000, to supplement the no. 5 dam. In August of that year, the club also investigated using treated water from the sewage plant but the idea was shelved due to expense. Much of the funding in these times depended on interest free loans from the Dept of Sport and Recreation but depended on a favourable report from the shire.
Ray Mann took on the irrigation portfolio in December of 1991 and a hydrology
report submitted to the club suggested that the catchment area was very favourable if only the right aquifers could be located. The club’s resident water diviners, Roy Garstone, Joe Italiano and Laurie Rowe put their skills to the test and came up with some streams worth investigating.
With Norm Scott and Derek Trigwell, the backbone of the “hands on” irrigation
team, the pump on no.1 was functioning by February of 1992 though efforts to increase the available water by extending the trench from the dam failed.By May 1992, after some preliminary test holes on fairways no.10 and 12 gave some encouragement, estimates for irrigating 9 greens and fairways and 18 tee stations were completed as part of a special meeting proposed for the establishment of grass greens. The estimates indicated that 500,000 gals. of water per week would be needed.
In July of 1992, Ray Mann negotiated with Cable Sands who agreed to donate
time and equipment to drill further test holes in the search for water. In November of that year, six test holes were completed with an air-core drilling rig and two of the streams divined by Laurie Rowe showed good depths of water bearing sand.
Largely through the efforts of Norm Scott, Derek Trigwell and Roy Hobson, a
new 5″ ring line was built around the course to accommodate the pressure created by having the two main pumps operating in tandem.
The bore behind no. 13 green was drilled to 24 metres in November 1992 and
after some initial problem with the drill going off line, it was providing 4,000 gals. per hour to the dam on no. 1. This supply ensured there would be sufficient water for developing the first nine grass greens.
By June of 1993, estimates were prepared for developing the second nine grass
greens and members were encouraged to donate $50 each to pay for a length of pipe
needed for this stage of the project. In February of 1994, after a frustrating series of burst pipe joints in the main line, a meeting was held with the irrigation team and the manufacturers. After testing samples of the pipe,they agreed to replace the defective batch and Norm Scott and his team were then faced with digging up and replacing most of the main line on the bottom nine.
The 40.5 pump motor, cement base and shed were replaced in June of 1994 and
Norm Scott completed a ‘comprehensive mapping of the irrigation pipes.
In February of 1995, a reappraisal of the water needs for the course suggested
that the bore on no.12 be developed at a cost of $10,100 and this 4,000 gals. per hr. supply boosted the dam on no.5. By now, Roy Hobson supported by Allan Forward, was doing most of the physical work, with Norm on one leg and Derek Trigwell having moved to Busselton. The basis of the irrigation system, as we know it in 2001, was now in place but refined to an automatic computer run system minimising power and labour costs.