| Golf - An industry that depends on green, beautiful courses |
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  Superintendents & Green Keepers know best For at least part of each year, most golf course superintendents are required to irrigate with groundwater or effluent water that is often saline or saline/sodic. Salinity and sodicity from groundwater and effluent sources, combined with salts accumulated from previous irrigation and consistent heavy fertilization, accumulate in the soils on many golf courses world wide, affecting soil permeability and the health and appearance of turf. The discouraging thing is that the problem is only getting worse. Sweetwater™ is recognized and recommended by key industry experts as the leader in the treatment of this problem. Because of this, Sweetwater continues to focus research and service to the golf industry to more effectively meet their needs in dealing with poor quality irrigation water. Effluent water - More and more common With culinary water resources becoming more limited, many states and governments are demanding that golf courses switch over to effluent or gray water to irrigate their courses. Sometimes there is a cost savings, but too often the damage to turf and soils is quickly realized as soils become deflocculated, causing ponding and salt accumulations throughout their courses. Because the sulfurous and sulfuric acid created by the Sweetwater Solution Generator™ is so effective in reflocculating the soil and neutralizing bicarbonates, salts become more soluble and are leached out of the soil profile improving access for the roots to uptake micronutrients and moisture to improved turf growth. In addition, most courses see great improvement in their trees and other foliage due to improved percolation in their soils. Additional Benefits In addition to improved water quality, many courses have seen improvements in the appearance of their irrigation ponds. This is due in part to lower pH water (typically below 6.8 pH) and the sulfurous acid that is completing a chemical change to sulfuric acid that keeps most forms of algae under control. Sweetwater is not a licensed algaecide and will not sell the technology solely for that purpose, but having clean ponds and lakes has been a real bonus that many superintendents desire. What our Customers are saying… “Before treatment with the sulfurous acid, our water pH was around 7.5 and bicarbonate levels around 210 ppm. . . . Within 10 days of installation of the machines, our pH had dropped to around 6.9-7.0 and bicarbonate levels fell to below 60 ppm. The algae in our irrigation ponds also cleared up and the water was clear. We maintained a pH of between 6.7 and 7.1 throughout the growing season. Soil tests taken during the summer showed salt levels on our greens at levels we normally only see during the fall and spring when the greens are under less stress. I also notice that our trees looked healthier and we did not have as much leaf burn as in past summers. In addition to turf quality, we did not have to fertilize as much this year. Just as you said, the treated water helped release nutrients that were locked up in the soil and made them available to the turf and trees. We were also able to cut back on our watering times.” -Golf Course Superintendent in North Texas “I was very skeptical because I felt that of the sulfur generators that I had researched, they were either too expensive, were a safety issue, or simply the machine did not hold up. But, your machine solves these problems. With your simplistic design and engineering approach, 1) the cost is about 65% less than others on the market, 2) the components of your machine make it very safe to operate, and 3) it is very dependable with minimal maintenance needed. During the grow-in phase at our new Glen Eagle Golf Club course, we had very poor soil due to high levels of bicarbonates and salt and the pH level of the irrigation water was in the low 8’s. Sulfur and gypsum were applied as a pre-plant additive in an attempt to help the situation. It did very little. Literally days after the installation of your machine, the golf course turned green, the salt grass started to turn yellow, and the new turf grass started to grow. In all my years I have never witnessed such a dramatic change in the color and vitality of turfgrass.” -Links Management, LLC, Salt Lake City, UT “It was refreshing to speak with someone willing to tell a potential customer ‘you don’t need my product.’ So few times is that sentence spoken! Here is a list of our staff members. The folks most interested would be in the southern half of the country but you could most certainly send the (SSG™) product info to everyone.” -Agronomist, Southwest Region, United States Golf Association “For a product like this that would establish turf this way I think that you would expect to pay fifty to seventy thousand dollars. The price was well within reason. Anyone considering this product should do so for one reason, that reason is that it works.” -Golf Course Superintendent in Salt Lake City, UT |