Tamarisk Country Club swings into water efficient changes

It’s the lush green golf course that gives the Tamarisk Country Club in Rancho Mirage its serene view and recreation.

“We wouldn’t last very long if it wasn’t for our golf course,” said general manager Chris Bonvie.

You might not notice, but changes are already underway to help create some drought relief. The country club installed a $3 million pump system and a new irrigation system on its golf course to track which areas of turf are the driest and what areas needs to be watered and when.

The club no longer waters the course every day. Instead, sprinklers are running run every other night if necessary. The golf course superintendent can also control the system with his Smartphone.

“This is the Taj Mahal of pump stations,” said Ben Vann, golf course superintendent. “We have 120 acres of grass and every 60 feet I can change the amount of water that’s put out in that area.”

Vann said the system monitors moisture on the course and he has help from a weather system. The new pump system helped cut the course’s water use in half during the winter.

“Every day I’m looking at the weather, the turf and we try to keep the place as dry as possible and barely alive,” said Vann.

Tamarisk Country Club plans to remove all of its grass along Frank Sinatra Drive and replace it with desert landscape.

“We hope to do that sooner rather than later. It is one of those things where you take turf out, you can see a dramatic improvement,” said Bonvie.

Several California golf associations said the Coachella Valley’s golf courses aren’t required to follow the governor’s mandate because they’re not considered “domestic users.” At the same time, they’re committed to meeting water reduction goals set by the Coachella Valley Water Management plan.

When the local rules are defined by the local water agencies, courses are encouraged to comply.

For now, Tamarisk Country Club tries to remain a swing ahead with its efforts.

“Summer is when we use our most water and this is when we’ll buckle down to see what we can do as far as water savings go,” said Vann.