Improved irrigation at Rockliffe Park

By Alistair January 31, 2024 07:31

Four pitches at Middlesbrough Football Club’s training ground at Rockliffe Park are seeing the results from improved accuracy, full coverage and the powerful control from a new Toro irrigation system.

According to Jack Cunningham, senior grounds supervisor, the growing-in process was the best it’s ever been, management and players, including the first team, have nothing but good feedback and the problems caused by having a windy site have become a thing of the past.

The club invested in the Toro Lynx LAC control system, 54 Infinity sprinklers and 74 B Series sprinklers with Turf Cups in phase one of a project which will, in time, see another two pitches follow suit.

Here, Jack discusses the highlights of the new system: “There’s a lot to like about this combination,” he says. “We’ve never had this level of consistency. The LAC system and being able to control the water application with pinpoint accuracy from a desktop or mobile device is a game-changer.”

Then there’s the B Series sprinklers with their trajectory settings, about which Jack says: “We have a windy site and the B Series trajectory settings means that’s now not a problem. They’re easily altered to counteract the wind and achieve consistent coverage.

“We also love how using the back nozzle doesn’t affect the front nozzle and how we can use the same set of parts for the perimeter and in-field sprinklers. It makes life really easy.”

As expected a highlight of the Infinity sprinklers is that they’re top accessible: “Being able to take the top off, which is easy by the way, change the decoders, alter trajectories, all without having to dig the heads out and risk damage to the turf is very very good,” Jack explains. “On top of that, it’s possible to turn the sprinkler by hand and not damage the gearing.”

All in all, it’s a winning combination for the club as Jack confirms: “Getting the surfaces ready for day-to-day training now is easy and we’ve benefitted massively from essentially being able to personalise the irrigation to suit the site and its specific requirements.

“Using the moisture control I put the water where I want it, in the quantity I want it, which means it’s not just the grow-in which has been the best ever but the subsequent maintenance of the quality of the playing surfaces.”

Choosing Toro was an easy decision for Jack, fueled by the relationship, back-up and aftercare service he knew he’d get from distributor Reesink Hydro-Scapes, says Jack: “We trialled the sprinklers and they were the most effective, and that coupled with the technical support and how nothing was too much trouble meant I just had faith in them from the beginning.”