Stations, pumps and the course map
Record your pump system, stations and sprinkler heads, capture their GPS positions, draw your pipe network on the course map, and run a hydraulics health check
On this page
This article walks you through building a record of your real irrigation system — pumps, stations, heads and pipes — so TurfWise can check whether every head gets the pressure it needs.
Premium
The network pages are part of Premium. On Core they won't load their data. See Core and Premium plans.
Where do I find it?
Click Irrigation in the top bar, then System › As-built. The page has four sections:
- Stations & heads — your control stations and sprinkler heads in one register.
- Map — where you draw pipes and see everything with a GPS position.
- Pumps & pressure — your pump systems, and the hydraulic analysis of what they deliver.
- Plans & docs — as-built drawings, wiring diagrams, decoder lists and manuals.
Pick a section along the top of the workspace. (The Designer is the other view of System — see The Irrigation System Designer.)
How long does this take?
The pump setup takes about ten minutes — have your pump nameplate handy. Mapping every station, head and pipe run is a bigger job. You can build it up over time, capturing positions while you're out on the course anyway.
How do I set up my pump system?
Open Irrigation › Setup › Your system. If you haven't set anything up yet, you'll see Set up your irrigation system — click Get Started. Once you have a system, Add System opens the same wizard. Your pumps and their pressure then show under System › As-built › Pumps & pressure.
Your Pump Station
Give the system a name (it starts as "Main Course Irrigation") and choose how many pumps are in the station. Two is typical for an 18-hole course; three is common where fairways are irrigated or watering windows are tight.
Your Pump(s)
Optionally pick each pump from the built-in catalogue, and enter its Operating pressure — the gauge reading it actually runs at on your site. If you leave that blank, TurfWise uses the pump's rated pressure. If you skip the catalogue, placeholder specs are used (22 m³/h, 7 bar rated, 11 kW).
Place your pump station
Drop the pin where your pump station actually sits. This is the starting point for every pressure calculation. You can choose Skip for now, but the health check won't run until the pump is on the map.
Mainline Pipe
Tell TurfWise about your main pipe material, diameter and age, then click Finish Setup.
Your pipes are drawn separately
The mainline answers in step 4 are for guidance only — they aren't used in the calculations. The pressure checks use the material and diameter you set on each pipe when you draw it on the map.
To change a pump's role (primary, standby or inactive) or its operating pressure later, use Edit pumps on the system card.
How do I add stations and sprinklers?
Open System › As-built › Stations & heads. Use the Show buttons to see All, Stations or Heads.
- Click Add Station and enter at least the Station number and Decoder address, plus its course area, valve and flow details if you have them.
- Click Add Sprinkler to add a head. Choose its Parent station, and use Pick from catalogue to fill in the model. You'll need at least one station first.
Got a spreadsheet already? Use Setup › Import records instead — see below.
Capturing GPS positions in the field
Every station and sprinkler form has a Location section with three ways to set the position:
- Use my current location — stand at the head or valve box with your phone or tablet and tap it. TurfWise shows how good the fix was, for example "Accurate to ±4 m (GPS)".
- Pick on map — click anywhere to drop a pin, then drag it to fine-tune.
- Type the Latitude and Longitude if you have surveyed coordinates.
Walk the course with your phone
The quickest way to map a course is to capture positions while you're already out there. Open a station, tap Use my current location while standing at it, save, and move on. Wait a few seconds in the open for a tighter fix.
How do I import stations and heads from a spreadsheet?
Open Irrigation › Setup › Import records. Pick what you're importing — Stations, Sprinklers or Field Repairs — choose your CSV or Excel file, match its columns to TurfWise's fields, check the preview and click Import. Importing the same file again updates existing records rather than duplicating them.
The full walkthrough, including templates and saved column mappings, is in Import your irrigation network.
How do I draw my pipe network?
Open System › As-built › Map. It shows everything with a GPS position, and you can tick layers on and off: Stations (amber), Sprinklers (green), Repairs (orange), Pipes and Valve boxes. Pipes are coloured by material and drawn thicker the bigger they are.
Click Draw Pipe to start.
On a computer
Pick the pipe material, diameter and class in the toolbar, then click along the map to trace the run. Double-click to finish, check the length looks right, and click Save Segment.
On a phone or tablet
Touch screens open in tap mode. Move the map so the crosshair sits on the route and tap Add point, or tap Use my GPS to drop a point where you're standing. Tap Finish & Save when you're done. You can switch between modes from the toolbar.
How do I know where to click?
On a computer, TurfWise shows coloured rings around every point you can join to — the pump outlet, existing pipe junctions, stations and sprinklers. Every pipe must start or end on one of these, or on an existing pipe, so the whole network stays connected back to the pump.
A few things happen for you as you draw:
- Stations and sprinklers get connected. End a pipe on one and it's joined to the network.
- You can tee off mid-pipe. Start a new line on an existing pipe and TurfWise splits it at that point.
- Elevation is captured. Each junction gets its ground height from terrain data, so the calculations know about your hills.
Click a pipe on the map to record a flow test, delete it, or ask Burst here — what do I shut off?
Keep an eye on the banners
Below the map, TurfWise warns you about anything that will upset the calculations:
- No pump outlet set — click Place pump on map to fix it.
- Nodes are missing elevation — click Backfill elevations to fill them in. Without this, a hilly course gets treated as flat.
Above the map, a strip flags stations that aren't connected and stray pipe junctions, with a Review button. Move pump lets you reposition the pump station at any time.
How do I run a health check?
Open System › As-built › Pumps & pressure and switch Show to Analysis.
If anything's missing, you'll see Before we can check your hydraulics, with three items: Pump station configured, Pump details added and Pipe layout drawn. Each one links to where you fix it. Your pump also needs to be placed on the map.
Once everything's in place, click Run Health Check.
What do the results mean?
- PASS (green) — every head gets the pressure it needs, with room to spare.
- MARGINAL (amber) — it works, but a station has less than 0.3 bar to spare, or the pumps are working above 85% of capacity.
- FAIL (red) — a station falls below the pressure it needs, the pumps are over 95% of capacity, or a pipe is carrying water too fast (over 2.1 m/s).
If TurfWise doesn't have enough information to be confident, it shows Planning estimate only instead of a verdict.
Below the headline you'll see the Worst-case head, Peak utilisation, Total demand and Pump capacity. The Pressure at Each Head chart shows a bar per station, and Findings explains each problem in plain English with a recommendation and a Show on map link.
There's more in Analysis
The Analysis view also has Predict tools (a Scenario builder and a What-If simulator), Trends (pressure, flow tests and hose points), and Proof (Calibration and an Evidence Brief PDF you can take to committee).
Where do I keep plans and drawings?
Open System › As-built › Plans & docs and click Upload Document. You can upload PDF, XLSX, XLS or CSV files up to 100 MB — as-builts, wiring diagrams, decoder lists and manuals. Click Open to view one.
Deleting is permanent
Delete asks you to confirm, and once a document is gone it can't be recovered.
Common problems
The health check says I'm missing something I've already done
It needs at least one system with pumps and at least one drawn pipe. Adding stations and heads isn't enough — draw the pipes joining them on the map. Make sure the pump is placed on the map too.
My pipe won't save
Every pipe needs to join the pump outlet, an existing pipe, a station or a sprinkler. Zoom in and click inside one of the coloured rings. If nothing has a ring yet, place the pump first.
The results say junctions are at sea level
Some junctions were saved without a height. Click Backfill elevations below the map, then run the health check again.