Cog Hill Country Club in Chicago, Illinois includes almost every product SubAir

offers in their turf maintenance routine. 

There are SubAir systems on 19 greens and one tee. All are controlled by the AirWave wireless monitoring and control system with AirWave soil sensors on holes number 16 and number 4. In addition, they have four TurfBreeze fans located in areas with poor air circulation. 

When Cog Hill began its renovation of their Dubsdread Course in 2007, owner Frank Jemsek chose to include SubAir on every green. Superintendent Ken Lapp has been in golf course maintenance for 55 years and has been impressed by the technology he now uses daily to maintain his greens. "Naturally we use SubAir when we have heavy rains.

It takes the water right off. Then, when we want to firm up the greens we use it as a tool for that. We can use it whenever we need it, but we also have them running on an intermittent schedule," explains Lapp. 

Cog Hill’s SubAir system is controlled by AirWave. "The AirWave has really surprised me. This technology has really helped out. We have AirWave soil sensors on two greens – number 16 and number 4. On these greens I can tell what my moisture level is and the soil temperature. I think it’s a valuable tool and I wouldn’t mind seeing AirWave sensors on all the greens. During the summer, and especially this summer, I was looking at it (AirWave monitoring screens) everyday just to see where we were."

Lapp is also very satisfied with SubAir’s customer service. "The units were put in during the rebuilding of the greens by the golf course construction company under SubAir’s supervision. Before construction began, a SubAir Project Manager laid out all the spots where the vaults would be installed. He has been there to help me learn the best ways to use the system. And with the SubAir Service and Support Package, he comes annually and checks every green and runs tests on everything to make sure there is no trouble at all. SubAir’s customer service has been tremendous!"

"I can definitely tell a difference between now and before SubAir was installed," praises Lapp.   "Especially when you get a rain, you turn it on and the water is sucked right out of the greens, gets the players out faster!"