A cooling section for flat rolling stock (1) has a working region (2), through which the flat rolling stock (1) is guided. The working region (2) can be supplied with a liquid coolant (4) by means of a number of spray beams (3i). The liquid coolant (4) is fed from a reservoir (7) for the liquid coolant (4) to the spray beams (3i) by means of a pump (5) and a supply system (6). Valves (9i) are arranged upstream of the spray beams (3i) in the supply system (6). Opening positions (si) of the valves (9i) are set by a control unit (10) of the cooling section according to a respective sub-flow (fi) that is to be applied to the flat rolling stock (1) by means of each spray beam (3i). Also, the delivery rate (M) of the pump (5) and/or a line pressure (p) generated by the pump (5) in the supply system (6) are set by the control unit (10) according to the total flow (F) that is to be applied to the flat rolling stock (1) by means of all the spray beams (3i).