As a PGA golfer, I know one of the essential elements of golf is providing consistency. Green speed, firmness, fairway roll, bunker conditions, the height of cut, and this list goes on and on. As a Club Pro for over 20 years, golfers are all too eager to blame their golfing inadequacies on environmental inconsistencies. I know it is hard to please a golfer, if not impossible if they have an off-round. God forbid you don’t break your personal best every time out. But let’s face it, golfers always need something to blame a bad round on without admitting it was them.
I know I make light of the golfer, but playing conditions are critical, and Superintendents strive to provide the most reliable conditions that fall within their means. Superintendents are looking to improve these conditions year after year. One of the most significant impacts on playing characteristics is moisture. Too much water, the ball plugs; too dry, the grass dies. I know I am oversimplifying things, but over-watering can cause root growth to loiter at the surface, leading to spongy and inconsistent roll, which reduces distance on drives or causes a ball not to release from the apron onto the green. Overwatering can also leave a course open to disease, providing a host of other playability issues. Too dry, and courses are at risk of losing turf. With the ungodly amount of increased play we have all endured in the last two years, it is important to balance playability, turf health, and environmental resources.
Moisture, thatch, and grain management on greens have been improving year over year. The techniques and tools available to manage these small but valuable assets are apparent. However, the biggest arena of play – Fairways don’t receive this level of attention. Moisture has a significant impact on these areas, but according to a study done by Chase Straw, Dep. of Crop and Soil Sciences at Texas A&M University, the current standard of monitoring moisture on fairways like ET, weather forecast, random moisture monitoring, irrigation uniformity, or feel and gut still leads to a high course moisture variability.
He also states that precision irrigation and detailed spacial moisture maps will be required to reduce water and provide course moisture uniformity. By having those maps, Superintendents can accurately make pinpointed irrigation decisions. Unlike ET, which is applied to the entire course, moisture maps account for several other variables that play into moisture uniformity, like south-facing slopes, low-lying areas, wind patterns, nozzle wear, soils that retain moisture, and those that don’t.
A study conducted by the USGA estimated that a course could save an average of 10-14% in water by monitoring moisture. These numbers are even more impressive when put into play in real-world cases, some courses had cut water use by 25% while others had saved $85,000 in irrigation costs.
In Chase Straw’s study of 9 golf courses, he had superintendents take measurements on average once every 570 square feet. Some Superintendents were taking upwards of 5,000 readings which is acceptable for a study but unsustainable in the real world.
Until now, if you wanted detailed moisture readings, you were forced to make multiple measurements, just as in this study, but new technologies are changing that methodology. For example, L-Band radiometers can give you 14 accurate readings per second without sticking a probe in the ground. In addition, software like turfRad and taskTracker can provide a high-resolution moisture map from these L-Band sensors so that Superintendents can make timely and informed irrigation decisions.
I won’t say this is the cure to stop golfers from complaining, but maybe they will blame their rounds on an earlier lesson or the pace of play.
Jaime Sharp, PGA
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