Golfdom, September 2012

CONTROL A NEW AGE IS DAWNING in the world of golf course maintenance and its hardly a stretch to say so Yes the days of hand watering and gauging moisture manually with soil probes still are alive but theyre not looking so well Some turf professionals imagine its just a matter of time before manual water management becomes a thing of the past In its place will be the world that is emerging now an automated wonderland where water is distributed by computers cell phones and wireless technology Its something superintendents just 10 years ago never saw coming Today its happening Number one Moisture meters are number one in terms of new technology says Adam Moeller agronomist with the USGA Green Section Northeast It seems that most folks visiting either have them or are going to try to get them soon Moisture meters also called moisture sensors enable superintendents to accurately measure soil moisture anywhere on the course They are game changers for superintendents because they reduce the guesswork involved in irrigating In the past watering was much more subjective Moeller says Moisture meters make it more of an objective process because you can really quantify how much moisture is in the soil Scott McBane superintendent at Galloway National Golf Club in Galloway N J has used moisture meters on his course for four years We first started using them just to see what they were all about he says Now were using them on greens tees fairways everything McBane who uses the FieldScout TDR 300 meter from Spectrum Technologies says moisture meters are valuable tools for superintendents because they produce hard data on what the moisture level in the soil actually is It has made a big difference he says We can get in and monitor known areas that are dry and see the exact moisture in the soil Rather than watching things wilt out and going to get it later we can prevent it Its really made what we do better Dan Hawkins superintendent at The Club at Flying Horse in Colorado Springs Colo was sold on the TDR 300 at the 2012 GIS I highly recommend it he says It gives us an idea of how long we can go before giving our greens a drink Superintendents still visually inspect the turf for wilt and use soil probes to see how moist the soil is Moeller says but theyre generally not pulling the core with a soil probe as often as they used to Moisture sensors arent new But within the past five years or so the cost of producing them has declined so theyre becoming more popular Moeller says Continued on page 18 w w w g o l f d o m c o m Golfdom 17 The Players Toro Turf Guard Rain Bird IC system Spectrum FieldScout TDR 300 PHOTO LEFT BY SETH JONES PHOTOS RIGHT COURTESY TORO RAIN BIRD SPECTRUM TECHNOLOGIES