[TEPaul]

What are some of the advanced technologies that may be able to help promote and provide classic playabilities such as better and more manageable firm and fast conditions?

Many years ago during a lunch Jim Finegan made the memorable statement to me that classic architecture is wonderful but we shouldn't forget that advances in the modern age have the capacity to make classic architecture better and play better than it ever did before. In that vein, we should never forget all the agronomic problems the Golden Agers were faced with (in their opinions) that we can better handle today.

I'm just wondering what's out there that can make things better and more manageable than they have ever been before, particularly in an ideal classic course/architecture/maintenance framework.

One example may be this AST system (Advanced Sensor Technology) that gives instance computer feeback on soil conditions particularly moisture content/salinity etc. It would seem it gives superintendents far faster reaction time, and it seems to promote less irrigation use which goes right to the goal of ideal firm and fast playability, not to even mention the goal or water conservation that will probably be a much greater demand/requirement in the future.

What other technologies can provide really good classic playabilities and more efficient maintenance/mangagement of them?

[Rich Goodale]

Good topic, Tom

I think that the technological ability to keep courses (particularly the auld links courses) fast and firm has made them far more robust in being able to "defend" themsleves against the elite players.  When slow and soft, even the best of the old courses are pussycats to the modern player.  When set up properly, even the best players can struggle to break par on 6500-7000 courses with world class designs.

Rich

[Jeff_Mingay]

Tom,

There are some really smart irrigation designers and advance watering systems available these days.

Individual head control -- which, obviously, wasn't available years ago -- allows for more efficient and accurate watering in general. This goes a long way toward providing optimum turf conditions and a more consistently firm playing surface.

The most advanced irrigation designs and watering systems actually allow superintendents to water less... which is a bit confusing to some people: "You mean we're spending all this money on a new irrigation system in an effort not to water the course?!"

[Adam Clayman]

Is the Thump-meter new?

Not exactly a new technology but there's a gentleman who has put a couple of applications together that measures the amount of direct sunlight a given area will receive.

This information, when presented properly to a committee, justifies tree removal in affected areas, increasing play-abilities.

Tom, This AST system, does it measure many areas at once? All areas? Are these sensors in the ground, or, only on the surface?

Seems like there's not much bang for your buck if this system costs too much. What super doesn't know his specific high spots that let him know when things are really drying out?

[Charlie Goerges]

Technology is an interesting subject because the dynamics of how new technologies get adopted is somewhat opaque. There is almost always some factor other than reliability or cost that contributes to the success or failure of something, and I don't understand it.

How large an area does a ground moisture sensor cover reliably? Just thinking out loud here (so to speak) but the contours of the ground would seem to have a large impact on the moisture content. So if there is a lot of variation, you'd need a lot of sensors. In a case like that, I wonder if some sensor unrelated to moisture could make a reasonably accurate reading.

A decent vision sensor could probably judge the color of the turf, and through the use of a PLC, turn on the proper heads. If you concentrated your efforts on the areas that will dry out the fastest, you could probably get by with a relatively small number of such sensors.

Now I could be wrong about turf color being a decent predictor of moisture, but if it's even somewhat reliable, then it could probably be done. Obviously readings couldn't be done at night though.

[Greg Chambers]

My advanced technologies that I utilize to judge consistant f&f would be me driving the course each morning (in a high-tech electric cart with my dog running beside), checking everything, then me playing the course each afternoon (with my high-tech driver in the bag), checking everything, then making any necessary adjustments prior to irrigating/not irrigating (with my high-tech computerized central irrigation controller).  Sensors are bells and whistles that can be used as tools, but not relyed upon for management purposes, IMO.

[Grant Davey]

Definetly, an updated well designed irrigation system and good drainage are the best advancements/investments.

A well trained/knowledgable individual with a soil probe and hose works best of all for determining watering needs. Wetting Agents are a must.

A senor will tell you what is happening around the senor but sadly not the other 60-100 plus acres of maintainted Turf. 

Advancements in lighter weight mowers would be worth considering as would the refinement of grass species.

[TEPaul]

"Tom, This AST system, does it measure many areas at once? All areas? Are these sensors in the ground, or, only on the surface?"

Adam:

A bit hard for me to say in any detail at this time because I've never even seen one of these censors before seeing one on the table in a diner at breakfast this morning.

But I'm certainly going to look into it all for a whole lot of reasons, not the least one being that Matt Shaeffer, Merion's really good super who is certainly into firm and fast completely believes in this system and product.

The censor and the probs are placed underground. Of that I think I can be sure.


I may not have been paying close enough attention, Adam, to what the man who makes these things was saying but I believe he said he thinks this technology is so sophisticated that in a few years these censors may be able to detect an architectural ignoramous like Rich Goodale coming perhaps even when he drives into the club and that fact may be capable of getting printed out on the screen of the computer in the Maintenance Dept and the super may be able to set up things accordingly.

I do know this man said he can program these censors for audio capacity so one on a green, for instance, can laugh, guffaw or even boo architectural ignoramouses like Rich when he approaches their green! I asked him if you could program a censor to cut a big fart when Rich was just about to putt, and he said that would be a technological snap and no probably at all.

[Jim_Kennedy]

TEP,
Here's their website.
http://www.advancedsensors.com/index.htm

They sued Toro Co. for a patent infringement when Toro released it's "Turf Guard", a similar in-green sensing system.   

I wonder if these systems work as well on older, soil based greens that might not be as consistent as a newer, spec'd green?

[TEPaul]

JimK:

Thanks for the info. I have their packet, website etc and I'm aware of the lawsuit that apparently will get its day in Federal court here in a month or so.

[JESII]

Improved aeration techniques.

20 years ago our course would seem virtually unplayable for at least a week after the spring and fall aerations...Scott now uses small holes that have no ill effects on playability...for play days, this is a huge improvement in a 6 month season.

[Brian Laurent]

I wonder if these systems work as well on older, soil based greens that might not be as consistent as a newer, spec'd green?

Jim-

They will work very well in older, soil based greens.  Scioto had great success with these in their old greens...they actually used the data to justify their green reconstruction plans to the membership.

Brian

[Mark Bourgeois]

Soiltac

[Phil_the_Author]

If one wants to really see a return to "classic" firm and fast conditions then technology MUST be rolled back.

The great classic courses were designed to reward shots that had a much lower ball flight and far less spin and with ZERO correctability built into the tools of the game. That is why I don't believe we will ever see courses again designed or even set-up to promote a ground game for major and important championships in most of the world's tournaments. It is also why there are almost no true shot-makers who concentrate on working a golf ball around a course playing championship golf. Even a talent such as tiger Woods speaks more about "taking one side of the course out of play" rather than planning on working balls right-to-left and left-to-right throughout a course.

Consider even how the R&A is now "adjusting" the Open courses to meet the requirements for the modern game. Tiger's Open "stinger tee-shots" championship victory is probably the last of the great game game wins...

[Jason Topp]

In Minnesota, greens have really firmed up in the last few years on the classic courses.  I now struggle to find a ball mark on courses that used to feature mushy greens.  Angle into the green has become much more important.

I understand superintendents are firming up the greens using wetting agents.

[Don_Mahaffey]

I believe sensor technology to be one of the better tools to come along in quite some time.
Can you cover every square yard of your course, of course not?

Can you measure moisture, salinity and temp in your greens, damn right you can.
In my situation I have very bad water; high salt, low calcium, leaving me with a very high Sodium Adsorption Rate, (SAR).
Usually it's not an issue as we get a lot of rain >45 inches annually. But, last year we were 21 inches below and so for this year we are 11 inches behind.

So, we have to flush our salts, combined with a lot of other tools we use like certain acids, wetting agents, fertilizers and cultural techniques. It's informative to sit and watch the moisture build up and them break through and see the salt numbers tumble. Now, could you grab moisture probes and EC meters and run around the course and check it out while it's happening? Yes, but usually it's in the middle of the night. With the sensors you just pull it up and see what happened, five minutes at a time. Compare that with your irrigation programming record and it's easy to stay on top of it at all times. Add in the notes you take whenever you apply a product or do something to the greens and you begin to build a recorded database that ties it all together. We already intuitively do that sort of thing, but the senosrs are one more bit of real information you get in real time. No guess work as the numbers do not lie. Want to know what the soil temps are before you apply a pre-emergent, yes you can run around with a thermometer, or you can look back over the last month and see the temp changes in the soil. Want to know how much a rainfall leached your salts vs an irrigation flush, it's all right there.


Does that mean you sit in the office glued to the monitor? Hell no, it's all recorded and available to you with a few mouse clicks.
I'm sure we heard the same thing when weather stations came out or computerized irrigation and so on. It's another tool that gives you the data to make decisions based on fact. That's a good thing. If anything I've learned its knowing what's going on in the ground is a bit like looking a few days into the future. There's a delay between underground levels and above ground changes. Sensors help me be a bit more proactive and I plan on learning a whole lot more about how to use them better.

Right now, there are two sensor dealers that I know of, AST and TORO. I think one of the major players with AST is a member at Merion so it makes sense that Matt Shaffer would be a leader in the sensor field.

[Patrick_Mucci]

TEPaul,

A well educated superintendent intimately familiar with his golf course is the best medicine for maximizing the playabilities, provided the membership allows him to perform.

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