GIS 2011 leftovers: Session snippets

Sitting in on several education sessions at the 2011 GCSAA Education Conference, I began to pick up on a concept that I think you'll be hearing a lot more about in the months and years to come: precision turf management (PTM).

PTM goes way beyond best management practices using the industry's most advanced technologies to provide a golf course manager with detailed, site-specific information to apply water "only where needed, only when needed, and only the amount needed," according to the University of Georgia's Robert Carrow, Ph.D. Carrow was one of four presenters at Monday's "What the Tech? Technology Solutions for Your Turf" session.

Carrow and Toro have been developing  sensor technology in a mobile, pull-behind platform that is capable of spatially mapping key plant and soil attributes in a high-density grid. The platform utilizes GPS, GIS, reflectance sensing and penetration resistance (possibly more; my pen couldn't keep up) to measure volumetric water content in the soil's top 4 inches every 8 feet under "drier" field conditions rather than at field capacity.

The data generated by this technology provides "a lot more powerful information, and is an alternative to the old water audit," Carrow says. In addition, he says, it is rapid; allows detailed, wall-to-wall fairway maps; and generates enough specific data to allow the superintendent to analyze each irrigation head, if necessary. 

Precision turf management got passing mentions later in the week, both at Tuesday's "Agronomic Solutions: The Latest and Greatest in Turf Management" session and at Friday's "Lessons Learned Come in All Forms" presented by the USGA. Carrow says the technology will become more widely available by late spring.