Introducing turfRad
Data is fast reshaping how greenkeepers, grounds teams and course managers approach their work. It is enabling smarter, more efficient, and more sustainable decisions to be made every day.
The pressures facing turf professionals are well known: limited budgets, labour shortages and rising player expectations. At the same time, climate change is bringing new challenges in the form of unpredictable weather patterns, droughts, and heavier rainfall.
Now, there’s a software solution that tackles all of that and allows turf managers to be even more proactive with their irrigation.
turfRad is an advanced soil moisture mapping solution that helps turf professionals optimise playing conditions.
Introducing turfRad…
Thanks to Toro’s exclusive partnership with TerraRad, turfRad uses remote sensing technology to detect moisture information deep under the surface accessing everything there is to know to make actionable changes to improve irrigation. It integrates with Toro Lynx Central Control platform to save natural resources and optimise turf conditions. The information it collects helps provide a streamlined, more effective irrigation strategy that eliminates the need for manual labour when it comes to moisture monitoring and sprinkler adjustments.
How does it work?
Patented smart sensors installed on Toro equipment map root-zone soil moisture levels while mowing. Rugged and waterproof, these sensors are designed for quick and easy installation on mowers, UTVs or other turf machinery, requiring minimal additional work.
Each sensor takes about 10,000 single-point measurements per fairway and detects the chlorophyll content and surface temperature from the microwaves naturally emitting from the soil.
This subsurface data reveals early stress before it’s visible meaning irrigation can be proactive rather than only reactive as it is now.
This real-time data is sent to Lynx Central Control platform, where it can be viewed in real time on colour-coded maps that indicate moisture variations. To ensure proper irrigation customised to course needs, the software provides individual sprinkler adjustment recommendations that can be made with the touch of a button.
Specific moisture level targets can be set with the flexibility to override the system as desired. By streamlining the process, Spatial Adjust helps create consistent, uniform fairway playing conditions and optimises water usage while ensuring control stays firmly in the turf pro’s hands.
turfRad provides a detailed, field-wide picture so turf managers can target irrigation only where it’s needed.
What are the benefits?
The rising costs of irrigation, the pursuit of sustainability and its increasing scarcity have made the efficient use of water a critical priority. That’s where TerraRad comes in – it’s smarter irrigation. Information is power and never more so when it has a direct impact on the use of a natural resource.
Unlike traditional probes that take readings at individual points, turfRad provides a detailed, field-wide picture of where moisture is high, where it’s low and how those patterns shift across the day or season. This data can be leveraged to optimise irrigation accuracy and minimise water waste: instead of watering uniformly and risking over- or under-irrigating in different zones, turf managers can target irrigation only where it’s needed.
Benefits
- Significant water savings compared to traditional irrigation practices.
- Improved turf health with more even growth as well as reduced stress and disease susceptibility.
- Data-driven decisions that can be clearly communicated to committees or stakeholders.
- Detect irrigation inefficiencies and fix issues before they escalate.
Collect data and map your course automatically every time you mow – no extra work needed.
For golf course management, where irrigation represents a large portion of input costs, turfRad’s insights play a pivotal role in improving profitability – and in periods of drought, when irrigation restrictions may come into play, being able to demonstrate optimal turf performance and responsible water usage can be extremely valuable.
Backed by Toro and TerraRad, turfRad sets the new standard for golf course management – and is distributed in the UK by Reesink.