Sixty properties -- including major golf courses and sports turf facilities as well as agricultural and municipal locations -- have installed UgMO, the wireless underground monitoring system, that debuted earlier this year.
For Sean Anderson, Superintendent at Card Sound Golf Club in Key Largo, Fla., UgMO technology came on strong recommendation from Merion Golf Club's Matt Shaffer, an avid UgMO user and advocate.
In the spring, Card Sound was combating tired greens from a lack of rainfall. Then came summer with heavy rains that opened up the course. With the changing Florida weather, Sean was eager to eliminate the guesswork of when and how much to water.
Since UgMO went underground at Card Sound in early April, Anderson has been working with UgMO's agronomic team to closely monitor soil moisture.
"The readings have changed substantially from spring to summer,” Anderson said. “With UgMO technology in place, we're able to see exactly how much moisture the soil retains depending on the season, analyze trending patterns, and develop healthy thresholds.”
Now, Anderson’s on course to cultivate the healthiest plant possible and enhance playability at Card Sound. "I followed the recommendation on UgMO, and would definitely pass it on to other superintendents.”
At a recent Arizona Greens tournament hosted at Desert Mountain Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., director of agronomy Shawn Emerson wasn't suprised to hear players comment on the great playability of the greens.
In May, Emerson installed UgMO technology on four of Desert Mountain's six signature Jack Nicklaus courses, spanning 500 acres of turf in the desert. UgMO's advanced sensors are helping Desert Mountain optimize turf conditions over more days in a year.
Extreme Arizona weather? No sweat. From the baking summer sun (up to 115 degrees) to snow blasts in winter, UgMO monitors moisture in the soil and analyzes trending patterns.
"We had been using 900 million to 1 billion gallons of effluent water per year," Emerson said. "Before UgMO, I'd have said we were good irrigators. But now, with UgMO's 24/7, real-time measurements of soil moisture and salinity, we're equipped with far better data to make better irrigation decisions."
Soil salinity is under control, too. With UgMO, Emerson's been able to scale back on calcium amendments and log major savings in labor.
"Even though our courses are in the same location, they react differently to water levels and salinity, and we can see that now with the UgMO technology. We're definitely more consistent in our watering practices -- we're saving a good 10 to 15 percent on our annual water usage," Emerson said.
