The United States Golf Association (USGA) today announced the launch of the USGA Moisture Meter. The easy-to-use tool provides golf course superintendents precise and consistent data regarding soil moisture, salinity and temperature. The data instantly uploads into the USGA’s DEACON technology platform, creating a digital record that can be used to more efficiently manage water usage, plant health and golf course playability.
The soil moisture sensors in the new tool are supplied by METER Group, the world’s leading provider of agricultural soil-plant atmospheric data, allowing for dependable readings and low maintenance. As on-course water-saving decisions become more paramount, and influenced by the USGA’s 15-year, $30 million commitment to help courses significantly reduce their water usage, the USGA Moisture Meter will give superintendents the data they need to determine how they can irrigate more effectively.
“The USGA Green Section is fully committed to providing superintendents with the best science, best practices and best tools to meet the expectations of golfers, golf course leadership and course owners,” said USGA CEO Mike Whan. “We are constantly asked by courses to compare their approach with how we set up our competitions. Now, with the DEACON app, GS3 smart ball and our new USGA Moisture Meter, we are providing superintendents with the same tools and capabilities that we utilize at each of our 15 national championships.”
Key Benefits of the USGA Moisture Meter:
- Improved Course Consistency: By providing accurate and real-time soil moisture data, the USGA Moisture Meter empowers superintendents to make data-driven decisions, resulting in more consistent playing surfaces throughout the season.
- Proprietary Technology: CDX technology from METER Group provides precise and consistent soil moisture, salinity and temperature readings.
- Increased Efficiency: The tool streamlines the data collection process, allowing superintendents and their teams to focus on other critical tasks.
- Enhanced Decision-Making: The integration with DEACON provides a comprehensive view of course conditions, enabling superintendents to make informed decisions about irrigation, applications, and other maintenance practices.
"Our collaboration with the USGA comes at a pivotal time, when METER has made groundbreaking advancements in the CDX technology powering this water content sensor," said Colin Campbell, president of METER Group. "These innovations establish the USGA Moisture Meter as one of the most accurate tools for measuring water content and salinity available today. By bringing this cutting-edge technology – once reserved for premier research applications – into the hands of commercial turf managers, we are empowering them with the same level of accuracy, reliability, and precision trusted by the scientific community."
For the past 30 years, METER scientists and researchers have provided reliable, research-grade instruments that activate both in the lab and in field, with a singular goal of simplifying complex measurement systems. Widely recognized as leaders in the agricultural and engineering space, METER has collaborated with the USGA to bring its proven soil-sensing technology to golf course turf managers for the first time. The working relationship is intended to advance the science of data collection in an affordable tool that is ready to use - streamlining the analytical process. As part of the collaboration, METER will also introduce the USGA’s DEACON data platform to its sports turf management clients, extending the research of the best-in-class, one-stop shop solution for the future.
Launched in 2021, the DEACON app is a digital platform designed by the USGA to help superintendents improve the golfer experience while conserving resources and optimizing labor hours. Golf course operators can input data into DEACON, which tracks putting green surface management via GS3 insights, creates pace-of-play reports, offers hole location options for championship-quality hole location sheets, and provides weather insights.
The USGA Moisture Meter will officially launch at the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America annual conference this week in San Diego, Calif., with live demonstrations and in-booth product discussions taking place throughout the conference’s events. Orders made by the end of the show will be delivered to customers in time for the late-spring golf season planning cycle.
Proceeds from the Moisture Meter will be directly re-invested into the USGA’s critical efforts to support golf’s resource conservation goals. For more information or to purchase the USGA Moisture Meter, please visit gsshop.usga.org, and click here for official editorial content.
About the USGA
The USGA is a mission-based golf organization whose purpose is to unify the golf community through handicapping and grassroots programs; to showcase the game’s best talent through the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open Presented by Ally and 13 other national championships and our museum; to provide unbiased global governance with The R&A through the playing, equipment and Amateur Status rules; and to advance issues important to golf’s future, with a focus on driving sustainability, accessibility and inclusion. As a nonprofit association, our work and our team are driven to act for the good of the game. For more, visit usga.org.
About the USGA Green Section:
Since the founding of the Green Section in 1920, the USGA has led the effort to enhance golf course sustainability. Through research and services to courses that enable improved playing conditions, these efforts are aimed at reducing the consumption of critical resources such as water, chemicals, labor and energy. This mission is achieved through five primary programs – research, course consulting services, technology tools, championship agronomy and professional education and outreach. The USGA’s annual investment of $10 million in science, research, agronomy and course consulting efforts is estimated to provide more than $1.9 billion in savings to U.S. golf courses each year. These savings are realized through more efficient water, fuel, labor and nutrient management practices all while supporting improved playing conditions, for the good of the game.
About METER Group:
At METER Group, we aim to benefit humankind by developing innovative biophysical measurement tools that simplify environmental data collection, empowering meaningful discoveries in sustainability, safety, and ecosystem conservation.
No comments:
Post a Comment