In 1920, the USGA Green Section was established to conduct turfgrass research and develop best practices for golf course construction and maintenance. Since then, our team has been focused on turning research into applied solutions for golf courses. This week, we unveiled an exciting new tool at the GCSAA Conference and Trade Show in San Diego to continue that legacy – the USGA Moisture Meter.
The USGA Moisture Meter was created in collaboration with the METER Group, a leading company that develops cloud-connected scientific instruments for the agricultural, environmental and geotechnical industries. The Green Section was familiar with the quality of METER Group products and the expertise of their team because of connections through our research program. As we looked for opportunities to work together in support of the golf course maintenance industry, the most obvious first step was a hand-held moisture meter that connects to our DEACON® data management system.
The USGA Moisture Meter measures soil moisture, salinity and temperature with a high level of accuracy, and it delivers that information directly into DEACON so you can easily relate those data points to other metrics like putting green firmness for improved management. It also has a protective tine cover and a cart mount to help protect the unit from wear and tear as it’s driven around the course.
The USGA Green Section has long been focused on optimizing golf course water use. Moisture management is critical to successful turfgrass management, golf course playability, and environmental stewardship. In 2023, our research program director, Dr. Cole Thompson, summarized two peer-reviewed journal articles in the Green Section Record article “The Value of Turfgrass Research.” This article highlights the labor efficiency and playing condition improvements that superintendents report from using hand-held moisture meters.
At this year’s GCSAA Conference and Trade Show, we also released the USGA Water Conservation Playbook. This comprehensive document details a range of strategies that will help golf courses optimize irrigation and use less water. These strategies fit a range of budgets and water conservation goals, and are explained in great detail.
The conjunction of these two releases is not an accident. Both the USGA Moisture Meter and the USGA Water Conservation Playbook represent our ongoing commitment and investment in helping golf courses use water as efficiently as possible through research-based solutions.
Southeast Region Agronomists:
Jordan Booth, Ph.D., senior director, USGA Course Consulting Service – jbooth@usga.org
Chris Hartwiger, director, Agronomy – chartwiger@usga.org
Chris Neff, agronomist – cneff@usga.org
Mitch Leininger, agronomist - mleininger@usga.org