Recently, I was in San Diego at the Golf Industry Conference and Show. This year the grand announcement from GCSAA was the Drive to Sustainability, pushing our industry to start thinking about sustainability while maintaining the golf course. I was lucky enough to take a refresher class on irrigation auditing to hopefully increase our watering efficiency, in turn save more water and continue the sustainable golf course management. I also walked the trade show floor with my eye out for products that could help me do my job better. I found three products that will help our quest toward sustainability.
The first product is from Spectrum Technologies, Inc. The LightScout light meter.
How it works: Simple, one button operation, you can place this light meter on a green surface and measure the light intensity that the green is receiving. You can also get measurements on light intensity over a 24 hour period.
Practical use: Getting a light reading for your greens can give you valuable information on why the grass may be weak or why one green is doing better than another. Greens in the shade for extended periods of time can continue to stay wet and can result in increased disease pressure. It may only need a simple cultural practice like trimming up a nearby tree. The LightScout can then give you the information to see if your trimming was successful in getting more light to the green.
Sustainability: The ability to understand light intensity and it’s role in the photosynthesis cycle in the plant is priceless when maintaining a golf course. The light scout can potentially reduce chemical applications to weak greens because if you increase light you will increase vigor and overall decrease disease pressure. This not only can save you money but also can help persuade a committee to realize the importance of heavy trimming or removal around the green.
More info can be found here.
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