Across the golf industry, water is becoming one of the most critical – and constrained – resources. From the American Southwest to Colorado and coastal Europe, superintendents are facing increasing pressure to reduce water usage while maintaining high-quality playing conditions.

For turfRad customers, that balance is becoming more achievable. By combining precise soil moisture data with actionable insights, courses are not only reducing water usage – they’re improving consistency, playability, and long-term turf health.

Colorado: Managing Severe Constraints with Precision

In Colorado, drought conditions and water limitations are not new, but recent seasons have pushed even well-prepared operations to their limits.

At Ravenna Country Club, Director of Agronomy Steve Datwyler has used turfRad to support more informed irrigation decisions, resulting in input reductions of up to 25%. These results have even been shared with the club’s water provider, demonstrating a measurable commitment to responsible resource use.

Beyond savings, the impact is visible on the course.

With the integration of Toro’s Spatial Adjust alongside turfRad, Ravenna has improved distribution and achieved more consistent playing conditions – something members have noticed and appreciated, particularly across fairways.

“turfRad has supplied us with valuable data to support informed irrigation decisions.”

turfRad also plays a key role in adapting to changing weather patterns. By reducing irrigation ahead of rainfall and carefully reintroducing water afterward, the team is able to conserve significant amounts of water without compromising turf performance.

At The Country Club at Castle Pines, Director of Grounds Lance Lauer has faced even more extreme constraints.

Following a pond renovation and ongoing drought conditions, the club’s available water supply dropped from 2,200 gallons per minute to just 200 GPM, turning what was once a standard overnight irrigation cycle into a three-day process with pumps running continuously.

Under these conditions, precision becomes essential.

Using turfRad, Lance’s team has been able to prioritize the most critical areas first, ensuring that limited water is applied where it matters most. Combined with ongoing irrigation system improvements – including adjustments to hydraulics, nozzle configurations, and spacing – the result has been significantly improved distribution and moisture uniformity across the course.

“Utilizing the turfRad sensors has allowed us to target the most critical areas first and foremost.”

The outcome is not just survival under pressure, but performance:

• Fairway moisture reduced from over 20% to ~14%
• Greens and approaches reduced from ~18% to ~12.5%
• Firmer, faster playing conditions that remain visually appealing

At the same time, reduced water usage has encouraged deeper root development, strengthening turf resilience during prolonged stress.

As Lance’s experience shows, turfRad didn’t just support day-to-day decisions, it helped his team better understand their irrigation system and make meaningful improvements.

Arizona: Reducing Water Use Under Extreme Conditions

At Tonto Verde in Arizona, Director of Agronomy Travis Blamires faces a unique combination of challenges: drought pressure, high salinity water, and poorly draining soils.

Historically, the team relied on daily visual inspections – identifying dry or wet areas during morning setup, then returning to the central system to manually adjust irrigation schedules. This process was time-consuming and often left little room to address all problem areas effectively.

At the same time, water quality compounded the issue. High salinity irrigation water, combined with limited drainage, often resulted in overly wet conditions that negatively impacted playability. The team was also hesitant to skip irrigation cycles, fearing turf stress in extreme desert temperatures.

With turfRad, that approach has fundamentally changed.

By providing clear visibility into soil moisture levels, the team can now confidently skip irrigation days when conditions allow, even during periods of high heat.

“Using turfRad, we’re able to skip irrigation days because we actually know what moisture is in the soil – not just what we expect based on conditions.”

Water quality remains the biggest challenge. More irrigation introduces more salts, which further degrades soil health and limits drainage. Using turfRad to identify wetter and drier areas across the course allows the team to fine-tune irrigation and reduce unnecessary water application, helping to manage salinity more effectively.

The impact is not just theoretical – it’s practical and immediate.

In one instance, turfRad helped identify an electrical issue in an irrigation satellite before temperatures exceeded 100°F. Over several days, scans showed a section of fairway becoming progressively drier despite adjustments. The issue was traced to a loose fuse that had prevented irrigation in that area. Catching it early prevented significant turf loss during extreme heat conditions.

In another case, consistently wet areas in front of greens were identified and addressed through separate irrigation programs, improving playability in high-traffic zones.

Overall, turfRad has enabled Tonto Verde to move from reactive, time-intensive irrigation management to a more precise, data-driven approach, improving course conditions while reducing water use.

Florida: Controlling Water Under Drought Pressure

At Collier’s Reserve Country Club in Florida, Superintendent Ken Kleinedler is navigating water management challenges that take a different form – balancing efficiency and consistency under ongoing drought conditions.

Following one of the driest years in decades, with rainfall totals approximately 27 inches below normal, the course is currently operating under D3 (Severe) drought conditions. Despite these constraints, the team has been able to significantly reduce water usage while maintaining – and even improving – playing conditions.

By comparing current performance to historical periods with similar weather patterns, Collier’s Reserve has achieved average water savings of 1–1.5 million gallons per month.

Rather than relying on traditional irrigation practices, turfRad enables a more precise, targeted approach – identifying exactly where water is needed and avoiding unnecessary application across already sufficient areas.

The result is not just conservation, but consistency. Even under prolonged drought pressure, the course has maintained high-quality conditions with no visible hot spots, while member feedback on fairway playability has been overwhelmingly positive.

Collier’s Reserve demonstrates that effective water management is not just about reducing usage, it’s about applying water more intelligently, even in some of the most challenging conditions.

Proactive Water Reduction in Water-Restricted Regions

At Loraloma in Texas, water management is not just about responding to drought, it’s about staying ahead of it.

Operating in a region where water use is closely monitored, Director of Agronomy Stewart Naugler and his team have taken a proactive approach to conservation. By using turfRad to guide irrigation decisions, the course reduced nightly water usage from approximately 700,000 gallons to nearly half that amount, while maintaining the firm, fast playing conditions the course is known for.

“We’ve reduced water usage by nearly 50% – while still delivering the firm, fast conditions expected at Loraloma.”

Their ability to demonstrate these reductions has also strengthened their position with local authorities – highlighting how data-driven irrigation can support both performance and responsible resource management.

Learn more about Loraloma’s approach here: https://terraradtech.com/turfrad–loralomasuccess–story/

Southern Europe: Improving Consistency Under Heat and System Limitations

At Real Sociedad Hípica Española Club de Campo in Madrid, Superintendent Juan Manuel López-Bellido faces a different set of challenges – long, hot summers, an extended irrigation season, and an aging irrigation system with uneven water distribution.

While year-to-year comparisons can be difficult due to weather variability, the team estimates water savings of 8–10% since implementing turfRad. Given the cost of recycled water used on-site, these savings have nearly offset the investment in the system within the first year.

Beyond overall consumption, the biggest impact has been on irrigation precision and consistency. With uneven coverage being a persistent issue, turfRad has enabled the team to identify both under- and over-watered areas and proactively adjust irrigation patterns to improve uniformity across the course.

In Madrid’s high-heat conditions, this level of insight is critical.

By continuously monitoring moisture levels, the team can anticipate issues before they become visible, adjusting irrigation intervals to prevent dry patches and overly soft areas from developing during peak summer stress.

The result is not just reduced water use, but noticeably improved conditions.

“We’ve achieved a consistency and firmness on the fairways during and at the end of summer that we hadn’t seen in previous years – even in less hot seasons.”

As Juan Manuel summarizes, the outcome is clear: lower water consumption and better playing conditions, even under some of the most demanding summer conditions.

A Common Pattern Across Regions

While each course operates under different conditions, a clear pattern emerges:

• Targeted irrigation replaces blanket watering
• Data replaces guesswork and increases confidence
• Early detection prevents overwatering and stress
• Consistency improves across all playing surfaces

Most importantly, reducing water does not mean compromising quality – in many cases, conditions actually improve.

Building a Stronger Business Case for Water Management

For many operations, water savings are not just an environmental goal – they are a business necessity.

Across turfRad customers, results include:

• Measurable reductions in water usage (10–25%+)
• Improved distribution and irrigation efficiency
• Reduced strain on aging irrigation systems
• Stronger turf through deeper rooting and optimized moisture levels

These outcomes create a clear ROI – not only through reduced inputs, but through more consistent conditions and more efficient operations.

Conclusion

Drought is no longer an isolated challenge – it is becoming a defining factor in how golf courses are managed around the world.

The courses that succeed will not simply use less water – they will use water more intelligently.

Across regions, one thing is clear: when superintendents have access to precise, realtime data, they can reduce water use while improving consistency, playability, and turf performance.

With turfRad, water management shifts from reactive decision-making to measurable, data-driven performance, ensuring that even under increasing pressure, course conditions remain consistent, resilient, and optimized.