Welcome to the future of machinery data collection

In a world awash with data, tech that can gather and analyse it is potentially priceless for groundcare managers working in the face of stiffening pressure on resources and efficiency.

Monitoring a single machine’s activity and performance via GPS for managers to process was one of the first steps towards ‘intelligent’ operation, and major manufacturers have introduced several advances on the original concept as tech grows ever smarter in the service of turfcare.

The quantum leap now is in connectivity. If you know all about how one machine behaves, why not know everything about your entire fleet – what machines are doing where across the sports facility, performance, maintenance schedules, repair protocols, idle time, and how the groundcare team interacts with the kit? All parameters tethered to reveal the full 360 degree view for managers to make informed decisions based on actuals.

The major players in golf are already at it, moving from trialling to tech rollout. Carnoustie and Wentworth are early adopters of John Deere’s precision turf technology, for example, recently showcased for dealers at a German golf complex, near the Mannheim factory, that has been assessing the management system for nearly two years.

Golfpark Kurpfalz superintendent Roger Glaser.

The 27-hole Golfpark Kurpfalz venue in Limburghofer demonstrated  electric E-Cut walk-behind greens mowers, now available,  7700A E-Cut hybrid fairways mower and HD 200 ProGator GPS precision sprayer.

Under Connect, Guide and Manage protocols, machinery is linked to a cloud-based operations centre for co-ordinating machines and work-related data, accessible 24/7, to reveal where and when the fleet is and who’s driving it. Live access to Carnoustie’s centre displayed a network of machine trails, each a record of their passage across the turf in real time.

The data gives Golfplatz course superintendent, Roger Glaser, the evidence to adjust duties and running times to improve performance and limit machine idling periods, “which for lease agreements can cost courses money”, Deere notes.

Machinery connected via JDLink telemetry has runtimes, fuel level and location data logged in the centre, where managers can plan tasks precisely to ‘maximise uptime and use machines’ position to ensure optimal use’.

“The Machine Analyzer inspects and visualises machine data to identify service needs or to distribute hours evenly between the fleet,” Deere adds.

Starfire receivers, universal displays and AutoTrac guidance systems, ‘easily transferred from one machine to another’, help precision technology attract proven cost savings.

The JDLink modem is fitted in base from model year 2024 machines, including 1500 series TerrainCut front mowers and 1600 Turbo wide area units, Deere reports. Commercial Z Trak zero-turn mowers and compact utility tractors can be retrofitted to allow courses to move their entire fleet online potentially.

Connectivity is standard on the E-Cut 185 and 225 walk-behind greens mowers and the E-Cut 2750 ride-on - to make 90% of the golf portfolio connected as standard, it adds.

Talking the same language

Toro is also travelling the tech trail and, like Deere, saw spraying as low-lying fruit in greenkeeping’s bid to up the green credentials and improve cost controls.  It’s GeoLink system attaches to any Multi Pro 5800 and 1750

sprayer, delivering what’s said to be two-centimetre accuracy, straightforward reporting and major savings in turf treatment liquids the machines apply.

Real-time kinematic correction technology and AGS-2 receiver gather four satellite ‘constellations’ that log precise location data. Machine:machine linkup lets connected sprayers share data in real time via WiFi (handy when multiple machines tackle one job) to overlap and let one sprayer pick up where the last left off.

Machines connect straight to the Internet to extract data for course correction, even when signals are patchy, the company explains, while optional fallback features allow spraying even when machines work beyond satellite range.

Real-time GPS tracking with ‘wide-area augmentation’ cuts risk of overspraying and possible turf damage - limiting chance of human error as Geolink can turn nozzles on and off autonomously so managers know what has and hasn’t been sprayed and how much liquid has gone down.

Time, water and money are the savings such systems offer managers keen to cut costs and improve efficiency, as is limiting turf wear – once a job is mapped, sprayers know what to do next time, however complex the course.

Operational data for Deere’s HD 200 ProGator GPS precision sprayer show it can cut turf treatment costs by nearly 30 per cent (well beyond the manufacturer’s own predictions of up to 21 per cent) and reduce water consumption by up to a quarter - GPS control helping courses boost the accuracy of spray coverage as nozzles only cover pre-set.

In an interesting twist to the tech story, Deere notes that operator heart rate during spraying is far lower when they manage a machine fitted with a precision turf system than one without it.

Intelligent spraying is just one piece in the connectivity jigsaw however: managers running a fleet of turf machinery (Wentworth’s is 120 strong) want to know what their kit is up to and where, throughout the day.

Deere’s connectivity tech gives them that opportunity, as also promises Toro’s myTurf software, whether switching to an electric fleet or sidestepping costly repairs by maintaining and servicing machinery regularly.

Toro spent a decade developing the management tool for equipment and parts, operable whatever manufacturer’s machinery sites run. The web-based application tracks and manages ‘all assets’, using the office desktop or smartphone the course.

“In an industry like turfcare, a good fleet management system is more than just a want,” a Toro spokesperson states. “To free up more time to care for turf and wow players and spectators, it’s a need.”

Both myTurf standard, free version and Pro subscription options are available, the latter including more sophisticated reporting and enhanced technical support.

Using Toro wireless hour meters, which connect to each machine, and base station for them to talk to, Pro tracks fleet operations in real-time and updates automatically.

“We’ve seen particular success with the Pro platform at football clubs and larger golf courses, where multiple fleets operate across multiple areas like a training ground and stadium,” the company reports.

‘Huge’ time savings are key gains for grounds teams and course managers in such settings, it adds, as there’s no need to physically travel to track equipment because the system delivers ‘full traceability and accountability’, vital when many staff are on duty.

Routine maintenance tasks, such as checking tyre pressures or wheel nut torque, lets managers stay ahead on preventive measures to help extend machinery lifetime and reduce unplanned downtime and unbudgeted costs.

Once the machine serial number is inputted or QR code scanned, software serves up a full maintenance schedule. Inventory management and automated reordering help avoid stock issues too, and teams can track a service or repair status in real time.

Strategic planning, using connected tech, lets managers schedule machinery tasks, see it in the field, create reports on equipment performance, maintenance history and fuel consumption to make evidence-based decisions.

“Data insights are important when discussing reordering machines and presenting a case to the board or committee, since you’ll have the figures to back your requests up. You’ll also be able to calculate the total cost of ownership for each linked machine,” Toro says.

The value of real-time data to help turfcare managers pinpoint potential efficiency gains is increasingly important – benefits making investment in connectivity a choice likely to deliver faster payback times.

Much of what’s available to the turf sector has transitioned from the agriculture, Deere says, with more still to come, and big brother fears don’t appear to have materialised.

Feedback suggests greens teams are welcoming the ‘connected course’ as a way to raise efficiency and boost productivity across the board, Deere reported at the presentation. And those who leave the team aren’t forgotten - they leave a recorded legacy of work managers can pass on to their successors, a valuable training aid potentially.

After all, why shouldn’t course managers, or grounds professionals across sport and leisure for that matter, have the tools and data to let them raise efficiency, prioritise decisions based on evidence and ease the work cycle of their team?

Information is power, and the control managers have over the maintenance function can hand them the means to argue persuasively in the clubhouse for more resources.

“It’s about doing more work in less time, comfortably,” said Christoph Metz, John Deere product marketing manager for turf, presenting. “The journey starts with connectivity and educating customers for what’s coming.”