As the WinterTurf 2024–2025 data collection season comes to a close, the WinterTurf sensing nodes are being removed to make way for spring maintenance and regular golf course operations. This winter marked our largest data collection effort yet, with 75 sensing nodes deployed across the northern hemisphere at golf courses and research sites. These nodes collected 702,905 data packets and 16,713,955 sensor readings, capturing the daily changes that influence turf health during the harshest months of the year.

By refining our technology and pursuing collaborative research, we aim to equip superintendents with the knowledge they need to protect and maintain their greens throughout the winter.

Technological advancements in WinterTurf sensing

 

This season, our team introduced sensing improvements to our data collection and sensor monitoring efforts. Our new Command Execution (CommandExe) support tool for our v3 data logger enables a remote command function to check connectivity and fine-tune functionality. Additionally, our updated dashboards provide real-time diagnostics, improving our daily monitoring capabilities.

 

With every season comes challenges. Some courses experienced poor cellular signal or quality, not allowing the node to send data in real time and limiting our remote access for diagnostics. To address this issue, our system is designed to store all data locally on an internal microSD card, which we can download once the node comes back to the lab in the spring. Another challenge in winter is the limited sunlight – our system relies on incoming solar energy with a battery backup. During the darkest months, some nodes still require manual battery charging by course superintendents, ensuring continued operation in very low-light conditions.

 

Exploring data through a multidisciplinary hackathon

 

Recently, we had an exciting two-day intensive hackathon event that included researchers, data scientists, and turfgrass experts. The meeting aimed to generate research questions and uncover patterns at a fast-paced tempo using our growing and extensive dataset. The group explored questions such as:

 

  • How do CO2 accumulation rates differ between these three cover conditions: ice, impermeable covers, and impermeable covers and ice (Figure 1)?
  • Which combination of fall practices correlates most strongly with reduced winterkill damage?
  • How do light intensity levels under different covers correlate with turfgrass recovery rates?

 

A bar graph showing weekly average CO2 levels under various winter turf cover types including impermeable covers and ice.

Figure 1. Exploratory bar graph showing weekly average CO2 levels under cover types: impermeable covers, ice, both ice and impermeable covers, or other cover type. Credit: Majid Farhadloo.

 

While the hackathon was mainly exploratory, it identified new directions for future research. The collaborative meeting highlighted the value of multidisciplinary analysis in understanding complex environmental data.

 

A banner image representing WinterTurf data collection efforts on golf courses across the northern hemisphere during winter.

A banner image representing WinterTurf data collection efforts on golf courses across the northern hemisphere during winter.

 

Final thoughts

 

Our goal remains the same: to provide golf course managers with research-based knowledge and tools for winter turf management. By refining our technology and pursuing collaborative research, we aim to equip superintendents with the knowledge they need to protect and maintain their greens throughout the winter. As we reflect on another successful season, we look forward to further advancements. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to dig into the data.

 

 

 

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