New technologies empower golf course maintenance teams to achieve precise golf course management, Frederic Paczkowski, General Manager at SkimTurf Management explains how that is possible.
With over 20 years of experience as a software provider, we have made data and AI indispensable allies across industries. Driven by a passion for golf, in 2021, we have started our dedicated R&D for SkimTurf Management with the vision of empowering golf courses to focus on the most valuable aspect of data-driven practices: decision-making. That’s why, we have imagined an all-in-one platform enabling daily, satellite-based, non-invasive monitoring of turf conditions on the entire golf course. Frequent diagnostics (humidity levels, nutrient content, vegetation) are complemented with a comprehensive suite of reports, course diaries and alerts accessible via a web or mobile application.
Common questions are: “How can it possibly work? Can results be trusted?”. The answer lies in data and the automation of complex calculations by machines, which would otherwise be too time-consuming for humans. Using vast datasets from courses worldwide, machine learning algorithms were trained to estimate 17 key parameters affecting turf health. AI-based estimations have been confronted to on-course laboratory results until the desired levels of accuracy are reached. The virtuous circle of data-gathering, validation and training never stops. Machine learning algorithms are continuously trained with new inputs, which leads to golf course diagnostics becoming more and more comprehensive and precise. Golf courses receive free software upgrades, with the last release in February 2025 providing new data for Boron, Sulfur, Copper, Iron in the plant tissue.
As a result golf courses are empowered with the data and tools necessary to identify trends & patterns, take informed decisions, which in turn leads to precise turf management, savings and maintaining top playing conditions for golfers.
