- Irrigating with turfRad: Turning Moisture Data Into Action

Most irrigation conversations start the same way: Run times. Percent adjustments. ET. Maybe a bit of gut feel. And for a long time, that’s been enough to get by; largely blanket watering based on a weather station output. 

But once you start looking at actual moisture distribution across a course, a different question comes up pretty quickly: 

How do I translate this data into real irrigation decisions? Because seeing moisture is one thing. Acting on it consistently is something else. 

This article walks through how to use turfRad to adjust irrigation in a structured, repeatable way, not just reacting to wet spots and dry spots, but acheiving uniform moisture across the entire surface. 

First Start With a Target, Not a Guess 

Before making any adjustments, you need a reference point. That’s your target moisture level. 

For example: 

• Fairways: ~18% 

• Your number may vary depending on soil texture, salinity, species, season, and playability goals
• Your target may not correspond to exactly the number you have in mind from your TDR, or the number the textbooks would provide for your soil texture. Every soil and grass species is different.
• We recomend finding an area on the course that you observe is playing and looking optimal and checking the corresponding turfRad VWC number for that area 

The important part isn’t how your number compares to others, it’s having a defined target that reflects how you want the surface to perform, or how far above wilting point your turf needs to be when measurements are taken. 

Without a consistent target, every adjustment becomes subjective (a color on a map) instead of quantified and consistent. 

Second: Define What “Too Wet” and “Too Dry” Actually Mean 

Once you have a target, the next step is to define your operating range around it. This is where moisture presets in turfRad come into play, called High and Low in the sprinkler view or discrete view 

You’re essentially telling the system: 

• What is too wet 

• What is acceptable 

• What is too dry 

This creates visual categories (colors) that turn turfRad data into something immediately actionable. 

See how to configure this here: Understanding the Settings of the Moisture Bar
Also, learn how to save these settings and add presets for different seasons / events: Setting: custiomize & display moisture presets  

Now instead of looking at numbers, you’re looking at conditions. 

Third: Turn Moisture Zones Into Irrigation Actions 

Once those zones are defined, the next step is simple: Assign an irrigation response to each condition. This is where turfRad becomes a decision tool not just a measurement tool. 

An effective framework could look something like this: 

This creates a clear, repeatable system: 

• Wet areas get less water (or none) 

• Dry areas get more 

• Target areas stay consistent 

No guessing. No overcorrecting. Exact % adjustments are going to depend on your reference watering amount, daily actual ET numbers, soil texture, percolation rate, something you will perfect for your course with time.

Applying It on the Course: Use Sprinkler View 

Now the question becomes: Where do I actually apply these adjustments? This is where Sprinkler View comes in. 

Instead of adjusting irrigation broadly, turfRad allows you to connect moisture conditions directly to individual sprinkler zones. 

You can: 

• See which sprinklers are contributing most to wet or dry areas 

• Adjust irrigation based on actual surface response 

• Fine-tune irrigation distribution across a green or fairway 

Learn: How to Use Sprinkler View

This is where the workflow really shifts, from managing irrigation globally to managing it spatially. 

The sprinkler view relies on having your referencable sprinkler locations in your maps. If you don’t have your irrigation data showing yet in the turfRad Portal, we can help.  

Learn: How to get you sprinkler locations into the turfRad Portal

What This Changes in Practice 

Once a repeatable adjustment routine is in place, irrigation decisions become more consistent and easier to explain. 

Instead of: 

• “This spot feels squishy, let’s suspend this head for a day” 

You move toward: 

• “This zone is light blue, it gets bumped down X%” 

Over time, this helps: 

• Reduce overwatering 
• Create more desirable playing conditions 
• Improve consistency across surfaces 
• Support better infiltration and soil performance 

It connects directly back to everything happening below the surface: 

Moisture → Firmness → Turf performance 

Learn about: Soil Hardness and Structure: What’s Happening Below the Surface of Your Turf   

This can easily be a cyclical process. As your uniformity improves through this process: 

• Bump your High setting down
• and your Low setting up to tighten your acceptable "Green" range
• Decrease the magnitude of your changes as your Light Blue and Orange categories come closer to your optimal level

Large rain events, salinity flushes, watering in applications will obviously create a reset, moving the moisture trend to something uncontrolled. If you are striving after those "firm and fast" tournament conditions or optimzing your water use, you should also experiment with ticking down your "Mid" (green) moisture until you are replacing just enough water to stay above the wilting point at the end of the day. Please take your time and remain aware as you start to push the limits.

Key Takeaway 

turfRad doesn’t just show you where water is. It helps you decide what to do about it. 

By: 

• Setting an optimal moisture level
• Defining Low and High tolerance bands
• Determining appropriate responses 
• Applying adjustments at the single-head level 

You move from reactive irrigation decisions to a structured, data-driven approach. 

Because once moisture is no longer a guess, irrigation stops being reactive and starts becoming controlled.