Soil Scout Sensor 4

Issue 04 

| Spring 2022 

SENSOR 

GAIN A DEEPER VIEW OF SOIL SCOUT 

The 

importance 

of peace of 

mind 

The 

Soil Scout 

Story 

Staying 

ahead of 

the game 

Andrew 

Johnston 

Collecting 

data from 

up high and 

down below 

Taking Sentosa 

to the top 

Inside: Welcome new employees Bahman and Heikki | Soil Scout partnerships with Greg Elliott and GreenSight | Expert Opinion with Dr 

John Dempsey | Why truffle farming needs a data-first approach | Soil Scout around the world | Your FAQs answered | Plus much more! 

@Soil_Scout 

@SoilScout 

soilscout.com 

Agriculture 

Golf Courses 

Sports Stadiums 

Soil Scout Story Issue 4 V1.indd 1 16/03/2022 23:07

Agriculture 


Golf Courses 



Agri Brochure Cover Spread.indd 2 11/12/2020 16:05 

Agriculture 


Golf Courses 



Sports Turf Brochure Cover Spread.indd 2 29/05/2021 09:48 

Solution Description.indd 1 23/06/2021 11:17 

Agriculture 

Golf Courses 


conditions! 

Agriculture 

Golf Courses 


THE SOIL SCOUT 

COLLECTION 

DOWNLOADS & DOCUMENTS TO ENHANCE 

YOUR SOIL SCOUT EXPERIENCE 

Agriculture 

& Horticulture 

 

 

 

Sports Turf 

& Golf Courses 

 

 


Solution 

A patented wireless sub-surface soil monitoring 

solution for proactive field management 

Learn how to optimise 

your irrigation practices 


Four-step irrigation optimisation 

approach for saving water 

in agriculture 

by monitoring your 

underground soil 

We reveal varying 

underground conditions 

in real-time which 

builds understanding of 

how soils behave and 

enables proactive field 

management 

It’s generally known that soil measurements will help in optimising irrigation water use 

and Soil Scout is promoting water savings of up to 50% compared to old habits. 

But how can you obtain such savings in practice? 

#GainADeeperView 

#GainADeeperView 

#GainADeeperView @Soil_Scout @SoilScout 

#GainADeeperView @Soil_Scout @SoilScout 

www.soilscout.com 

Visit the Soil Scout website where you can download our solution description 

and other sports turf and agriculture brochures. 


Editor 

Welcome 

Welcome 

GAIN A DEEPER VIEW OF SOIL SCOUT 

Soil Scout Sensor is the 

official quarterley magazine 

for Soil Scout Oy. 

Soil Scout Oy 

Lapinlahdenkatu 16 

00180 Helsinki 

Finland 

The views expresssed in Soil 

Scout Sensor are those of 

the individual contributors 

and not necessarily the views 

of Soil Scout Oy who take no 

responsibility for them. 

All content is copyright 

© Soil Scout Oy 2022 and 

may not be reproduced 

without written permission. 

Design & Layout 

JAMES BAYLIS 

Head of Creative Content 

james.baylis@soilscout.com 

Contributors: BLAIR 

FERGUSON, TIM GILBERT, 

DR JOHN DEMPSEY & the 

Soil Scout team. 

Plus 

Media 

Limited 

Soil Scout Sensor has been 

designed and printed by Plus 

Two Media Limited. 

Hello, welcome to 

issue four of our 

very own Sensor 

magazine. 

Thank you to 

everyone who took the time 

to read issue three and gave 

us feedback on the articles. 

We are, once again, 

extremely grateful to some 

of the industries leading 

personalities for giving up 

their precious time to share 

some of their practices and 

thoughts with us. 

At the time of writing we are 

preparing to exhibit at BIGGA's 

BTME exhibition in Harrogate. We've 

therefore focussed this issue's main 

content on golf course maintenance. 

We’re headlining the issue with 

an exclusive interview with Andrew 

Johnston, General Manager, Director 

of Agronomy at Sentosa Golf Club in 

Singapore. Under Johnston's leadership 

Sentosa has gained global recognition 

for it's sustainability initiatives and 

exceptional championship courses. 

We also visited the brilliant John 

McLoughlin, Course Manager at 

Wallasey Golf Club. John reflects on 

how he uses his Soil Scout sensors for 

peace of mind as he completes his first 

year working on a links course. 

Continuing the links theme, we also 

speak to WINSTONgolf's Greenkeeping 

/ Robot and Technology Specialist 

Erwan Le Cocq. 

Erwan is collecting data from the 

skies with a GreenSight drone and 

from below the ground with sensors. 

He explains to us how data has become 

everything at one of Germany's leading 

courses. 

It's not all about golf though, the 

Soil Scout solution is for all sports 

turf professionals, agriculture and 

landscape too. With this in mind we 

round-off this issue with an exclusive 

interview with San Francisco Giants 

Director of Field Operations Greg 

Elliott. Discuss why truffle farming 

needs a data-first approach and also 

feature our friend and independent 

researcher in turfgrass disease and 

physiology, Dr John Dempsey. 

I hope you enjoy reading the articles 

that we have put together for this issue. 

If you have any comments, please 

contact me on the email address below 

or reach out to one of the Soil Scout 

team. (More contact details on page 

33). 

James Baylis 

Head of Creative Content 

james.baylis@soilscout.com 

For more information about 

design and publishing call: 

07977 481186 or email: 

james@plus2media.co.uk 

Soil Scout are very proud to support 

the fantastic work of BIGGA 

#GainADeeperView | @Soil_Scout | soilscout.com 3 


CEO 

Welcome 

The 

CEO of Soil 

With Jalmari Talola 

Chief Troublemaker (CEO) 

These days the entire world is focusing on the Russian invasion and the 

consequent crisis in Ukraine. It seems that the vast majority strongly condemns 

these actions, as we do at Soil Scout. 

The crisis is not just affecting 

Ukrainians, but it is affecting 

and will impact the whole world. 

The crisis is already exacerbating 

component shortages and we’ve 

probably only seen the beginning. Technology 

companies are keeping a nervous eye on how 

China will respond to Russia’s actions and how 

new international walls will rise and cut globally 

supply chains for goods and components. 

Politics over economy 

Beijing aligned itself with Putin as Russia 

prepared to invade Ukraine. Now its efforts 

to edge away are constrained by leadership 

politics. 

In the worst case, China chooses politics 

over economy, which may result in widespread 

embargoes against both Russia and China. That 

would lead us all to very difficult times for a 

very long time. The current component shortage 

might later appear as a mild prelude compared 

to the much more serious disruptions we may 

witness. 

The other major collateral victim of the 

ongoing crisis is of course our global food 

production. It is very likely that Ukraine will not 

be able to produce the same amounts of crops 

for export as usual, while exports from Russia 

are impossible at the same time. The global food 

supply market is quite agile to balance price and 

availability, but not many regions have buffers 

to tolerate the absence of both Ukrainian and 

Russian produce and fertilisers. 

Politics over economy 

Other producers will do their best in making 

up for the shortfall in an environment of higher 

commodity prices and very high production 

costs. The thin silver lining is, under these 

circumstances, that growers who invest in 

tech that enables accurate input optimization 

are in a strong position to benefit from the 

high commodity prices via a smart use of the 

expensive inputs. 

Still, we all hope no further escalations and 

that a peaceful solution will be found quickly. 

We also challenge all farmers to think about how 

they can prepare for the coming season and take 

their next steps towards even better productivity 

and efficiency, as in every case we are once 

again entering an era where farmer’s produce 

will be appreciated. 

Contact Jalmari 

jalmari.talola@soilscout.com 

4 soilscout.com | @Soil_Scout | #GainADeeperView 


CEO 

Welcome 

| Inside | 

Issue 4 

We all hope no further escalations and 

that a peaceful solution will be found 

Cover 

Story 

Jalmari Talola | CEO, Soil Scout 

Andrew Johnston | p8 | 

Headline interview with Andrew Johnston, 

General Manager at Sentosa Golf Club in 

Singapore. 

John McLoughlin | p14 | 

Sensors, moisture management and 

the importance of peace of mind with 

John McLoughlin the Course Manager at 

Wallasey Golf Club. 


Agriculture 

Golf Courses 


Soil Scout provides the most advanced fully buried underground wireless 

soil sensor and monitoring solution for professionals in Agriculture, Golf and 

Sports turf maintenance. 

Several golf courses and sports fields worldwide, including such iconic 

venues as the Wembley Stadium and Philadelphia Phillies, use Soil Scout to 

maintain their turf in tip-top shape while reducing maintenance costs and 

water consumption. 

Farmers and agriculture professionals around the world use Soil Scout to 

understand their fields, optimize soil conditions for better growth and improve 

crop production, also reducing operational costs and water consumption. 

Erwan Le Cocq | p20 | 

Read how data has become everything 

for Greenkeeping / Robot and Technology 

Specialist Erwan Le Cocq at WINSTONgolf 

in Germany. 



VP 

Welcome 

MR 

World 

Wide! 

HELP! 

Well, what do I say... 

With Adam Sedgwick 

VP of International Sales 

Its so refreshing to have had three months 

of getting out and seeing people, and 

seeing the industry getting back to what 

we are all more used to. 

The first quarter of the year has passed, 

it started with STMA, in Savannah, followed by 

GIS in San Diego, then followed a new event for 

Soil Scout, the ATPI conference and trade show 

in the beautiful city of Galway, Ireland. Finishing 

now with BIGGA's flagship event, BTME in 

Harrogate. 

Numbers for events gone by have definitely 

been down, but that gave us some quality time, 

to really show the full potential of real-time data 

gathering to the guys and gals we spoke too. 

For us as a manufacturer, it has been amazing 

to be able to see the signs that two years of hard 

work, through the COVID-19 era, have most 

definitely been worth it, and seeing Soil Scout 

start to be fully recognised as the number one 

wireless soil monitoring platform in the world. 

Feedback from users, who have been using Soil 

Scout data to its full potential is so rewarding, 

hearing how turf managers, golf course 

superintendents/course managers, and farmers, 

have been able to make changes, and start to see 

savings, efficiencies and results, by utilising realtime 

soil data to its full potential. 

Mixed in amongst these exhibitions, we have 

been doing a series of Turf Tec Live seminars, 

giving an educational view to users, alongside 

our strategic-partner TLS. The focus has been on 

utilising turf lighting and sensors, in conjunction 

with TLS's management dashboard, Turfpal, this 

has been a very interesting exercise. One which 

we will definitely be rolling out in a bigger way, 

later in the year. 

I’ll sign off with a cry for help, and a message, 

if any of you know a good transplant surgeon, 

by the end of this quarter, I will probably need a 

new liver! As we all know with live events comes 

the social aspect of the industry, being able to 

grab some down time, to relax, party, and be able 

to enjoy together the much needed re-opening of 

bars and restaurants. 

I am going to try a new thing for Harrogate, so 

anyone sees me with a beer, please remind me of 

this statement... 

#DryHarrogate 

Ciao 

Contact Adam 

adam.sedgwick@soilscout.com 




Headlines 

| Bahman Doaeian | Heikki Huhtanen 

New appointments 

at Soil Scout 

I am going to try a new thing 

for Harrogate, so if anyone sees 

me with a beer, please remind 

me of this statement... 

#DryHarrogate 

Soil Scout are delighted to announce two recent 

new appointments to the growing team. 

Regional Growth Manager, Bahman Doaeian will be 

responsible for expanding Soil Scout's operations in the 

Middle-East taking particular interest in the emerging 

landscape market. 

A Bachelor of Engineering at Staffordshire University, 

Bahman has been working in a variety of different 

businesses across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia for 

more than 17 years. 

Bahman commented on his appointment; "Teamwork 

makes the dream work. Years of working taught me that 

the people you are working with are everything, that’s why 

I'm delighted to be working with Soil Scout because I know 

who I am going to work with. 

"People tell me I’m a good listener and friend. I'm 

passionate about business, growing, and scaling existing 

solutions to improve the lives of others by helping them 

solve their problems. Soil Scout is the perfect fit for that 

mission." 

Bahman continued; "Soil Scout customers can expect 

long-term partnership, friendship and honest service from 

me, I am very much looking forward to meeting customers 

old and new." 

Bahman lists watching good movies, reading great 

books, hiking and any sport involving a ball as his favourite 

hobbies. 

Experienced Software Developer Heikki Huhtanen 

joins the team having previously held a similar position 

developing software for a forest harvester. 

Heikki will work closely with Soil Scout's Chief 

Technology Officer Jussi Sirkiä and will be responsible for 

coding, programming, and the continuous development of 

the innovative software that is the key component inside all 

Soil Scout products. 

Heikki's comes from a farming background and has 

previously worked in event and festival management. He 

studied programming at the Hive Helsinki. 

Adam Sedgwick | VP of International Sales, Soil Scout 

Contact Bahman 

bahman.doaeian@soilscout.com 



Headline 

Interview 

Taking 

Sentosa to 

the top 

Years in the making, and even more in the execution, Sentosa Golf Club's 

rise to prominence has been a carefully crafted plan. Raising it through the 

levels on and off the course is General Manager, Director of Agronomy and 

Resident Golf Course Architect Andrew Johnston. 

He sat down with Blair Ferguson to talk through his journey of taking 

Sentosa to the top. 

Sentosa is one of Singapore's most 

established golf clubs. Over the 

last four years, it has gained global 

recognition for its sustainability 

initiatives and exceptional 

championship courses, The Serapong and The 

Tanjong. 

Since 2005, they have hosted the Barclays 

Singapore Open (2005-2012), SMBC 

Singapore Open (2012-), HSBC Women's 

World Championship, Asia-Pacific Amateur 

Championship and the Women's Amateur Asia- 

Pacific. Numerous awards have joined these 

events, recognising their work on sustainability, 

as well as the title of 'World's Best Golf Club' at 

the 2019 World Golf Awards. 

Next level 

This journey has been under the stewardship 

of General Manager, Director of Agronomy 

and Resident Golf Course Architect, Andrew 

Johnston, since 2011. Designing over 100 

golf courses around the globe while working 

for Arnold Palmer, Gene Bates, Fred Couples 

and his own company, plus a turf degree from 

Michigan State, moulded Andrew into the 

perfect person to take Sentosa to the next level. 

Confident, detailed and humorous, he has 

learnt from his experiences at every stage. 

Starting with the guidance of his early mentor, 

Kevin Adams, and growing from milestones 

such as project managing his first construction 

for Arnold Palmer at Australia's Sanctuary Bay. 

Among everything that he has achieved in 

Singapore, pinpointing the culture necessary 

to facilitate change is one he clearly regards 

as his most significant. By working to a TR365 

(tournament ready 365 days a year) mantra, 

himself, Superintendent Rodney McKeown, the 

75 strong agronomy department and wider 

Sentosa team have transformed the Club. 

Andrew's same drive and belief started the 

Club's road into sustainability, which it is now 

renowned for, starting with a single-head 

control irrigation system. 

"I knew that single head control gave you 

better control of your water from a golf course 

architect's point of view," Andrew explains. 

"I've built and designed enough golf courses 

in areas that have really struggled for water 

availability to know that you could reduce your 

water consumption by 40-60% with single head 

control. 

"Again, people look at me and go, 'how is 

that possible?' A golf course with topographical 

contouring to it has high spots and low spots. 

High spots might need seven minutes, but low 

spots might only need 30 seconds because 

water runs downhill. If all heads are tied 

together in stations of two or three, you've got 

no choice but to run everything at ten minutes 

or whatever time you have set, so you're over 

watering. 

Sophisticated system 

"I'm a freak about water. We have the most 

sophisticated system in Asia right now, but I 

don't even let them turn it on until we have to. 

We drag hoses and just put them on the spot 

that needs it, even on the greens, I say to the 



| Andrew Johnston General Manager, Director of 

Agronomy and Resident Golf Course Architect 



I'm all about tech and understanding data, without the 

knowledge of this technology, then you can't improve. 

It is good to have hands-on intuitive skills, 

but you still need data. 

Andrew Johnston | General Manager & Director of Agronomy, Sentosa Golf Club 



guys, “understand the green”. There's a culture within the 

culture. It is usually the high spots that will crust off first, but 

the whole green doesn't need water. And too much water is 

what sucks the roots up and means the plant doesn’t develop 

that deep root system. And if we can go 10 or 15 days 

without turning a head on, we will." 

After starting with water, attention turned to single-use 

plastics. Bottles were the first target - with 300,000 saved 

over two years - but the number of single-use plastics at 

the Club soon became apparent. Four years into operating 

without any on-site, the Club has made significant strides in 

other areas. It has introduced bee colonies, reduced fertiliser 

applications, product applications and is currently working 

with a local university and GEO Foundation to develop a 

calculation for carbon sequestration of grasses and trees. 

Carbon neutral 

This could help solidify the Club as carbon neutral and 

confirm their ultimate goal. For Andrew, it could also give 

them the credibility to be a complete roadmap for others in 

an industry where they are already leaders. 

The aims of sustainability and TR365 are one and the 

same on the course. Along with GPS sprayers, biochar, and 

other methods, Sentosa has been an early adopter of sensors. 

But, as with any new technology, they have seen it develop 

and are now installing Soil Scout's into every green on their 

two Championship courses along with selected tees, fairways 

and roughs. 

Understanding data 

"I'm all about tech and understanding data," Andrew 

begins. "Without the knowledge of this technology, then you 

can't improve. It is good to have hands-on intuitive skills, but 

you still need data. 

"Picture this. I have four greens that are very close to each 

other. Hole 1, then hole 2, which sits down in a hole and is 

a par three, is right behind it. Next to it is hole 7, and then 

left of hole 1 is 8. So, four greens together with different 

elevations. 

"Number 2 is in some kind of decline, and we can't figure 

out why. It seems like it's melting out a bit, and we're 

sending tissue samples and soil samples off to the lab. We've 

done nematode assays, and nothing adds up. Nothing points 

to an issue, but it is physically thinning and going downhill. 

We're watching it day to day, and it's been going on for about 

three weeks. 

"I'm scratching my head, and I happened to pull up the 

dashboards of the soil sensors on my phone, and I see that 

1, 7 and 8 are all the same temperature and 2 is ten degrees 

hotter. It sits in a hole and, with its axis, points at the sun as 

| The Tanjong is the host venue for the HSBC Women's 

World Championship 



Headline 

Interview 

it rises and sets. So, it's got full sun all day, and 

it was the hottest time of year for us with little 

cloud cover. 

"Basically, it was getting too hot. So, we 

moved in a Turf Breeze fan and came back 

an hour and a half later and looked at the 

dashboard, and everything had levelled out. Air 

movement over the top provided the cooling 

the soil needed, so everything equalled out. In 

about two weeks, it had improved, its density 

was coming back, the plant was feeling healthy, 

and it didn't take a fungicide or NPK – all of it 

was environmental. 

Confidence in the solution 

"We wouldn't have figured that out without a 

sensor that gave us the information we needed 

to make the right intuitive decision to change 

the environment. They are really valuable 

because they give us information that helps 

us, as premier turf managers, to analyse and 

make decisions that can put you in that ‘TR365 

position’. 

"Now that we've gone to the Soil Scout 

version, which I feel is more reliable and 

has more background to it, I feel even more 

confidence in it. 

"I think they are extremely valuable to 

understanding all the little things. You can't 

come to work every day and just make decisions 

by the seat of your pants and expect it to look 

like what we look like every day." 

Providing Sentosa with the Soil Scout 

solution is Centaur Asia Pacific, who has built 

a relationship with the Club and is delighted to 

work with them on this project. 

"Since we started distributing Soil Scout, we 

knew that we were partnering with a company 

that has something very different from other 

underground sensors we have seen before," 

explained Bryan Littlejohn, Business Manager 

(Sales & Services) for Centaur Asia Pacific, 

Singapore. 

"The reliability of the product and the sensor's 

capabilities to send data consistently is second 

to none. The backup support provided by the 

team at Soil Scout is exceptional and gives us 

all the tools and resources we need to service 

our new and existing customers accordingly. 

Real-time data 

"We are very proud to be supplying Sentosa 

Golf Club with the Soil Scout solution, thus 

allowing their Agronomy department the realtime 

data required to make more informed 

decisions on the exact time to apply water and 

helping reduce their overall water consumption. 

Sentosa Golf Club is renowned for providing 

world-class playing surfaces, and it's very 

exciting to be associated with such a prestigious 

facility." 

TR365 was last put to the test in early 

March 2022 at the HSBC Women's World 

Championship, where the top LPGA players 

competed over three days on Sentosa Golf 

Club's The Tanjong golf course. 

THE WORLD’S BEST ECO-FRIENDLY GOLF FACILITY 

KEY STATISTICS 

300,000 

Plastic water bottles saved 

over a two-year period 

100% 

Recycled ocean waste 

used to make Adidas Golf 

Primegreen polos for F&B 

and Golfing team kits 

30% 

Reduction in the use of 

product applications 

through GPS Spraying 

Equipment 



1 2 

3 4 

1 | All of Sentosa's golf carts use lithium-ion rechargeable batteries 

2 | Sentosa Golf Club has developed a number of sting-less bee colonies on-site 

3 | Five Electric Vehicle Charging Stations have been installed at the Club as part of 

Porsche Destination Charging 

4 | The Tanjong 18 th and Clubhouse 

Follow Sentosa Golf Club 

@SentosaGolfClub 

THE WORLD’S BEST ECO-FRIENDLY GOLF FACILITY 

KEY STATISTICS 

40% 

Reduction in water usage 

through a single-head 

control irrigation 

system 

30% 

Estimated cost savings on 

monthly waste disposal 

over a one-year period 

from installation of 

waste digesters 

50% 

Reduction in the use of 

fertility applications 

through the integration 

of carbon products into 

agronomy programme 



Gain a deeper view 

Interview 

The 

importance 

of peace of 

mind 

Wallasey Golf Club Course Manager, John McLoughlin, sits down with 

Blair Ferguson to talk sensors, moisture management, the importance 

of peace of mind and his first year working on a Links. 

For the last year, Wallasey Golf 

Club's new Course Manager, John 

McLoughlin, has been adapting to life 

in charge of his first-ever links. 

Changing scenery is nothing 

new for John, who travelled the world as 

a greenkeeper after spending a college 

placement at Gleneagles. This ten-year journey 

saw him work at the Ryder Cup, The Open 

Championship and the Australian Open, as well 

as several Tour events. 

One of the best 

His love of playing golf forged his pathway 

into the industry, but his decision not to pursue 

it professionally has been greenkeeping's gain. 

With more than a decade of experience under 

his belt, he decided the time was right to move 

from his heathland course to a links, and in 

Wallasey, he got himself one of the best. 

Wallasey is a jewel amongst English golf's 

finest diamonds on the famous northwest golf 

coast. The classic links counts Royal Birkdale 

and Royal Liverpool as just two of its renowned 

neighbours, but the course on the cusp of the 

Wirral Peninsula more than holds its own in 

England's Top 100. 

Settling into this new job has been different. 

For the first time ever, at his first links ever, 

John has used Soil Scout sensors to learn about 

the greens and accelerate his understanding of 

the course. Wallasey consists of three differently 

constructed greens among the 18-holes, 

and there are three sensors in one of each 

construction to give a detailed overview of how 

they are performing. 

John explains: "I went from managing a 

heathland course to a links, so I knew water 

Pictures by Malcolm Couzens 



| John McLoughlin Wallasey Golf Club Course Manager 



Interview 

There can be a level of anxiety over it being hotter or 

wetter than you anticipated, but being able to check 

that live is a valuable tool for wellbeing. I don't think 

it's something that gets touched on, but it is 

a big aspect of having Soil Scout 

John McLoughlin | Course Manager, Wallasey Golf Club 



management was something I was going to 

have to really get on top of and be astute in. 

"Installing Soil Scout sensors in the greens 

fitted in with our best practice for water 

management, and I believed by using them 

we could home in on our moisture levels very 

quickly. 

"What drew me to Soil Scout is the live data 

you get every 20 minutes. Having that at your 

fingertips is unique in the industry, and it was 

something that by putting the sensors in, we 

could fine-tune our moisture management very 

quickly. 

"I also think it's quite nice to feel like you're 

in control. So when you're at home and going 

through a dry spell, for peace of mind, it's great. 

There is an aspect of mental health within the 

industry and managing that. There can be times 

when the greens are drying out or getting too 

wet, and being able to check that takes a lot of 

pressure off you. 

In control with Soil Scout 

"When I started here, we had mixed weather, 

but I did feel in control, where I might not have 

done without having the Soil Scouts in the 

greens. 

"There can be a level of anxiety over it being 

hotter or wetter than you anticipated, but being 

able to check that live is a valuable tool for 

well-being. I don't think it's something that gets 

touched on, but it is a big aspect of having Soil 

Scout." 

Having the live information to hand has 

settled John in quickly, and it is also playing a 

role in staff education. Greens data is collected 

daily and is the subject of the next day's 

morning briefing. Discussing the information 

with his team and reflecting on their previous 

days' performance is something John introduced 

and plays a significant role in staff involvement 

with the progression of the course and its 

maintenance. 

"We do it to help build the team's 

knowledge of the course, but we're also able 

to make better-informed judgements of daily 

maintenance practices because we analyse the 

performance of the greens every day. So, those 

figures drive what we do on a daily basis. By 

being able to track our moisture levels and our 

firmness, we can make more educated decisions 

with resources, whether that be sand for top 

dressing, watering, or wetting agents. 

Making better judgments 

"It's a better use of resources. We're never 

rolling the greens when we don't have to 

because we know what they are clegging at, we 

know the speed, and we know the smoothness, 

so we can make better judgments, and the Soil 

Scouts are one part of that. 

"The way the greens react to different 

conditions is playing out in a similar way to 

what I expected, although it takes them a lot 

longer to dry down than I was anticipating. 

So, to have that live data really did forward 

our knowledge against how long it would 

have taken us to learn that. And with that 



| Wallasey Golf Club | 

HOME OF STABLEFORD 

Dr Frank 

Stableford 

Dr Frank Barney Gorton Stableford gave his name to 

the most popular points scoring system ever to be 

adopted. 

| Laura Sayer-Hall, working on the Wallasey course 

He was an excellent golfer and with a 

handicap of plus 1 in 1907 he won the club 

championship at Royal Porthcawl. Earlier 

he had served as a surgeon in the Royal 

Army Medical Corps, and spent some 

years in South Africa. 

His medical career brought him to Wallasey and 

he joined the golf club in 1914. During the 1914-18 War 

he served as a major with the RAMC. He returned to 

Wallasey after the war, and records of 1922 show that 

his handicap had risen to 8. 

His unique scoring method was born out of 

frustration with the bogey system of scoring at that 

time, where the player played against the bogey (or 

par) for the hole. The strong winds at Wallasey made 

nonsense of this system when players were unable to 

reach the long par-4s in regulation. 

Stableford had experimented with a scoring system 

when briefly a member of Glamorganshire in 1898. 

He took the scores from a normal bogey competition 

and used a points system to identify a 'winner', but the 

system proved unsatisfactory and was not repeated. It 

was only many years later at Wallasey that he devised 

a formula that worked. "I was practising on the 2nd 

fairway at Wallasey Golf Club one day in the latter part 

of 1931", he said, "when the thought ran through my 

mind that many players in competitions got very little 

fun since they tore up their cards after playing only a 

few holes and I wondered if anything could be done 

about it" The result was the Stableford scoring system, 

and club golfers have been indebted to the good 

doctor ever since. 

Wallasey held the first Stableford competition 

on 16th May 1932, and it was an instant success. As 

an everlasting tribute to Dr Stableford, Wallasey 

introduced "The Frank Stableford Open Amateur 

Memorial Trophy" in 1969. Of course, the event is played 

as a Stableford, and it has become a major event in 

the amateur golfing calendar. 

Stableford's portrait by J.A.A.Berrie hangs in the 

clubhouse, a reminder to the members of the debt 

owed to the club golfer's greatest benefactor. 

www.wallaseygolfclub.com 




Interview 

information, it stops us watering as soon as we 

might have done, which is a positive for our 

water management plan. 

"We still use a moisture meter on the greens, 

but we don't have to do quite as much because 

of the sensors, so we have saved a lot of labour 

by having them in there, and that's a big thing 

for us." 

Soil Scout's sensors have played a pivotal role 

in fine-tuning the maintenance plan, but they 

have been equally as important in measuring 

the effectiveness of wetting agents. Initial 

product testing has allowed John to pick the 

best for his course, and when in use, he can 

get a strong indication when to reapply them 

through the moisture readings. 

Saving staff time 

Again, this saves his staff considerable time 

against using a moisture meter every day and 

allows them to pursue other projects. Against 

other courses in the area, Wallasey – famous for 

being the birthplace of the Stableford scoring 

system – provides a striking drama with its 

dunes and sea views. 

John's team has sought to enhance that by 

reclaiming 6000sqm of dune land that had 

turned into scrub. Now reinstated, the area is 

home to common sand lizards, skylarks and 

has brought lost contours back to the course. 

The outstanding work of the team has been 

recognised with a nomination for the Golf 

Environment Awards 2022 in the Environmental 

Project of the Year category. 

After slightly over one year in charge, John's 

impact on Wallasey is already visible in the 

landscape, but it is the data he is getting 

from beneath the greens that will shape 

his environmental best practice and course 

maintenance for years to come. 

Follow John McLoughlin 

@johnmac150 




Interview 

| Erwan Le Cocq Greenkeeping / Robot and Technology Specialist 

Collecting data 

from up high 

and down below 

Automation, data and doing things his own way are nothing new to WINSTONgolf 

Greenkeeping / Robot and Technology Specialist Erwan Le Cocq. His data collection 

now operates underground and in the sky, and he explains to Blair Ferguson how data 

has become everything at one of Germany's leading courses. 

Doing things differently is nothing 

new at WINSTONgolf. The German 

club boasts two of the country's 

best courses in WINSTONlinks 

and WINSTONopen, but the two 

couldn't be more different. 

The OPEN course is typical of its landscape 

with moderate undulations and naturally 

occurring features that combine to make 

a challenging golf experience. However, 

typical wasn't the order of the day when 

WINSTONlinks was planned. 

The course is modelled on Scottish links, with 

heaven and earth moved to create something 

that simply wasn't there before. Rolling 

landscape was transformed by spectacular 

dunes and rugged vegetation, with the 

finished product receiving multiple awards for 

Germany's best golf course in 2019. 

These two 18-hole courses are joined by the 

9-hole WINSTONkranich, with a mix of the 

LINKS and OPEN features, which completes the 

golf resort, but bringing Scottish golfing style to 

Germany is only where the new ideas began. 




Interview 

Making data collection automatic means you don't 

spend time on it anymore, so you can only benefit 

from it. That's the case with Soil Scout; I don't 

spend time collecting because it's always 

up to date on my phone 

Erwan Le Cocq | Greenkeeping / Robot and Technology Specialist 

Four years ago, French greenkeeper Erwan 

Le Cocq joined the team. In that time, he has 

established himself as one of the industry's 

most forward-thinking and progressive users 

of technology. Although introducing new 

innovations wasn't in his original remit, six 

months after joining, he saw it as a way to meet 

the demands of maintaining three courses. 

From there he has become a leading example 

of what can be achieved using tech such as Soil 

Scout, GreenSight drones and robotic mowers. 

"Six years ago, I started to fly a drone on my 

course in France and Belgium, and it was just 

that and not much more," Erwan begins. "Then 

I moved to Germany, and they came to me and 

said, 'we've got a problem, we've got limited 

staff, I know you're into technology, can you 

find a solution?' 

Investing in technology 

"After that, it was a snowball rolling down 

a hill, and we're getting more and more 

technology because we see the results every 

year. So we keep investing more time and 

money into that. 

"I make it my mission to teach other people 

because I don't want the rest of the industry to 

feel alone like I did at the beginning. So, I'm 

trying to share what I've learnt in my process 

and teach other people and give them a crash 

course so they don't have to do two or three 

years of testing and learning. That way, they 

can start from a stable base." 

Comprehensive test 

With Soil Scout, the process began by 

testing wetting agents using 27 sensors in 

one green. For Erwan, this was the only way 

to comprehensively test his theory without 

committing significant funds to products. From 

it, he has found a solid solution to provide more 

consistent greens WINSTONgolf is known for. 

"The wetting agent problem was very 

course-specific. One of our courses has a lot 

of movement on the green, and when I say 

a lot, I mean extreme movement. We have 

some extremely dry areas and another that are 

exceptionally wet, and over time it started to 

build up some black layer and poa population. 

"So, we tested with 27 sensors in one green 

with different wetting agents and penetrants to 

see which one performed best at the depth we 

were looking at. It's nice to move the water in 

the ground, but you want to know how deep 




Interview 

you're moving it. So, that's what we did initially with 

the sensors. 

"It was a confirmation of my idea that I probably 

wouldn't have used without that confirmation. I was 

thinking about doing spot-checking on a penetrant and 

using Soil Scout we proved that it was working and 

went with it. 

"The problem we have is we can't work on feeling 

because everyone has a different feeling. When I talk 

with my boss, he might have a different opinion than 

me; he might think the issue isn't that big but having 

an actual number means we have hard data. It makes 

it the same for everyone. When we see a number, we 

know what it means, and we can all work with the 

same idea, and the feeling is left out so we can work 

more efficiently and have a better result at the end of 

the day. 

"Working like this means we can keep the greens 

consistent through the year, and that is the main thing. 

With Soil Scout, you don't have to put in lots of effort 

gathering data and analysing it because you can see 

what's happening in real-time. You can say this week 

we need to do a bit more of this and next week a bit 

less of that, and so you have a better work distribution, 

and the greens stay much more consistent through the 

course." 

Early warning system 

Once testing was complete, the sensors were 

redistributed into four greens each on the main courses 

and one on the nine-hole course. These were chosen 

because they reflect the courses' problems the most and 

can be used as an early warning system for other areas. 

But recently, Erwan added an aerial approach to 

boost his underground data in the shape of GreenSight. 

The drone provides remote sensing and mapping and 

can process data for visualisation and assessment, 

giving an entirely different view of the course 

conditions. 

"The very first idea is to gather as much information 

as possible to make the best decisions possible, and 

that is why I wanted to use GreenSight. I can tell you 

that green is dry, but the question then is why and 

you have no idea. But as soon as you start to pull 

everything together, the wiser decisions you can make. 

This is double-checking the info we have as well as 

seeing underground and above ground because for the 

golfer, we grow the best top ground we can, but for 

greenkeepers, we focus mainly underground because 

that is where everything is working. 

"With the drone, we also want to check things on a 

course scale. I can't check the 200 hectares every day, 

but the drone can do it, and that is the main difference. 

"We are already in the off-season, and the main 

reason to use the drone is for dryness during the 

playing season. Dryness isn't an issue for us at this time 

of year, but we've still learnt some interesting things 

from our flights. 

"We've seen how much we can see, and we've come 

across a minor problem that we never knew we had on 

one of the greens. We looked and realised it was foot 

traffic, and we tracked back from that time through 

previous flights and saw when it started becoming 

a problem and when it went away, and it was when 



we moved the flags. So knowing that now is 

a powerful thing for us, and it's something we 

wouldn't have thought of in normally. 

"So, having the drone now has been very 

beneficial for us because we've learnt how to 

use it and the platform correctly, and we've got 

some insights from it. Because of the time of 

year, we are a bit limited in what else we can 

see, but I can see the potential being very high. 

“Using these two automatic systems has 

shown the problem with information is that 

it is only as good as what you get out. So if 

you spend ten hours getting information that 

will save you one hour of work, it is a waste. 

Making data collection automatic means you 

don't spend time on it anymore, so you can 

only benefit from it. That's the case with Soil 

Scout; I don't spend time collecting because 

it's always up to date on my phone, so it can 

only save me something, whether that is time 

planning irrigation, money on products or time 

planning maintenance, and not only for me, but 

all our team! Supervisor, team coach, irrigation 

technician and greenkeepers. Everyone can 

access our up-to-date readings, anywhere, at 

any time!” 

Pictures by Erwan Le Cocq 

Follow Erwan Le Cocq 

@GkErwan 



Greg 

Elliott 

San Francisco Giants Director of Field Operations Greg Elliott has 

risen quickly to the pinnacle of his profession in Major League 

Baseball. In our exclusive interview, Greg gives us an insight into 

how he utilises technology in his field to stay ahead of the game. 

Greg Elliott was speaking to James Baylis 



Partnerships 

After turning away from a career 

in teaching Greg worked as a 

facilities manager in Ohio, where he 

supervised the head groundskeeper 

and it was this experience that drew 

him towards a future career in the industry. 

With experience in his previous role of 

overseeing staff and managing budgets, Greg 

felt he had a head-start over his peers and 

upon graduating Michigan State University 

with a Turfgrass management degree he swiftly 

progressed through the Minor Baseball League 

ranks to reach the top of the sport within eight 

years. 

Now highly-respected throughout the industry, 

Greg is well-known for embracing technology in 

his every-day working practices. Amongst his tech 

armoury is an autonomous GreenSight drone and 

Soil Scout sensors buried below-ground giving him 

24/7 real-time data. 

What is the biggest challenge that 

you currently face? 

GE: We are always battling to find consistency dayin-day-out 

for the players benefit, it’s our major 

emphasis throughout the year and achieving that 

consistency can be affected by the varied events 

that we host inside Oracle Park stadium. Events 

vary from rock concerts, to batting practices, or 

corporate dinner; we host over 200 corporate 

events throughout a baseball season as well as 

81 home baseball games and hopefully play-off 

games. 

Some events are on game day, the field will be 

set up for batting practice at 9.30am. At these 

events we can host anywhere from 50 to 200 

guests attending a fantasy batting practice on 

our in-field which only leaves us a window from 

around 11.30am to 2.30pm to prepare the field for 

the upcoming game. Those hours are critical, we 

need at least two hours to mow the grass. We have 

to condense all of our work into that time frame, 

but we are able to accomplish that because we are 

running with a highly organized and skilled team. 

Does hosting so many corporate events at the 

stadium hinder your pitch preparations? 

GE: No not at all, at the end of the day we have to 

embrace the extra events that the stadium hosts as 

ultimately they help pay for the renovations and 

pay for the technology. It’s a good way to run a 

business, you’re a business with a facility and you 

need to make use of it in any way you can while 

turning a profit. 

Do you work closely with the Giants 

coaching and management staff? 

GE: We try our best to meet every need for the 

team, the Giants hired a new manager two years 

ago and we are fortunate that he’s a really good 

communicator. We are always going back and 

forth with texts and I run everything that we are 

doing on the playing surface through the bench 

coach. Interestingly, when I first met our manager, 

I mentioned that within the realm of the rule-book 

we really wanted to be a positive force for him. 

He seemed to be a little bit surprised by that, he 

had never really thought of the playing surface as 

a way to gain a competitive advantage. I think that 

really showed him that we are on the same side 

and that was the start of a really good relationship. 

With so many games and events to host you must 

be working around the clock to prepare the field, 

how do you achieve and maintain such high 

standards? 

GE: Typically we are working to a week-on, weekoff 

schedule. We would have games for 7-10 days 

and then have 7-10 days off. In between those 

days is when we host other events. We block off 

the day after and the day before a game and I have 

a philosophy that I like to follow. I utilize what I 

call a 70-30 model because of the way baseball’s 

played 70 percent of your players are on the clay 

surface when you start a game. So I try to have 70 

percent of my energy and workforce go towards 

those clay areas and then 30 percent on the grass 

where we just mow and manage hot-spots. Then 

when they leave I try to flip that on its head so 

we will spend more time on the grass doing 

aerification, top dressings, seeding and managing 

our irrigation cycles and spend less time on the 

clay areas. 

That direction has given us the ability to work 

in and out of events so as we have the events we 

can work mornings on the bullpens or the clay 

mounds and then host an event and then on the 

days that are free we can put our time and energy 

into fertilizing, doing our spray applications, so we 

Follow Greg Elliott 

@etc_greg 




Partnerships 

For me it's been the game-changer, as far as how 

we approach what we do and how we go about 

it, it's led to our success is what I believe 

Greg Elliott | SF Giants Head Groundskeeper, Director of Field Operations 

are able to identify the key time frames and hit our 

surface appropriately. 

How are you utilising technology to help you 

achieve your objectives? 

GE: Technology plays a huge role in what we do 

at the stadium, we are fully committed to acting 

in a sustainable way for the future benefit of the 

whole San Francisco bay area and we are using 

technology to help us achieve this. 

We are flying the GreenSight drone, receive 

underground real-time data from Soil Scout 

sensors and also have the SubAir Systems 

submersible air flow system installed. All three 

elements play a vital role in how we approach our 

daily tasks, I liken it to a piece of pie, you take all 

those inputs and divide them up and are left with 

the information required to decide what the best 

course of action is. 

When the COVID pandemic hit and we were 

sent home, part of my immediate concern was 

losing staff members and putting them on leave. 

Fortunately due to the remote technology that 

GreenSight and Soil Scout offer we were able to 

manage a lot of what we are doing at the stadium 

from home. This still allowed for a smaller amount 

of the team to come into work and prepare the 

mounds and mow the grass. 

Despite the difficulties we managed to prepare 

for the unknown and later that year we ended up 

hosting Spring training camp which was a huge 

achievement for us considering the circumstances. 

Is there anything that you were specifically 

looking to learn about your pitch from the daily 

drone flights? 

GE: I wanted to see plant stress areas, I knew 

where it would come from but I didn’t know how 

severe it would be and how quickly it would come 

back. I wanted to be able to track this because a lot 

of what I do, I say something in a meeting and I’ll 

mention hey this isn’t good. You can only say that 

so many times before you see people’s eyes rollover. 

So now I have the information I need to say, 

look at what this has done, look at how we have 

to manage this, we need to do this, this and this. 

People used to tell us, ‘if it’s green it’s good’ but 

we are trying to manage the soil as much as we 

are trying to manage the plant on top. So for me it 

was more about figuring out a way to incorporate 

it into my daily routine and utilize it. That way I 

will see the benefits of discovering areas that were 

being over-watered. 

I’m also beginning to see even larger benefits 

like fertiliser release and disease pressure rise. But 

by incorporating the data from the drone flights 

and the Soil Scout sensors I can now identify 

where to allocate my labour so it’s also helping 

us manage our staff resources and activities a lot 

better as well. 

How often do you fly the GreenSight drone? 

GE: We are flying the drone Monday to Friday 

around 11.30am, five days a week. That might be 

adjusted a bit if we have a baseball game to get 

all the game information and sometimes we also 

fly when we have major events on the pitch. I’m 

trying not to force the GreenSight guys to work 

365 days a year but we would very much like to 

have the option to fly the drone seven days! 

How many Soil Scout sensors do you have under 

the playing surface? 

GE: We have 12 Soil Scout sensors and have them 

laid out a little differently than others because we 

got into the sensor market due to our submersible 

air-flow. We have them set up so that one is on 

our gravel layer and the other is six inches below 

the surface. I think moving forward I would like 

them a little bit closer to the surface so I am going 

to remove the lower sensors and redistribute at a 

higher level, maybe even at a three inch level as 

opposed to six inches. However, we are not going 

to move them until the next time we do a field 

renovation. 

In the time that you have been using the 

technology have you seen any significant 

improvements? 

GE: Yes, I believe our water consumption is now 

significantly lower than most we have more 

traffic through the stadium than most do and we 

probably use less pesticides while still utilising 

the surface more than anyone else so when you 

combine all these factors together and your usage 



| Oracle Park Stadium, home of the San Francisco Giants 

is up and your inputs are down, I believe you are 

doing your job right. 

Would you recommend GreenSight drone and Soil 

Scout to other sports turf professionals? 

GE: Yes absolutely, I think the information you 

are going to get from it will help you manage not 

only your staff but your resources. We’re hitting 

the tip of the iceberg right now, this has already 

started to affect our cultural practices even 

during post-game work. We are pulling out the 

aerification unit a little more often. We are using 

some solid tines and we are loosening the soil and 

trying to manage that. One thing we have that 

others possibly don’t is some soil migration with 

in-field clay material that works into our edges, 

so that’s another area that we are able to monitor 

a lot quicker than previously. So by using the two 

technologies we are able to identify where it is 

happening and manage it sooner, getting some 

sand and seed down. 

We’ve had a very successful run with the drone 

and sensors so far and we are looking to introduce 

more technology very soon such as autonomous 

mowers. I strongly believe we must continue to 

raise the bar in the area and hopefully adjust 

how people view managing sports surfaces in the 

United States. 

For me it’s been the game-changer, as far as how 

we approach what we do and how we go about it, 

it’s led to our success is what I believe. 

12 Channel Street, Suite 605, Boston, MA 02210 

Phone +1 (844) 484-7336 | info@greensightag.com 

www.GreensightAG.com 



Expert Opinion 

Dr John Dempsey 

So, are sensors 

useful or just a 

passing fad? 

By Dr John Dempsey 

Independent researcher in turfgrass disease and physiology 

Iwrote a piece for a previous issue of 

Sensor a couple of months back, in it I 

said: ‘So why Soil Scout? Well, the Soil 

Scout system is not merely a moisture 

meter, we’re not talking just soil sensors 

here, the system, when installed, is an 

integral part of your site, be it a golf course, 

sports field or research facility. What I find 

very attractive, is you receive real-time data 

regarding volumetric water content, salt 

levels and canopy temperatures, and when 

integrated with the drone option, you will also 

have thermal, NDVI and visual imagery, at 

your fingertips, ie., on your PC, tablet or smart 

phone.’ 

I mentioned I was provided with a couple of 

Soil Scout sensors to use at my research area 

here in Co Kildare and that I intended using 

them during a number of trials I had planned 

for the summer. So how did I get on since then, 

how have I utilised the system? Did I find it of 

use? Or just a passing fad? 

The first trial I want to mention involved 

assessment of a range of surfactants and 

nutritional inputs. As with most trials, 

treatments were applied, and data gathered. 

I had 64 separate plots in these trials, 

unfortunately I didn’t have 64 Soil Scout 

sensors…. that would have been excellent! 

What I did have was two and with these I was 

able to locate them in a treated and untreated 

control plot for a period time. Were they of 

value, did they add to the research in any way? 

The answer is …Yes! The sensors allowed me 

to collect data at any time and save it directly 

to my office PC, this enabled me to build up a 

picture of how the applied treatment influenced 

root zone volumetric water content and nutrient 

availability. So, I was able to utilise the Soil 

Scout sensor data to produce charts comparing 



Expert Opinion 

Dr John Dempsey 

I was able to install my two Soil Scout sensors in 

two greenhouse plots and these gave me constant 

readouts, which I then used to determine when 

to apply my irrigation inputs 

Dr John Dempsey | Independent researcher in turfgrass disease and physiology 

treatment effect on VWC to untreated control. 

A second research trial I undertook began in 

August, in the greenhouses, as with the other 

trial I can’t mention specifics as yet, as they 

were in collaboration with various companies. 

But this trial involved the use of numerous pot 

samples, which required irrigation inputs on 

a regular basis. I was able to install my two 

Soil Scout sensors in two greenhouse pots and 

these gave me constant readouts, which I then 

used to determine when to apply my irrigation 

inputs. I could see at a glance the VWC prior to, 

and post irrigation. 

This use of the Soil Scout sensors is of course 

not the standard method. Ideally they would 

be situated throughout the sports facility 

being managed. But hopefully it highlights 

the versatility and value you can obtain from 

their use. Ideally for me as a researcher, having 

numerous sensors in my trial areas would be 

perfect (hint, hint). But even when limited 

to two they were of great value. If I were 

managing a sports facility their use would 

provide me with essential data (accessible 

anywhere in the world I should mention) that 

would enable me to see exactly what was going 

on in my root zones and allow me to make 

informed decisions regarding maintenance 

operations. 

Hopefully this is of some interest and again 

hopefully looking forward to meeting many at 

BTME in March! 

Follow Dr John Dempsey 

@J_J_Dempsey 



Why truffle farming 

needs a data-first 

approach 

Controlling the uncontrollable 

elements with soil sensors 

By Tim Gilbert 

Truffle farming is a complex 

operation, and for the farm to 

operate effectively, all pieces of the 

equation need to be exactly right 

to yield more truffles and return 

the most profit. Truffle initiation, development, 

maturity, quality and aromatics are all heavily 

influenced by temperature and rainfall. This 

means water regimes are particularly important 

during summer seasons to ensure the proper 

initiation of truffles. 

Growing truffles has historically been an 

analogue endeavour, with farmers keeping 

tight-lipped about their best practises and 

industry secrets, passing them down as 

whispers to close ones. Yet, when water regimes 

are so important to effectively grow truffles, 

technology that measures soil moisture, 

temperature and salinity can enable farmers to 

optimise their practices and yield more truffles 

per year. 

Optimising soil for truffle farming 

Soil conditions suitable for truffle growing 

are quite specific. Soil texture, structure and 

natural drainage must meet very tightly defined 

standards to produce high-quality truffles. 

38-40F is the optimum temperature for when 

truffles start to grow. In the continental south, 

these temperatures may not be particularly 

difficult to achieve, yet higher up in the UK 

and Nordics, the slot for truffle farming may be 



Case 

Study 

extremely short. Using technology that measures 

the temperature of the soil at different depths, 

farmers can record their soil’s history over time 

and understand the optimal growing seasons. 

Likewise for moisture, having the ability 

to control when you irrigate can mean the 

difference between harvesting a crop or not. 

The system design of your irrigation should 

specifically allow for the dynamic and changing 

needs of the truffle trees as they mature. 

By using a soil moisture sensor, farmers can 

pinpoint exactly when and where they need to 

irrigate and in real-time. The added benefit of 

a buried wireless sensor is that farmers can see 

and control the moisture temperature in remote 

locations without needing to physically attend 

the growing site. 

Soil aeration 

The control of moisture and air content 

down to 30 cm is really important for growing 

truffles. Since truffles are living and breathing 

organisms, they need oxygen while being able 

to exhaust carbon dioxide. Optimal irrigation 

leaves soil pore space open for gas exchange 

(instead of filling it with water). Maintaining a 

balance between moisture and air is a significant 

challenge that Soil Scout and SubAir Systems 

are solving together. 

Soil Scout’s sensor transmits moisture, 

temperature, and salinity data in real-time from 

up to 2 metres below the surface, while SubAir’s 

subsurface aeration and moisture removal units 

guarantee ideal conditions by automatically 

adjusting the moisture levels of the soil 

according to live, real-time soil conditions. In a 

sudden downpour, the vacuum systems activate 

to eliminate excess moisture in the soil profile, 

with 36x faster drainage than natural drainage 

alone. 

Digital measurements are key with 

climate change 

Climate change means that growing seasons 

will be different in the future compared to the 

past and that weather will vary more from 

year to year than before. What’s more, truffle 

growing is a long-term endeavour; therefore, 

the changing weather must be considered when 

selecting a suitable site, and technology can 

be adapted to track these long trends so that 

we can better predict how to deal with certain 

outcomes in the future. For example, if a farm 

is to produce for 30-40 years; what will the 

temperature and rainfall patterns be in 2050? 

With technology, you can follow and predict 

these patterns and then reproduce the most 

favourable conditions. 

The more accurate and optimal truffle farms 

can change and fine-tune their operations with 

information from soils, the better off truffle 

farms will be. Since establishing truffle farms 

in the 1970s, the climate and practices have 

changed significantly – don’t stay in the past, 

unlock the true potential of your soil today with 

Soil Scout. 



Soil Scout around the 

World 

Soil Scout resellers and partners 

For sales and assistance in deciding on the right Soil Scout solution for your needs, please select 

one of our sales partners listed below. If you country or region is not listed below, please 

contact our Head Office in Finland via - sales@soilscout.com 

AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND 

3FI Pacific Pty Ltd 

92 Weeden Drive, Vermont South VIC 3133, 

Australia 

Phone Australia: +61 413 323 828 

or +61 417 801 425 

Phone New Zealand: +64 27 645 8875 

Email: sales@3fi.co 

CANADA 

AllTurf Ltd 

1964 Commerce Park Drive, Innisfil, 

ON L9S 4A3 Canada 

Phone: +1 800-263-1293 

Email: allturfltd@allturf.ca 

CZECH REPUBLIC & SLOVAKIA 

Leading Farmers CZ, a.s. 

Klanovicka 485/43, 198 00 Praha 14 

Czech Republic 

Office Phone & Fax: +420 281 860 862 

Mobile phone: +420 734 170 943 

Email: obchod@lfc.cz 

FINLAND 

Schetelig Oy 

Tiilitie 14, 01720 Vantaa, Finland 

Phone: +358 9 852 061 

Email: martin.railila@schetelig.fi, 

kristoffer.holmstrom@schetelig.fi 

FRANCE 

Greenmix 

26 rue Vaneau, 75007 Paris, France 

Phone: +33624645577 

Email: stanchapus@greenmix.fr 

GERMANY 

Punctus GmbH 

Harlessstrasse 5, 40239 Duesseldorf, 

Germany 

Benjamin Lemme, Managing Director 

Phone: +49 151 155 920 70 

Email: mail@punctus.com 

GREECE 

iacs 

153, Perikleus Str. Compound 

Ganas & Ganas 

57001 Thermi Thessalonikis, Greece 

Phone: +30 2310-527228 

Email: info@iacs.gr 

HONG KONG 

Centaur Asia Pacific 

Unit 801 & 802, Wing Fat Industrial Building 

12 Wang Tai Road, Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong 

Phone: +852 2527 0007 

Email: info@centaur-asiapacific.com 

IRELAND 

TurfCare 

Mullacash North, Naas, Co Kildare, Ireland 

Phone: +353 (0)45 856026 

Email: info@turfcare.eu 

ITALY 

Zeocel Italia 

Via S. Cannizzaro, 5, 56121 - Pisa, Italy 

Phone: +39 334 670 37 99 

Email: giulio@zeocelitalia.it 

LATVIA 

Tehlab SIA 

Ūbeļu street 15-71, LV-2164, Latvia 

Phone: +371 26113240 

Email: gints.berzins@tehlab.lv 

NORWAY & DENMARK 

Agdir AS 

Stoaveien 14, N-4848 Arendal, Norway 

Phone: +47 37 02 35 00 

Email: salg@agdir.no 

PERU 

Sobitec Peru SAC 

Avenida Los Conquistadores 638 

int. 201 SanIsidro, Lima-Perú 

Phone: +51940 407 669 

Email: joaquin.garcia@sobitecperu.com 

SINGAPORE 

Centaur Asia Pacific Singapore 

63 Hillview Avenue #01-02, Lam Soon 

Industrial Building, Singapore 669569 

Phone: +65 6362 6922 

Email: info@centaur-asiapacific.com 

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 

Gulf Water Management 

Solutions 

Sharjah Airport International Free Zone 

Q1-7 Building, 2nd Floor, Office # 58C, 

Saif Zone, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates 

Phone : +971 50 6594433 

Email: gulfwms@eim.ae 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

GreenSight 

12 Channel Street, Suite 605, Boston, MA 

02210, USA 

Phone: +1 (844) 484-7336, +1 (774)-244-2630 

Email: info@greensightag.com 

jvb@greensightag.com 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

World Sports Solutions 

International 

4652 Eagle Falls Place, Tampa, Florida, 

33619 

Phone: +1 858 699-3061 

Email: michael@worldsportsusa.com 

UNITED KINGDOM 

Rigby Taylor Ltd 

1-3 Freeman Court, Jarman Way, Royston, 

Hertfordshire SG 5HW 

Phone: 0800 424919 

Email: sales@rigbytaylor.com 

STRATEGIC PARTNER 

Turf Lighting Solutions (TLS) 

Fabrikkveien 11, 4033 Stavanger, Norway 

Tel: +47 51 81 97 50 

Phone UK: +44 7562 994399 

Email: post@ra-tls.com 

soilscout.com/contact-us 



Meet the Soil Scout Team 

THE UNDERGROUND SOIL DATA FAMILY 

Adam Sedgwick 

VP International Sales 

adam.sedgwick@soilscout.com 

Mobile: +44 7949 429360 (UK) 

Tommi Tienhaara 

Sales Executive 

tommi.tienhaara@soilscout.com 

Mobile: +358 40 5001792 (Finland) 

Jalmari Talola 

CEO 

jalmari.talola@soilscout.com 

Mobile: +358 40 820 1709 (Finland) 

Nick Durkin 

Sales & Sports Turf Specialist 

nick.durkin@soilscout.com 

Mobile: +44 7538 301753 (UK) 

Lily Nuttall 

Agriculture Sales Specialist 

lily.nuttall@soilscout.com 

Mobile: +44 7860 833710 (UK) 

Johannes Tiusanen 

Chief Science Officer 

johannes.tiusanen@soilscout.com 


Miiro Jääskeläinen 

Underground Weatherman / Agronomist 

miiro.jaaskelainen@soilscout.com 


Jussi Sirkiä 

Chief Technology Officer 

jussi.sirkia@soilscout.com 


Bahman Doaeian 

Regional Growth Manager 

bahman.doaeian@soilscout.com 


Heikki Huhtanen 

Software Developer 

heikki.huhtanen@soilscout.com 


soilscout.com/contact-us 



Technical 

FAQ 

Soil Scout's Chief Science Officer, Johannes Tiusanen answers your 

most frequently asked questions. You can find more FAQ's 

on the Soil Scout website at: www.soilscout.com/faq 

QUESTION 

How deep should I measure, and why two depths? 

One sensor gives just one number, but 

different depths reveal gradients and 

delays. 

Sensors at different depths will show 

you, that moisture is not evenly 

distributed in different depth layers, and the 

gradient is constantly changing. For example rain 

or irrigation can cause fully wetted topsoil, but 

not reach the root zone. In a more permeable 

spot the same amount of water may flow through 

the topsoil, producing an optimal root zone 

moisture while still appearing very dry on the 

surface. 

The water infiltration speed is another important 

factor, which can be observed as a delay in the 

wettening of shallow sensors to the wettening of 

the deeper ones. In some parts of a field water 

penetrates soil quickly, while others take time. 

These observations reveal soil structure: water 

infiltration speed, compaction, plow pan, etc. 

Choice of depths depend on practical things 

like crop rooting depth, tillage methods and 

irrigation, etc. 

Many of our customers have sensors in the 

tillage zone, pick them out for field work and put 

back right after. 

1. First shallow sensor (5-15 cm) gives fast 

indication of where conditions are heading 

2. Second sensor at essential root depth 

indicate plant available water 

3. Typical root zone depth for cereals is 30 

cm, root vegetables go deeper, strawberries 

stay shallow 

At what depth would you like to have the 

sensors? What depths are you interested in? Get 

in contact with us, and we'll work it out together. 

Founding Father 

By Johannes Tiusanen 

Chief Science Officer 



follow the 

SOIL SCOUT 

STORY 

N Regular updates from 

the Soil Scout team 

N Hints and tips 

N News and views from 

key industry voices 

N Expert opinion’s 

Don't 

miss 

out! 

N Latest deals and offers 

from Soil Scout 

N Be the first to know 

about new product 

developments 

SIGN UP...... 

Join the Soil Scout community and 

follow our story by signing up to the 

regular Soil Scout Story newsletter... 

To sign up visit: 

www.soilscout.com 


REAL-TIME 

COME AND 

SEE US AT 

GAINS BEGIN 

UNDERGROUND 

Soil Scout provides the most 

advanced underground 

real-time wireless soil 

sensor and monitoring 

solution for professionals 

working in golf and sports 

turf maintenance. 

One wireless soil sensor for: 

MOISTURE 

TEMPERATURE 

SALINITY 

“What drew me to Soil Scout is the 

live data you get every 20 minutes. 

Having that at your fingertips is 

unique in the industry and it was 

something that by putting the 

sensors in, we could fine-tune 

our moisture management 

practices very quickly” 

sales@soilscout.com | www.soilscout.com 

John McLoughlin 

Course Manager, Wallasey Golf Club 

#GAINADEEPERVIEW

Soil Scout Sensor 4

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?