USGA launched Deacon to give superintendents data-based decision-making powers

Jim Moore had an idea. This idea would take a golf course, visualize it on a map and find where the most resources were being used in correlation to the highest-trafficked areas. After visiting hundreds of golf courses, Moore found that resources were being distributed evenly, even though there were areas of the courses that were experiencing much less action.

In 2017, Resource Management was created and distributed to a few superintendents and agronomists. This very early version of USGA’s resource management system allowed supers and agronomists to evaluate where the traffic was occurring and how to distribute the courses’ resources better. In late February of 2021, Resource Management was officially renamed, and Deacon was established.

“For a hundred years, we’ve been doing research and education. About 70 years ago, we started doing consulting visits. For a long time, that was primarily what the USGA was known for in providing for golf facilities,” says Hunki Yun, director of business development. “A software tool is a bit of a departure for us, but we feel like data-based decision-making is the future of course maintenance, and we want to continue to help make an impact on our industry.”

Deacon seeks to improve how courses provide good playing surfaces for golfers, especially the greens. That take resources, and to be able to measure what is done and applied to putting surfaces is important. You can spend a lot of money trying to get the perfect surface for golfers to appreciate, and Deacon helps users to record data such as clipping yield, height of cut and green speed. Analyzing this data — both in real time and through a historical record — allows course managers to make the best-informed decision possible for that particular area.

Deacon offers many key features to give the best overall insight into a course, including surface management, GPS services, hole location and advanced dashboard.

Surface Management:

helps superintendents and assistants track their daily practices easily and quickly through the convenience of a mobile app.

GPS Services:

uses GPS loggers to record golfer traffic throughout the course. This allows for prioritizing resource allocation in a way that allows for a heavier focus to be applied onto places that need it, in addition to assisting with renovations and other projects.

Hole Location:

allows for tracking and communicating the exact hole locations, day-to-day or for special events. That gives supers a better look into players’ overall experience and pace of play.

Advanced Dashboard:

help supers communicate with other course managers to support decision making and offer insights into the playing conditions and golfer experience through graphs and carts that are easy to visualize and understand.

“We originally developed this to help superintendents and golf facility managers, but there are many other uses,” Yun says. “One of the USGA’s primary mission is to improve the golfer experience at courses around the country, and we feel that Deacon will make a difference and help courses to provide a better, more efficient product for their golfers. This is the very early beginnings of our journey with Deacon. We’re excited to see it start, but more excited to see the future.”

Header Image: USGA

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