Funding: Data2Sustain EDIH
Carne Golf Links
Carne Golf Links, located on the Belmullet Peninsula, partnered with the WiSAR Lab to modernise course management through real-time data insights. The golf club sought to improve water conservation, enhance turf health, and better understand golfer behaviour across the course using scalable IoT technologies.
Problem To Be Solved
Carne Golf Links relied on manual observation to assess soil conditions, track congestion points, and understand player movement. This approach provided limited accuracy and no historical trend analysis, resulting in challenges such as:
- Inefficient irrigation due to lack of real-time soil moisture and temperature data
- Limited insight into turf health indicators such as pH and electrical conductivity (EC)
- No reliable method to monitor golfer movement, pace of play, or congestion hotspots
- Manual footfall tracking in high-traffic areas with no consistent records
The club required a modern, integrated system capable of delivering actionable data to guide operational decisions and sustainable resource use.
WiSAR Solution
Through the Data2Sustain programme, the WiSAR Lab developed and deployed a complete prototype IoT monitoring system across the course. The solution combined LoRaWAN infrastructure, soil sensors, GPS trackers, and a unified data dashboard.
The system enables Carne Golf Links to:
- Monitor soil health using Dragino sensors that measure moisture, pH, EC, and temperature
- Track golfer movement with SenseCAP GPS devices providing updates every two minutes
- Analyse footfall patterns using a LoRaWAN beam-break counter installed at a key route divergence
- Collect and visualise data through a custom ThingsBoard dashboard integrating all devices
- Receive real-time and historical insights to support resource planning, irrigation decisions, and operational efficiency
This project highlights WiSAR’s ability to deploy end-to-end IoT solutions that strengthen sustainability and enhance decision-making in outdoor recreational environments.
Impact & Benefits
- Soil Intelligence: Real-time moisture, temperature, pH, and EC data support more targeted and sustainable irrigation.
- Golfer Flow Insights: Live mapping and 30-day playback help identify congestion points and improve pace-of-play management.
- Footfall Understanding: Directional counting data reveals routing patterns and potential course access issues.
- Unified Dashboard: Centralised visualisation of soil, movement, and footfall data enhances operational oversight.
Environmental & Operational Benefits:
- Reduced water waste and improved irrigation efficiency.
- Data-driven course maintenance and long-term trend analysis.
- Strong foundation for scaling to well monitoring and broader IoT coverage.
