Kyle Soller

Located in the heart of Northwest Arkansas, the Scotsdale course at Bella Vista, a 36,000-acre residential community, plays like a traditional Scottish links course. But Superintendent Kyle Soller’s approach to data collection is anything but traditional: in addition to having the GS3 ball, he also recently acquired the new USGA Moisture Meter. He talked to us about his new tool and how it works seamlessly with the DEACON management system.

Q: How long have you had the USGA moisture meter?

Kyle: I've had it for about a month now.

Q: And what led you to the USGA Moisture Meter? How did that come about?

Kyle: I was at the GIS show and went by the USGA booth, saw it, and talked to the staff about it. What really excites me about the moisture meter is the ability to map the readings, to instantly have those numbers and look back on them, instead of having to write it down and wait to be entered. It's just a nice way to keep track of it. And then I also like the capability of being able to take the temperature. Because with Bermuda greens, it's something I really rely on. Also, the ability to share a map on the app. My crew can just pull up the map and it tells them where to water.

Q: In terms of being at the show and seeing the meter for the first time, were you swayed by the technology behind the moisture meter or the backstory of it?

Kyle: Kind of both. I was going into this season knowing I was going to have to get a new one anyway. And when I saw USGA Moisture Meter and the additional things it does, not just moisture, I was like “yeah” I need that.

Q: What do you like most about the meter?

Kyle: It's hard to pinpoint just one thing because of the capability that it gives you with three readings at one time, you know, with the salt index, temperature, and the moisture. I really like that. And then also, just the ability to map it. It’s just more data that we have on file.

Q: Did you find it easy to get started with the US Moisture Meter?

Kyle: I really didn't have to do anything because I already got the DEACON app. So, I just went out to a green, connected the Bluetooth, and started taking readings. It was easy.

Q: When you talk about the USGA Moisture Meter, how does it stack up to the moisture meter you had before?

Kyle: I used them side by side for the first week just to kind of get a calibration from what I'm used to. The one I had tended to read a little bit lower than the USGA Moisture Meter. I like the USGA one a lot better because it’s more data at one time. And it's simple to track.

Q: A lot of work went into the ergonomic features of the moisture meter. Did any standout to you?

Kyle: Yeah, I really like the tine cover. Being on a golf course, you must move really fast. It's nice knowing my shovel's not going to bang into it. I also really like the charger feature. That's big. And you can charge your phone off it.

Q: And how many soil test readings does your crew normally take on a green?

Kyle: For one green, I like 12 readings at least. I'm kind of getting used to the group feature on it. You know, where you stay within five-foot area or less and it averages those into one pin. At first, it kind of threw me off, but now that I'm used to it, I really like it. Sometimes it's more than 12, but 12 is usually a pretty good number for my greens.

Q: You have the GS3 ball. How long have you had it ball for?

Kyle: I've had that for a little over a year now. That thing is awesome.

Q: And speaking of the GS3 ball, do you use the drop fixture to correlate with the moisture meter?

Kyle: Yeah, I have. It's pretty neat to start seeing that correlation between those two metrics. We’ve been fairly wet lately, so I'm ready for things to dry out. I'm kind of excited to see how it all goes together this summer.

Q: Are you taking moisture readings and GS3 readings daily?

Kyle: At least, four to five times a week with the GS3. As we get more into the season, the moisture readings will be daily. Right now, we’ve doing it sparingly up to six days the week.

Q: When you do moisture readings, how many greens are you typically taking your 12 samples on?

Kyle: About 11 of them. I'm hoping, once we’re all trained, we can start tracking just about every one of them that day. Instead of me having to go out, I’ll have the staff do it.

Q: And with the GS3, are you taking firmness as well as speed, smoothness and trueness?

Kyle: Yeah, I have one green that I use with the GS3, that I make sure that's the one where I get my base readings. I have that one green, that one spot. That way I can keep it consistent. And a couple days a week, I'll try to use on a few other greens.

Q: Do you see yourself adding more USGA Moisture Meters in the future?

Kyle: Yeah, I definitely want to get at least one more. I think one more would be great.

Q: How important is it to have a digital record in the DEACON system for you?

Kyle: It's really important. When I sit down at the end of the season it's going to be pretty cool to compare the weather patterns with how the readings were, and then compare that to my notes, how the greens were performing. So, it just makes that a lot easier. And it gives me a good database of numbers to look back on.

Q: So what metrics are most important to you? You know, it could be from the ball or the moisture meter.

Kyle: For me, moisture is probably number one, because it corelates to the health of the turf. And then the next one would be a tie between smoothness and trueness.

Q: Kyle, what you say to another superintendent considering adopting the USGA Moisture Meter and the DEACON management system?

Kyle: Well, I would say if they're looking for a way to track data and be able to share it with their team, this moisture meter is for them. I think one of its big capabilities is being able to view the numbers instantly. I had a guy take moisture readings the other day and I saw he left the green. I pulled it up on my phone was able to look at it. That is a selling point, big time. There's no, like, well, we got to meet back up and talk about it. It's already right there.

Q: I have one last question. Have you always been in a data collection guy or has this just been kind of a new thing that you've adopted over the last seven years working at Bella Vista?

K: Yeah, it's definitely something I'm grown into. I'm a very hands-on guy, so I've really tried to collect more data. I haven't always been like that, but it’s something I'm really getting into now.