Championship conditions
Superintendents run the tightest tolerance in turf. GroundWorx brings root-zone intelligence to the entire course: GX-1A (Adjustable) sensors with iQ SmartWells for fairways and common areas, and invisible GX-1F (Flex-cord) sensors for the trees that define its character. Hand-watering, syringe cycles, overnight run times, and tree care follow measurement instead of memory.
Golf only · Global estimate · 38,000 courses worldwide
Estimated opportunityApplying the conservative GCSAA U.S. national median to global golf models ~584.3 million gallons potentially conserved per day, annualized — assuming a 25% reduction through GAIN.
Potential gallons conserved · golf courses worldwide · October 2026 · estimated
All 38,000 golf courses worldwide · resets monthly on the 1st at 00:00 UTC
Since launch: 0M+ gallons potentially conserved across 38,000 golf courses since October 9, 2026 · estimated.
The first month is still in progress.
~213.3 billion
Potential annual gallons conserved across 38,000 golf courses worldwide
GAIN combines root-zone moisture, salinity, temperature, and weather intelligence to predict irrigation need — helping crews avoid unnecessary watering while protecting turf health.
See GAIN’s predictive intelligenceBenchmark: GCSAA Golf Course Environmental Profile, 2025 Water Use and Conservation report (2024 U.S. national median): 68.9 acre-feet per facility per year × 325,851 U.S. gallons/acre-foot ≈ 22.45 million gallons/year. This is ~62,000 gallons/day across 365 days (roughly 62,000), or ~125,000 gallons per active watering night assuming 180 nights/year; that seasonal schedule is illustrative, not a GCSAA finding.
Illustrative global extrapolation: 38,000 courses × ~22.45 million gallons/year × 25% potential reduction ≈ 213.3 billion gallons/year; 584.3 million gallons/day, or ~6,763.25 gallons/second. The ticker uses the annual benchmark spread evenly over 365 days, not the active-night rate. A U.S. median extrapolated worldwide is not a measured global average. This is potential water conserved, not measured live water use, water already conserved by GroundWorx, or guaranteed savings. Actual irrigation and savings vary by course, climate, and season.
Rebate-eligible · GroundWorx approved
GroundWorx is approved for the Metropolitan Water District's Water Savings Incentive Program (WSIP) — the district pays up to $0.60 per 1,000 gallons of water saved each year, for up to 10 years, on qualifying golf-course irrigation projects. Approval comes before installation, so the first step is paperwork, not shovels.
We help with the application, and similar programs exist in other districts.
GroundWorx Partner
Club consulting for private golf clubs and resorts. Ethos helps clubs find the right leaders and keep their golf courses at their best.
Search and placement for superintendents, directors of agronomy and club leadership.
Course and operations guidance through GroundWorx advisors Shawn Emerson and Mark Woodward, CGCS, MBA.
Trusted partner
Healthy turf starts below the surface — so we work with a soil specialist we trust.
Soil-management expert helping golf courses, sports fields and farms increase yields while cutting water, energy, chemicals and labor. PRM combines biological processes with remote sensing to rebuild soil, improve carbon cycling and reduce runoff. SCGA member.
Purchase 18+ GroundWorx sensors and receive a complimentary consultation with Parker Cohn. Consultation scope and scheduling are confirmed with your order.
View SCGA profile
Partner offer
Purchase 18 or more GroundWorx sensors and your first year of Turf Assistant's base service is included — the turf-operations platform for scheduling crews, tracking labor and reporting on the work. GroundWorx shows what the root zone needs; Turf Assistant organizes the crew that does it.
Included under our partner agreement with Turf Assistant. Plan contents, start date and renewal follow the agreement — our team confirms the details with your order.
Partner offer
Purchase 18 or more GroundWorx sensors and take 10% off your next order with Ewing Outdoor Supply, up to $1,000 in savings. GroundWorx shows what the root zone needs; Ewing supplies the irrigation pipe, fittings and products to act on it.
Partner pricing: $850 per sensor and $325/year GAIN per sensor. Order eligibility and redemption are confirmed with your purchase.
Partner offer
Purchase 18 or more GroundWorx sensors and take 10% off your next order with Living Turf, up to US$750 in savings. GroundWorx shows what the root zone needs; Living Turf supplies the turf nutrition and soil health products to act on it.
Partner pricing: US$850 per sensor and US$325/year GAIN per sensor. All amounts in US dollars (USD). Order eligibility and redemption are confirmed with your purchase.
GAIN / Bundle calculator
18+ sensors: $750 each + $250/year GAIN on the yearly plan. Individual partner offers are shown separately below. Below 18 sensors, standard à la carte rates apply.
$9,000 a year
18 sensors + 3 years of GAIN root-zone intelligence.
Annualized cost: $27,000 total divided over 3 years. Not an annual payment plan; payment terms are confirmed with your order.
Partner pricing unlocked. 18+ sensors qualifies for individual company offers. See each partner’s own offer area and sales sheet for its benefit and terms.
Estimate for GX-1A, GX-1F or GX-1S sensors with GAIN service. Partner-offer terms follow the signed agreement; our team confirms details with your order.
Partnership · Validation in progress
For course teams, treated irrigation water is only one part of the story. Our partnership with RainMaker.earth uses GroundWorx sensors to independently evaluate the root-zone response — moisture, temperature and salinity — rather than assuming a treatment claim is a field result.
RainMaker.earth provides the irrigation water-treatment system. GroundWorx provides soil telemetry; GAIN adds site history and weather context. The aim is an evidence-based evaluation, not an assumed outcome.
No partnership savings figures or completed results are published. Soil readings do not directly measure plant uptake or gallons conserved; water-use records and agronomic checks are needed. Existing GroundWorx case studies are separate.
Partner offer · RainMaker.earth customers
Install GroundWorx GX-1 series sensors alongside your RainMaker.earth system and see how your soil responds. Half the sensors go in a treated zone and half in an untreated comparison zone, so the before-and-after is measured, not assumed.
$850 per sensor
GAIN $325/year per sensor
$10,950 over three years (6 sensors)
$3,650 a year, annualized
First year: $7,050. Annualized math divides the three-year total by three — not an annual payment plan; billing is confirmed with your order.
Exactly 6 sensors. $850 per sensor + $325/year GAIN per sensor. Calculated over three years: $10,950 for 6 sensors — $3,650 a year annualized. Annualized math, not an annual payment plan; billing confirmed with your order. Results are reported as measured; no water-savings outcome is promised. RainMaker.earth's system is purchased separately from RainMaker.earth.
Partner offer · GreenSight
Purchase 18 or more GroundWorx sensors with a minimum three-year GAIN agreement and order them through GreenSight, a GroundWorx distributor and integration partner. GreenSight's TurfCloud manages your mower fleet, drone imagery and GroundWorx soil data in the same window — mowing, imagery and root-zone readings that finally agree with each other.
$32,850 over three years (18 sensors)
$10,950 a year, annualized
Ordered through GreenSight, a GroundWorx distributor and integration partner. Annualized math divides the three-year total by three — not an annual payment plan; billing is confirmed with your order.
18+ sensors with a minimum 3-year GAIN agreement at partner pricing. TurfCloud integration and order details are confirmed with your purchase. Bundle pricing is $850 per sensor + $325/year GAIN per sensor.
Partner pricing
$850 + $325/yr
Per sensor plus GAIN service, per sensor, with 18+ sensors and a minimum 3-year GAIN agreement.
TurfCloud · mowers · imagery · soil
GAIN / Water savings estimator
US water rate region
Baseline annual use
449M gal
Estimated irrigation per year
Water conserved (25%)
112.3M gal
Modeled annual gallons conserved
Annual utility cost savings
$841,875 / yr
West · $7.50 per 1,000 gal
Estimate only, not a quote or guarantee. The 25% reduction shown here is the typical ROI we expect from either the Par Package (20/10 config: 20 iQ SmartWells and 10 GX-1A sensors) or a direct purchase of 18 sensors — both configs reach 25% easily. Basis: GCSAA Golf Course Environmental Profile U.S. median: 68.9 acre-feet (~22.45M gal) per facility per year. Savings use a 25% reduction benchmark; annual utility savings use the selected modeled US regional water rate (West: $7.50 per 1,000 gallons), not a local utility quote. Map zones are schematic, not state-level service boundaries. Sources: GCSAA, USDA/USGS, and university extension irrigation benchmarks for water use. Actual results depend on climate, soil, water source, local utility rates, and current practices.
Learn the location. Move the intelligence.
Target release · Q1 2027An operational breakthrough for the course: sample fairways and common areas with a sensor in an iQ SmartWell, establish each location’s baseline, then move wells where new learning is needed and return sensors for recalibration.
01 / FLUSH SUBTERRANEAN SLEEVE
Every location starts with a sensor in an iQ SmartWell collecting initial data. Once the 20 iQ SmartWell locations are predictable, wells can move to sample new ground. The sleeve sits flush so mowers and turf equipment can pass over it; depth markings and tool-free sensor insertion support each sampling visit.
02 / RFID + BLE AUTO-PAIRING
At volatile locations, the well stays in place while the sensor is stored safely elsewhere and returned a couple of times a year for recalibration. On each return, RFID instantly identifies the sensor and auto-pairs via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) — no manual QR scanning or serial-number entry.
Why it is different
Hardware economics
GroundWorx iQ SmartWell
One-to-many economics. Twenty-plus active SmartLocations with half the sensor hardware — the same sensor samples many locations over time.
Traditional well deployment
A strict 1-to-1 lock. Twenty wells mean twenty sensors buried underground, so every new location means buying and burying another sensor.
Surface presence
GroundWorx iQ SmartWell
Flush beneath the surface. Mowers and turf equipment roll right over it, with nothing visible to break or eyesore to explain.
Traditional well deployment
Wells stay physically visible to everyone on the grounds — something people see, walk around, and can damage.
Role of the well
GroundWorx iQ SmartWell
An active calibration dock. RFID/BLE auto-pairing on every insertion, SmartLocations generated from what the well learns, and sensors stored safely between periodic recalibrations.
Traditional well deployment
A passive plastic cup whose only job is protecting a sensor while it sits in the ground.
Start with a sensor in an iQ SmartWell. Collect the initial root-zone data and establish a baseline until each of the 20 locations is predictable.
Once the 20 locations are predictable, wells can move to sample new locations. GAIN maintains the learned SmartLocations as predictions after sensing hardware moves on.
At volatile locations, leave the well in place. Store the sensor safely elsewhere and return it a couple of times a year for recalibration — without leaving a sensor in every well.
20 learned locations. No need to leave 20 sensors in the ground. After baseline learning, sensors can be stored safely elsewhere between recalibration visits. Sensor-free SmartLocations are AI predictions, not live measurements. The iQ Capsule, under development, will eventually collect data on its own without an iQ SmartWell.
Plan an iQ SmartWell pilotWhat you are up against
What changes
Typical deployment
GX-1 soil measurements: moisture (volumetric water content, VWC), soil temperature, salinity (electrical conductivity, EC) and dielectric. GAIN combines those readings with weather and evapotranspiration (ET); sensor-free SmartLocations provide AI predictions, not live measurements.
GX-1A
GX-1A product sheet (PDF)
GX-1F
GX-1F product sheet (PDF)
GX-1F iQ SmartWell Edition
GX-1F iQ SmartWell Edition product sheet (PDF)Under development
iQ SmartWell
iQ SmartWell product sheet (PDF)Under development
iQ Environmental SmartTower
iQ Environmental SmartTower product sheet (PDF)Under development
iQ Capsule
iQ Capsule product sheet (PDF)Under developmentThe hardware, up close
iQ SmartWell — course infrastructure
Start with a sensor in the flush sleeve to learn the location’s baseline. Once locations are predictable, wells can move to sample new ground; at volatile locations, keep the well and return the safely stored sensor a couple of times a year for recalibration. RFID-enabled with BLE for instant identification.
iQ SmartWell product sheet (PDF)Under development
GX-1A (Adjustable) — fairways & common areas
Wireless turf and soil sensing for fairways, approaches, and common areas. Used with the iQ SmartWell, with adjustable root-zone monitoring to guide irrigation across the course.
GX-1A product sheet (PDF)2-year warranty with iQ SmartWell
GX-1F iQ SmartWell Edition
The open configuration installs in iQ SmartWell just under the surface. Monitor course trees with a 44-inch flex cord; custom orders reach up to 5 meters. Its flex cord places the sensing element at a selected depth within a 1–44 inch range. Readings represent the sensing location, not continuous coverage of the entire root zone. Nothing visible above ground.
GX-1F iQ SmartWell Edition product sheet (PDF)Under development2-year warranty with iQ SmartWellGX-1F (Flex-cord) — standalone course trees
The covered configuration works without iQ SmartWell. Standalone, wireless, and autonomous: invisible root-zone intelligence for mature trees, specimen plantings, and the canopy along your fairways.
GX-1F product sheet (PDF)1-year warranty standaloneUnder Development · Pre-sale open · Target release Q2 2027
Made with the PURE Insight sensor array
Available with PURE Insight and available with Acclima · Target Q2 2027
Playing-surface intelligence for golf greens, athletic and equestrian surfaces, and select commercial sites. Its top sits 6 inches below the surface, or it can be turned on its side at 6 inches — omnidirectional — with the sensing element reading below; sensing range 1–16 inches.
iQ Capsule joins the GX-1S (Side-mount) in the lineup and is designed to collect data independently of an iQ SmartWell. Final product design shown; hardware remains under development and is not yet available. Release timing is a target, subject to development progress. Pricing: contact GroundWorx at info@getgroundworx.com.
Where it measures
Environmental intelligence
Prototype · Under DevelopmentDesigned for open areas such as golf courses, agricultural fields and vineyards, connecting air, weather and root-zone conditions to day-to-day land management. It is distinct from Guardian SmartTower’s flood-and-fire focus and Fire Station’s deep-forest role.
The iQ Environmental SmartTower is built on the iQ Fire Station SmartTower platform with 30 data points tuned for the field — fire-only smoke, flame and fuel-moisture sensors removed — and streamlined communications for open farmland, vineyards and golf courses. Air quality, weather, evapotranspiration and two in-ground PURE Insight soil arrays report into GAIN from one autonomous 8 ft. tower.
Prototype under development. Specifications subject to change.
GroundWorx Advisory
A site-specific technology and efficiency audit for golf courses and high-value sports facilities — from the ground you cannot see to the decisions your board needs to make.
Map microclimate variance, root-zone moisture gaps, and unmonitored turf zones across all 18 greens into a SmartLocation blueprint. For high-value sports facilities, map the playing surfaces and turf zones that matter most.
Site-specific SmartLocation blueprint
Assess central control systems — Toro, Rain Bird, and Hunter — alongside pump station telemetry and weather station sync to eliminate blind watering schedules. Identify interoperability gaps and the steps needed to connect the site's infrastructure.
Control, pump & weather interoperability assessment
An executive-ready financial ROI dossier with quantified water and utility cost savings and a staged rollout timeline, built for greens committees, facility leadership, and boards.
Financial ROI dossier & staged rollout timeline
100% of your audit fee is credited directly toward either a Par Package (20 iQ SmartWells + 10 GX-1A sensors) or an 18-sensor direct purchase within 60 days.
Published field expertise
Selected writing by GroundWorx’s Shawn Emerson, Mark Woodward and Consulting Agronomist Pat Gross on water management and golf-course operations.
Golf Course News · 2012
Shawn Emerson
A first-person account of soil sensing, salinity management and integrated water telemetry at Desert Mountain. Describes historical work with other technology, not GroundWorx results.
Read publicationGolfdom · 2015
Mark Woodward
The operational responsibilities behind course conditions, including water management, irrigation, environmental compliance and budgeting.
Read publicationGolfdom · 2018
Mark Woodward
Practical considerations for bunker drainage, sand consistency, playability and renovation planning.
Read publicationUSGA Green Section Record · 2016
Patrick J. Gross and Christopher Hartwiger
A practical method for estimating golf-course water needs and comparing the budget with actual use.
Read publicationUSGA · 2016
Pat Gross
Using soil-moisture readings to guide irrigation, avoid overwatering and target hand watering on greens.
Read publicationProfessional educational articles, not doctoral research or GroundWorx validation studies. Publications retain their original authors and dates; inclusion does not imply endorsement of GroundWorx by USGA, GCSAA or any publisher. Historical results using other technology are not GroundWorx results.
Pricing, in plain terms
Individual company offers appear in their own partner areas above, each with its own benefit and sales sheet. Standard à la carte pricing below applies outside partner pricing.
Sign a 3- or 5-year GAIN agreement and any GX-1A, GX-1F or GX-1S drops to $750 — $1,500 all-in per sensor over 3 years, or $2,000 over 5.
Partner deal · hardware · 18+ sensors
$750
Per GX-1A sensor. Wireless, seven-year battery, made in the USA. Each one starts sampling in an iQ SmartWell to establish the location’s baseline.
Partner deal · GAIN · 18+ sensors
$250 / sensor / year
The GAIN subscription: sensor readings while sampling, AI weather intelligence, learned-location predictions between visits, recommendations, and the GAIN portal.
A typical golf deployment
20 wells · 10 sensors
Start each of the twenty locations with a sensor in an iQ SmartWell to collect initial data and establish a baseline. Once those locations are predictable, wells can move to sample new locations. At volatile locations, the well stays in place while the sensor is stored safely elsewhere and returned a couple of times a year for recalibration. GroundWorx owns the assets — you pay for GAIN per location, not the hardware. The goal is twenty learned SmartLocations without leaving twenty sensors in the ground; sensor-free locations provide AI predictions, not live measurements.
Buy à la carte
Own your sensors outright.
Purchase GX-1A or GX-1F sensors at $850 each, including one year of GAIN service. Sensors installed with iQ SmartWell carry a 2-year hardware warranty; standalone GX-1F sensors carry a 1-year hardware warranty. GX-1A is used with iQ SmartWell. After the first year, GAIN continues at $325 per sensor per year.
Managed deployment
GroundWorx owns the hardware.
For golf and rotating deployments, GroundWorx owns the sensors and iQ SmartWells. You pay only the GAIN subscription per location. Commercial and agricultural sites run one-to-one — one sensor per iQ SmartWell, every location reading continuously.
Paid pilots run at discounted rates, and what you pay is credited toward your final purchase.
Integration spotlight · GreenSight TurfCloud
GreenSight is an official distributor and integration partner. GroundWorx in-ground moisture and temperature readings sync directly into TurfCloud, where they merge with drone aerial imagery — thermal and NDVI mapping — autonomous equipment, and crew management. For superintendents, that means what is happening above the surface and below it finally reads as one story.
Below the surface
GroundWorx in-ground moisture, temperature, and salinity readings sync directly into TurfCloud, arriving every ten minutes against the same mapped locations.
Above the surface
GreenSight drone flights add thermal and NDVI imagery, so canopy stress and root-zone conditions are read against each other instead of in separate tools.
Across the property
Autonomous equipment and crew management live in the same operating picture, so what the ground says and what the crew does are never two systems apart.
“We're excited to welcome GroundWorx into the TurfCloud ecosystem. This integration gives our users deeper insight into their soil and water management practices, and strengthens our shared mission of empowering proactive, sustainable turf care.”
Open API
GAIN is built as an open, bidirectional platform. Root-zone telemetry streams out to any system you run, and context streams back in — irrigation run times, agronomic events, imagery, weather — so every prediction is made with the full picture. You own your data, and you can move it.
Read every reading, prediction, and recommendation out. Write irrigation events, maintenance activity, and third-party observations back in.
REST endpoints, webhooks, scoped API keys, and scheduled exports. If a platform speaks HTTP, GroundWorx can speak to it.
Raw and derived telemetry are exportable at any time, in open formats, to your own warehouse. No lock-in, no gatekeeping, no export fee.
Get started
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