Why walkie-talkies?

Golf course superintendents are the only people with the job of monitoring and maintaining 18 complex, unique and beautiful spaces spanning anywhere from 120 to 230 acres. Properly maintaining a golf course requires constant and quick communication, and you don’t get that by trying to personally track down every employee working on a massive landscape.

The need to quickly communicate what must be done and what has been done at all 18 holes is why two-way radios are such an effective and reliable tool for golf course superintendents and their teams. Their ability to provide golf course workers with instant communication at the push of a button makes them an essential tool for almost every superintendent.

Moving pieces requires quick communication

A superintendent is responsible for managing most of the day-to-day operations of a golf course. This means managing a large team and communicating with other country clubs or pro shop departments. Two-way radios are an essential tool for quickly confirming tee times, communicating with staff on the course to maintain the pace of play for golfers, and communicating with the maintenance team in the mornings while they are redoing the greens and fixing divots.

Instant communication is essential during maintenance work. Maintenance workers can radio back and let their superintendent know what is happening, what holes need the most work, and what type of work. The superintendent can then instantly communicate with team members individually or all at once with the push of a button from anywhere on the golf course. Time cannot be wasted on a golf course; two-way radios allow everyone to communicate instantly.

Two-way radios can help you and your team communicate emergency work that needs to be done after bad weather or communicate with club security if an angry golfer is harassing employees or attempting to damage the golf courses. They can’t maintain a golf course for you, but they can let your team know what areas need maintenance and who is working on them with one push of a button.

Communication is critical to managing a golf course successfully and two-way radios help you communicate quickly and efficiently.

What two-way radios do superintendents need

Courses are massive spaces with winding land, hills and trees, so you need two-way radios that can handle that increased distance and potential obstructions. At a minimum, your standard superintendent and team would require a high-powered Ultra high-frequency (UHF) radio. Very high frequency (VHF) radios have a more extended range, but UHF tends to work better for golf courses since trees, mountains, and hills around your golf course can obstruct a VHF signal. A VHF would be a good choice for a two-way radio if your golf course is wide open and has few obstructions. Most golf course workers prefer to use UHF radios because they operate at a higher frequency, making them better for communicating in larger, localized areas.

I would also recommend getting two-way radios with military specifications to handle being dropped from a moving golf cart and working in bad weather. The two-way radios you buy should meet IP54/55 and military specifications 810 C, D, E, and F. These specifications mean your two-way radios are resistant to shock, rain, humidity, salt, fog, vibrations, sand and high temperatures.

I also recommend that all superintendents invest in a repeater. The lack of two-way radio coverage is common in the far reaches of a golf course, and a repeater would cover miles of space and ensure you won’t come across any dead spots on your golf course. If you work on a smaller course, you don’t need the repeater.

If you don’t want to invest in a repeater, you can use cellular push-to-talk two-way radios. These allow you to use your walkie-talkies via a cell phone signal. This is a great option if you manage multiple golf courses and want to do things such as location and video sharing. Cellular push-to-talk radios require you to pay a monthly subscription fee.

Lastly, superintendents could also benefit from using a shoulder microphone. This microphone is placed on top of the shoulder, helping you communicate faster so you can continue to do your job.

Two-way radios are a boon to any golf course team looking to streamline their communications process. They are a simple and reliable tool for golf course superintendents and their employees to go to the golf course better prepared and ready to provide the best experience for golfers. 

Stewart McClintic is the owner of hq98.com, a two-way radio retailer in Phoenix, Arizona. Hq98.com specializes in supplying golf course industry professionals with effective communication. For more information, go to https://www.hq98.com/.