Now, superintendents are increasingly turning to another computerized map tool known as GIS to manage daily operations and course facilities. Geographic information system, or GIS, technology has proven so successful at automating land and infrastructure management functions in industries such as forestry, electric utilities and oil production that some firms are touting it as the future of golf course maintenance. GroundLinkx LLC of Littleton, Colo., developer of the GroundLinkx GIS golf course management program, has formed a joint venture with IntraSearch Inc. of Denver, an aerial photography and digital mapping firm, to create fully integrated, GIS software and digital map packages customized for individual golf courses. Packaged under the GroundLinkx name since 1994, the new integrated system also runs on a standard Pentium desktop computer. Recent advances in computer and software capabilities, together with falling hardware costs, have made GIS accessible to desktop computer users.
Superintendents seem to be making up for lost time.
A GIS is sometimes referred to as a smart map because it connects database information with features on a computerized map display. In the GroundLinkx GIS, for example, a course map appears on screen, allowing the superintendent to point and click on any course feature such as a green, fairway or tree and retrieve information about it. Stored in an underlying database, this information pops up on screen in dialogue boxes. Basic data is either entered during development or afterwards by the superintendent. The system calculates other information on the fly.