This is turf guard. It is new soil sensor technology that has been in the golf market from the Toro Company for past few years. The black sensor on the left is what goes into the soil. It easily slides into a hole the size of a cup cutter. The sensor determines soil moisture, temperature and salinity. The repeater on the right picks up signals from the sensor and sends the information to the maintenance shop. 
Below is a reading from the sensor. These are the recordings over the past ten days in the 8th green. It provides great information on how the soil responds to the weather. For example, we had snow on November 2nd, and you can see, the temperature remains low during the snowfall. As it begins to melt the moisture in the soil increased. (Click on graph to enlarge)
These sensors are on loan to Pinehurst for the winter and have been in the ground for about a month. They provide excellent information at real time and they can significantly help turf managers through a growing season. Most notably, if the plant really does need moisture. We installed 2 of them on the course, 8 green and 16 green. The map below shows where they are located along with the repeater and the main station at the maintenance facility.
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