GPS and map accuracy
Turfile is a satellite-based map. Everything you place, every head, drain, bunker, and tree, sits on top of satellite imagery. That makes it worth a minute to understand how accurate that imagery is, so you know exactly what you’re working with.
Your base map
Section titled “Your base map”Satellite imagery is georeferenced, meaning each pixel is tied to a real-world coordinate. In and around cities and developed areas, that referencing is usually spot on.
Out in more rural areas, where a lot of golf courses sit, it can be a little looser. The imagery itself is sharp, but its alignment to true coordinates can drift by a couple of metres. So a head you place dead on the satellite image might sit a metre or two off from its exact real-world position. For finding things and tracking work, that’s a non-issue. It’s just good to know it’s there.
Your phone’s GPS
Section titled “Your phone’s GPS”When you’re out in the field placing things by your own location, keep in mind that phone GPS isn’t perfect either. It’s typically good to within a few metres, and it gets less precise under heavy tree canopy or right up against buildings. Give it a moment to settle when you’re dropping something by your position.
The honest bottom line
Section titled “The honest bottom line”Turfile isn’t a survey-grade tool, and we won’t pretend otherwise. It’s built to give your whole crew a reliable, shared picture of where everything is, more than accurate enough to find a valve, log a repair, or plan out the week’s work. It’s not the tool for legal-survey precision.
When accuracy really matters
Section titled “When accuracy really matters”If pinpoint accuracy is important to you, there’s a great option: use your own survey-grade imagery as the base map. If your course has, or can get, an RTK drone survey of the property, upload it into Turfile before you start mapping. Then everything you place references that survey instead of general satellite imagery, and your infrastructure lands exactly where it really is.
Uploading imagery is covered in Managing your layers, and you can also have us fly your course.
What’s coming
Section titled “What’s coming”Full disclosure: Turfile doesn’t yet connect to external RTK or GNSS receivers in the field, so you can’t currently pair a survey rover to place points at centimetre accuracy live. It’s something we’re actively working on. If that’s on your wishlist, let us know at support@turfile.com, it helps us prioritize.