Precision Earthmoving How Drones and LiDAR Revolutionize Golf Course Projects

Golf course
November 7, 2025
 

When it comes to developing and renovating golf courses, precision counts, and not just about making a 30-foot putt. The nuanced contours of a fairway and the depth of a bunker, including the critical slopes of a green, depend upon how accurately you perform your earthwork. Although this is called cut and fill analysis, it is rapidly evolving due in large part to innovative golf course mapping technology: drones and LiDAR.

In the past, calculating the cubic volumes for “cut” (excavated) or “fill” (added) was a slow laborious process that essentially consisted of hand-staking and/or manual surveying or the grid method, an outdated calculation method. Advancements in drone light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology now provide an astonishing level of detail, speed, and accuracy, and have disrupted the industry standard earth work measurement and subsequent cut and fill calculations in golf courses fundamentally entirely. 

The Power Duo: Drones and LiDAR in Golf Course Design

The combination of drones and lidar in golf course design, provides a game-changing method of data collection. Drones (or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV’s)) can collect data quickly, and in a non-intrusive manner, covering hundreds of acres in a much shorter time than ground crews. A LiDAR scanner is attached to the UAV, which uses millions of laser pulses to measure distance across the entire site.

Why LiDAR is a Cut Above

LiDAR’s advantage over traditional data collection methods is its ability to penetrate light vegetation and tree canopy. Traditional photogrammetry, which relies on visible light, can only map the top of the canopy, but captures clean ground returns. Why is this important? Because when designing a new course or renovating an existing course, the design grade is based on the bare earth surface. LiDAR produces a dense “point cloud” that provides a highly accurate digital representation of the existing earth surface to ensure that architects and engineers can base their critical cut and fill calculations in golf courses on the best data possible.

Streamlining Earthwork with Unprecedented Accuracy

The information collected through drone surveys for golf course projects is processed into a digital and high-resolution Digital Terrain Model (DTM) that represents the existing ground. Next, the existing DTM model is compared to the architect’s proposed final design model (typically referred to as Design Grade). The elevation difference between the two corrected surfaces of terrain (existing versus proposed) is where the volumes of cut and fill are calculated. 

There are several advantages of this method compared to traditional methods: 

  • Millimeter Accuracy: New drone LiDAR systems are to centimeter accuracy, eliminating risks of expensive mistakes and ensuring that the design intent is achieved (including from drainage to bunker locations).
  • Environmental Earth Balance: The calculated volume helps engineers achieve “dirt balance”-(the cut volume is equal to the fill required). This is a win-win-win; it reduces material hauling costs, decreases environmental impact of obtaining new fill material, and shortens project duration.
  • Turnaround Time/Frequency: What used to take weeks of labor, can now be completed by a drone in days (from flight to final report). This significantly reduces design time, while staying on a project timeline. This allows designers to adjust and cost estimates with up-to-date data that is high quality.

The specific topographical information obtained from LiDAR terrain analysis for golf design does enable more advanced grading plans that improve drainage and playability; that’s the difference between a good golf course and an excellent golf course. By employing drones and lidar in golf course design, the entire development process becomes more efficient, environmentally friendly, and accurate. 

Read More :- Solving Drainage Challenges: CAD Solutions for Golf Course Designers

Frequently Asked Questions


When executed correctly, drones and lidar in golf course design can achieve centimeter-level accuracy (typically $\pm 1-3$ cm). This precision is far superior to traditional methods and is critical for managing earthmoving budgets and ensuring compliance with the design plans.
LiDAR is an active sensor that uses laser pulses to measure ground elevation, allowing it to “see through” light vegetation and map the bare earth. Photogrammetry, which uses optical images, primarily maps the top of the canopy, making LiDAR superior for accurate LiDAR terrain analysis for golf design in areas with trees or scrub.
A full 18-hole golf course can typically be mapped via drone surveys for golf course projects in just one to two days. This is a significant time savings compared to the weeks or even months required for conventional ground-based surveying.
Precise cut and fill calculations in golf courses from the DTM allow developers to accurately forecast earthmoving quantities, leading to better-managed budgets. The goal is often to balance cut and fill volumes to minimize the cost of importing or exporting material.
No, golf course mapping technology is equally valuable for renovations, expansions, and maintenance. It is used to monitor material stockpiles, plan drainage improvements, redesign specific holes or bunkers, and track terrain changes over time.