Buying guide

Golf Course Two-Way Radio Buying Guide

Q: Will one radio cover all 18 holes?

On a flat open course often yes. With elevation change, mature tree cover or a clubhouse mid-property, usually not. A repeater on the clubhouse or maintenance building covers the whole property.

Q: Do golf course radios need an FCC licence?

Commercial Part 90 radios do, and most courses end up there for coverage. The licence is per organisation and lasts ten years. License-free models such as the CURVE DLR110 skip it but have less range.

Q: What radio holds up for the grounds crew?

An IP67-rated radio. The Motorola EVX-S24 in high-visibility yellow is the model most courses put on maintenance crews, because standard handhelds are not sealed against irrigation and washdown.

Q: Can staff use radios discreetly around members?

Yes. A two-wire surveillance earpiece puts an acoustic tube in the ear and the microphone on the lapel, paired with a slim radio such as the SL300, so members hear neither side of the conversation.

Q: What about tournaments and events?

Tournament weeks typically need about double the everyday fleet plus a dedicated event channel. Renting the extra units is usually cheaper than owning capacity used twice a year.

How to size a radio fleet for a course, plan channels for grounds, pro shop, food and beverage and outside services, and cover 150 acres of open ground without dead spots.

Shop radios for golf Call 1-800-984-1534

Coverage is the decision that costs the most to get wrong

A golf course is the hardest coverage problem most operators will ever buy for. You are covering 150 acres or more of open ground, plus tree lines, elevation changes, a clubhouse, a cart barn, a maintenance yard and often a halfway house. Buildings block signal, terrain blocks signal, and a mature tree canopy absorbs more of it than people expect.

The common mistake is buying consumer radios rated for "up to 35 miles" and discovering they cover about six holes. That range figure assumes line of sight with nothing in between, which describes no golf course anywhere.

Rule of thumb. A single handheld reliably covers a flat, open nine. Eighteen holes with terrain usually needs either higher-power UHF radios or a repeater. Multi-course properties and resorts almost always need a repeater, and a resort with hotel operations may need nationwide push to talk on top of it.

Four teams, one property, different radios

Golf runs several operations at once and they do not all need the same hardware. Sizing by department rather than by headcount is what keeps the budget sane.

Grounds and course maintenance

Sealed, rugged, all day

Crews work in irrigation spray, dew, mud and weather from before dawn. This is the one department where ingress protection genuinely matters. An IP67-rated radio such as the Motorola EVX-S24 survives being rained on and hosed down; a standard handheld will not. High-visibility yellow is worth specifying here.

Pro shop and starter

Range across the full course

The starter needs to reach the far end of the property to manage pace of play, and the pro shop needs to reach the starter. This is the pairing that most often justifies a repeater. Motorola CP100d or R2 handle the power side; the R2 adds noise cancelling for mower and blower noise.

Clubhouse, food and beverage

Discreet in front of members

Front of house wants communication members never notice. A slim radio worn under a jacket with a surveillance earpiece keeps the dining room quiet. Motorola SL300 or CURVE DLR110 suit this, paired with a two-wire surveillance kit.

Outside services and cart barn

Simple, cheap to replace, full shift

Cart staff, bag drop and range attendants turn over seasonally, so radios need to be simple enough to hand to someone on day one. Motorola BPR50dX is the workhorse here. Buy spare batteries rather than spare radios.

Fleet sizing by course type

Start with one radio per active role, not per employee. Radios get shared across shifts; batteries do not.

Property	Typical fleet	What usually decides it
Nine-hole municipal	6 to 10 radios	Usually covered without a repeater. Grounds, pro shop, cart barn, F&B.
18-hole private club	12 to 25 radios	Repeater becomes likely once terrain or tree cover is involved. Separate channels for grounds and front of house.
36-hole or multi-course	25 to 60 radios	Repeater is effectively required. Consider a dedicated tournament channel.
Golf resort with lodging	40 to 100+ radios	Course plus hotel operations. Often a repeater for the course and nationwide push to talk to link departments and shuttles.

Tournament weeks change the math. A club that runs comfortably on 15 radios all season may need 30 for a member-guest or a charity event. Renting for the week is usually cheaper than owning capacity you use twice a year. Ask us about event coverage rather than over-buying.

A channel plan that actually works

The single most common complaint after a course buys radios is that the grounds crew and the clubhouse are talking over each other. Separate them from day one.

Channel	Who	Why separate
1	Grounds and maintenance	High traffic, early morning, irrelevant to front of house
2	Pro shop, starter, ranger	Pace of play chatter runs constantly during peak tee times
3	Clubhouse, F&B, events	Member facing, needs to stay quiet and uncluttered
4	All call	Weather holds, medical, lightning evacuation. Everyone monitors.

Lightning is the reason channel 4 exists. A weather hold has to reach every person on the property in one transmission, including crews out of sight on the back nine. Every fleet we program for a course gets an all-call channel whether the customer asks for it or not.

Licensing, in plain terms

Most commercial radios that give you real course coverage run on FCC Part 90 business frequencies, which require a licence. The licence covers your organisation for ten years and is not per radio.

License-free options exist and are legitimate for smaller properties. The Motorola CURVE DLR110 and the CLP series need no licence and no monthly fee, and they suit a nine-hole course or a clubhouse-only fleet. They do not have the power to blanket a large or wooded property.

Nationwide push to talk radios such as the Motorola TLK series run on a carrier network rather than a licensed frequency, so they need a service plan instead of a licence. For a resort linking a course, a hotel and a shuttle, that is often the right answer.

We handle the paperwork. TWRG prepares and files the Part 90 application and programs every radio to your channel plan before it ships. You do not touch the FCC.

Golf course radio questions, answered

How many radios does a golf course need?

Size by active role rather than headcount. A nine-hole municipal typically runs 6 to 10 radios, an 18-hole private club 12 to 25, and a resort with lodging 40 or more. Buy one radio per role on shift, then add spare batteries rather than spare radios.

Will one radio cover all 18 holes?

On a flat, open course, often yes. On a course with elevation change, mature tree cover or a clubhouse in the middle of the property, usually not. A repeater mounted on the clubhouse or maintenance building is the normal fix and it covers the whole property rather than adding power to each handheld.

Do golf course radios need an FCC licence?

Commercial radios on Part 90 business frequencies do, and that is what most courses end up on for coverage reasons. The licence is per organisation, lasts ten years, and we file it for you. License-free models like the CURVE DLR110 skip it entirely but have less range.

What radio holds up for the grounds crew?

Look for an IP67 ingress rating, which means dust tight and able to survive immersion. The Motorola EVX-S24 is the model most of our courses put on maintenance crews, in high-visibility yellow. Standard commercial handhelds are not sealed to that level and fail early around irrigation.

Can staff use radios discreetly around members?

Yes, and this is what a surveillance earpiece is for. A two-wire kit puts a clear acoustic tube in the ear and the microphone and push to talk on the lapel, so front of house can communicate without members hearing either side of it. Pair it with a slim radio such as the SL300.

What about tournaments and events?

Tournament weeks usually need roughly double the everyday fleet, plus a dedicated event channel so tournament traffic does not sit on top of normal operations. Renting the extra units for the week is almost always cheaper than owning capacity that sits idle the rest of the season.

Are you a Motorola dealer?

TWRG is an authorised Motorola Channel Partner with over 25 years in two-way radio. Every order ships programmed to your channel plan and licence prepped, with US-based support afterwards.

Free consultation

Tell us your acreage and layout

Send the course routing or just the hole count and building locations. You get a recommended fleet, a channel plan and a written quote, with coverage sized before you spend anything.

Shop radios for golf Request a quote Call 1-800-984-1534