With the RF survey complete and spectrum data in hand, it's time to move into the design phase. The central challenge for this project is one that every WiFi 7 deployment will face: how do you plan for Multi-Link Operation when you're working with a legacy backhaul infrastructure and a mix of MLO-capable and non-MLO clients?

Clubhouse: Wall-Plate vs. Ceiling Mount

The clubhouse renovation creates an opportunity for wall-plate APs in the dining and event rooms, which gives us better control over per-table RF cells and reduces co-channel interference between adjacent rooms. The main bar area is a ceiling-mount play due to the open truss design.

We're targeting 18 dBm EIRP on 6 GHz for indoor areas where AFC rules allow, and dropping to 5 GHz as the primary band for non-6GHz capable legacy devices which, based on our client device survey, represent about 34% of the fleet.

Outdoor Course Coverage

Covering the course itself is the most interesting design challenge. Cart GPS and scoring tablets require coverage across 18 holes of varied terrain. We've designed a 200m cell radius on 5 GHz for outdoor APs using weatherproof 802.11be units with directional antennas on par 3 holes where the coverage geometry demands it.

The first day on site at the golf course was an eye-opener. The existing infrastructure is a mix of aging 802.11ac Wave 1 APs scattered across the property with no coherent channel plan, no documented AP placement rationale, and three different vendor controllers managing different zones.

The clubhouse runs Cisco, the pro shop and cart barn are on Ubiquiti, and there's a forgotten Meraki AP in the maintenance building that no one has touched since 2019. This is more common than you'd think for hospitality properties that grew their WiFi organically over a decade.

Dead Zone Mapping

We walked the full 18 holes with a spectrum analyzer and WiFi scanner. Holes 7 through 11 — which cut through a tree line and drop into a valley — have essentially no usable coverage. The cart GPS units in that zone fall back to cellular, which works but incurs per-device data costs that add up fast over a season.