why fans on golf greens

by Retta Dickens Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago

Promoting the healthiest turf through improved air circulation and the alleviation of stress imparted by heat are the primary reasons most golf course superintendents utilize fans on their greens. Turfgrass can be majorly impaired by solar heat; this is why surface aeration is so important.

Why are there fans on greens?

Fans also help to dry the soil and reduce turf leaf wetness duration, both of which reduce pathogen pressure. Using a fan to dry the surface improves putting green wear tolerance, too.Aug 16, 2011

Why do they have big fans on golf courses?

The circulating fans help keep down the humidity and subsoil temperature of the putting green. At high temperatures, the network of grass roots begin to shrink and diminish the quality of the putting surface, and high humidity can promote turf diseases.Sep 8, 2011

Why do they put sand on golf greens?

Sand helps cushion leaf tips and crowns and reduces algae. Increased Firmness – Turf produces organic matter in the upper rootzone that creates soft, spongy playing conditions. Regular sand topdressing, along with core aeration, improves surface firmness and resiliency.Dec 2, 2015

Why do they put holes in greens?

A hollow tine is a round tube that penetrates into the ground, collects a core and when the tube penetrates the ground again, the core is pushed out through a hole. This allows greenkeepers to remove material, such as poor quality soil and thatch and allows water and air into the root zone.Feb 11, 2019

When Should I aerate my golf greens?

The most common time to aerify is late summer, and that's also widely thought to be the best time to aerate, agronomically speaking, because holes heal quickly, and greens have typically recovered before any late-summer or autumn golf tournaments.

Why do Topdress put greens?

The benefit of topdressing greens is to keep the putting surface rolling true, firm, fast, as well as reduce compaction, keep a finer texture leaf, increase efficacy of fertilizer/fungicide, and reduce disease.

What kind of grass is used on golf greens?

Grasses are specifically selected for use on putting greens.

Bermudagrass, creeping bentgrass and Poa annua are the most commonly managed turfgrasses on putting greens in the United States. A putting green can have more than 10,000 individual plants per square foot.Feb 16, 2018

How do I get rid of thatch in my golf green?

Stop Creating Thatch

This was done by spoon feeding the greens with liquid fertilisers and seaweed, rather than applying nitrogen rich granular fertiliser. Applying nitrogen rich granular fertiliser would only create growth spikes, resulting in excessive shoot growth and thus exacerbating the problem.Oct 11, 2014

How do they aerate golf greens?

To aerify a golf green a piece of machinery built for the task cores the ground (punches holes and removes the dirt) in a certain pattern. (The small cores of dirt that are removed are called "plugs.") Air and water are thus infused into the ground at root level, and space opened up for new root growth.May 23, 2018

Why is it hollow tine?

Hollow tining or coring is the removal of cores from the lawn and is a very good way to aerate AND relieve compaction. It will also improve drying which is beneficial in the autumn when the rains start particularly if you have a moss problem.

13 Dec What Are Turfbreeze Fans and What Do They Do?- Graniteville, SC

Turfbreeze fans promote a healthier turf environment through improved air circulation and the alleviation of heat stress. They were developed to blow air on the surface of golf course greens to improve the health and overall look of the green.

Turfbreeze Fans

Standard Turfbreeze features include ground poles, fan poles, oscillating assemblies, and power control packages. TurfBreeze fans are pre-wired and pre-assembled for easier installation. In addition, the fan motor, oscillating motor, and control packages are pre-wired with inter-connecting water proof plugs for simple plug-in installation.

What They Do

Turfbreeze fans lower the temperature of a green. This is necessary because solar heat can have a devastating effect on turfgrass. When a green’s subsoil temperature reaches high levels, turfgrass roots begin to shrink, diminishing the quality of the putting surface.

Proven Engineering & Design to Deliver Superior Airflow

Developed to provide airflow on the surface of golf course greens and sports fields, TurfBreeze TM is the most respected name in surface aeration.

Our TurfBreeze TM technology blows away the competition

In competitors’ fans, the incoming airflow is diverted away from the walls of the fan housing, creating little or no loading of the rotor blade. The inefficiency of this design requires the fan to work much harder to produce adequate airflow. This results in poor performance, high vibration, and excessive noise.

MS256

Assuming the fans are not movable they are Immovable Obstructions and normal free relief is available for lie of ball, stance and intended area of swing. There is no free relief for line of play unless there is a local rule declaring them to be Temporary Immovable Obstructions.

turtleback

Thanks. Sounds like the pro is probably right if they are not movable. (?)

Rulesman

I wasn't very clear about that in my first post but "line of play" was the issue.

Fourputt

While it's entirely within the committee's discretion to enforce that condition, I think that it's a poor choice on their part. Since the local rule is available, and such obstructions are usually fairly close to the greens, it seems to be a bit more reasonable to give relief for line of play.

Asheville

joekelly

Along a similar line. My course has large, bright lamps installed at the 18th green, for games finishing late in the day. Here in tropics night falls fast, no twilight.

wadesworld

It is a whole different world with which I have no familiarity. I've never played on a course that had a cooling fan, temporary OR permanent. My prior response had mistakenly assumed they were there because of some very unusual situation. I had no idea they were permanent.

Do you aerate a green?

As every serious golfer knows, greens are often sanded and punched, or aerated, at the same time. That’s not always necessary, Kidd says. If the goal is merely to level the green, a simple topdressing will suffice. Aeration comes in when soils are heavily compacted or the turf is thick with thatch. The greens get punched and sanded, and the sand is worked into each aeration hole to improve air and water flow, giving the roots a better chance to drink and breathe.

Is sand good for grass?

They’re made up of angular particles that are meant “to provide strength and structure.”. That’s good for buildings, but bad for grass, as the sand binds together, reducing the air and water flow needed for healthy root growth. Golf course sands are different.

Who is Josh Sens?

A golf, food and travel writer, Josh Sens has been a GOLF Magazine contributor since 2004 and now contributes across all of GOLF’s platforms. His work has been anthologized in The Best American Sportswriting. He is also the co-author, with Sammy Hagar, of Are We Having Any Fun Yet: the Cooking and Partying Handbook.

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