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Golf course Lighting Guide

Golf course Lighting Guide

To play golf at night, there must be sufficient lighting. The lighting of the golf course is very important for the television broadcast, the audience, and the players, which puts forward high requirements for the lighting of the golf course. The lighting requirements of golf courses are different from those of other sports venues and the issues to be considered are different from those of other sports venues. The court was huge, many times larger than the other courts, and it was divided into many fairways. For a par 72 golf course, there are 18 fairways and 18 holes;

In addition, the direction of the fairway is basically one-way, and the adjacent fairways are mostly one-way. Moreover, the terrain of the fairway is varied and has ups and downs, which makes the positioning of the light pole, the type of light source, and the direction of the lamps obviously different from that of other sports fields. It looks like the design is more complex and challenging.

If you want more information about golf course lighting, you've come to the right place. This paper introduces the related information of golf course lighting, focusing on the advantages of LED lighting in golf course lighting.

1. Golf Course lighting - Brightness standard

Proper lighting schemes are required to maintain proper lighting and consistency on golf courses and driving ranges. Let's look at how to meet the required brightness requirements.

When examining brightness standards, it is important to remember that there are two forms of lighting: vertical and horizontal. Vertical lighting refers to the lighting of the golfer's body and face, and horizontal lighting refers to ground lighting, such as the grass on a golf course. The vertical-to-horizontal illuminance ratio should be close to 1. You can hire a lighting designer or engineer with experience designing lighting plans for golf courses to ensure compliance. MKLIGHTS as golf course experts has a professional team that can provide free lighting design schemes, welcome to consult.

1.1 lux Standard for golf courses

a. Recreational

Municipal golf courses for public use are considered recreational areas. This does not diminish the value of the course, as many public golf courses are well-designed and maintained. All recreational practice ranges have Lux levels between 100 and 300 lux. This level of lighting is compared to the lighting in your living room, up to the office lighting level.

b. Professional

The Professional Lux level is for professional players and clubs who have more demand for higher levels of light. This level of lighting will look similar to supermarket lighting or library lighting levels. This rating is also available for golf course professionals who prefer higher visual levels of lighting 500-800 Lux. Most professional clubs provide this lighting for night golf games or for people with limited vision due to age.

c. National/International/Masters and US OPEN/PGA

The highest levels of lighting, these levels apply more to television viewers watching the game on television. This is also to allow the cameras to better illuminate the course and the 18-hole golf course. Typically, they use 1000-2000 Lux for these events. If the light isn't high enough, it gives the player more lights for each position in the game. This is the lighting you see in workplaces where precision lighting is applied at the highest level.

1.2 lux Standard for the practice range

Similar to the golf course lighting standard, driving range lighting requirements should be prioritized to achieve adequate lighting for specified areas. Typically, ground lux levels for recreational and training purposes are between 200 and 300 lux. It should be bright enough so that spectators and golfers can see the golf ball's trajectory without difficulty. With LED lighting, you will have a better experience.

Golf course Lighting Guide

2. Golf course lighting - Uniformity standard

2.1 Recreational

Unlike a standard sports field, the uniformity of light on a golf course is more difficult to maintain. This light is measured in square foot areas, with each area more or less aligned horizontally with uniformity. Recreational golf courses use a light uniformity of 0.4-0.5. Although this may not sound very bright, a recreational golf course with this level of evenness is acceptable. That's fine, as long as the players can see their playing area and the golf ball at night.

2.2 Professional

Many professional clubs with members who play late into the night prefer brighter lights, which gives the players an advantage. This may be due to vision loss in the older generation but is not limited to golf professionals who need higher driving range visuals. In any case, the light uniformity level you find in the standard specification here is 0.5-0.6. This means there will be more light poles in the play area.

2.3 International Golf Tournament

The light uniformity of the professional golf courses covering the PGA Tour or the US Open is >0.6 and the minimum adjacent uniformity ratio is >0.6. The golf course will be lit accordingly, usually from illuminated platforms. They're portable golf course lighthouses that you can push to every location.

Because of the HDTCV camera at night, the light needs to be more uniform than usual in order to see the picture.

3. Golf Course lighting - Color temperature standard

3.1 Recreational

Whatever lighting is used on recreational golf courses, the color is usually warm white. Anywhere between 2500 and 3500K, and stick to warmer tones. This makes the night game relaxed and less demanding for golfers. Depending on the golf course that opens its scope to the public, the lighting will be similar to the orange color of street lighting. The color range of each court will depend on its lighting Settings.

3.2 Professional

On any professional pitch, you will see the color temperature adjusted to stay at 50OOK. This midday daylight is the norm for professional golf clubs. That's what most golfers expect when they enter a private estate club or driving range at night. This level of light reproduces daylight colors as closely as possible. More lights are placed in each hole. It is more common to consult a golf lighting expert to light large open areas.

4. Golf Course lighting - Flicker standard

All lights installed on professional golf courses must be flicker-free above 10,000Hz for use by slow-motion cameras. This allows them to pick up the movement of the golf ball on the opening tee and track it down the fairway. It is also useful when players are just hitting the ball around the green. Slow-motion shots are especially exciting for capturing explosive shots when famous golfers are hitting balls out of bunkers.

5. Golf Course Lighting - Glare standard

It is almost impossible for glare to prevent stray glare from bothering golfers at certain points on the course. For professional courses, you're starting to see lighting designs put to good use. That doesn't mean there aren't good lighting designs for recreational golf courses. Eventually, you want the course to have a GR rating greater than 50 so that the glare is barely visible. It all depends on where you are standing and the Angle of the light.

Golf course Lighting Guide

In addition to the criteria mentioned above, what else should you pay attention to when designing a golf course?

6. Lifetime

Outdoor lights have different service life because of their different manufacturing methods. Among them, the most extended life is LED lights, which can reach 150,000 hours. This is the preferred type of lighting because it is cost-effective. The next list is mercury vapor which lasts 10,000 to 20,000 hours. After that, there is a metal halide lamp worth no more than 5,000-20,000 hours. You'll soon see why LED lighting is preferred.

7. How to reduce light pollution?

7.1 Use a smaller beam Angle

The smaller beam Angle is suitable for very tall poles that require a higher Angle to spread the light. Because of the beam Angle, it is almost impossible for the spilled light to exit the area, which is a good method for flat areas but not a good idea for picturesque rolling 18-hole ranges. The uneven level the player will be playing will allow light to penetrate and may affect the view of the shot.

7.2 Shorter light poles

To increase the chance of reducing light overflow, shorter light poles are installed. This is a good idea, but it means that many shorter poles have to be added in turn. This makes it more challenging where to add light poles, as these can obstruct the path of the ball. Therefore, lighting design needs to be carefully planned so as not to accumulate too many golf course lights.

7.3 Use more light poles

Now each light pole will be responsible for a smaller area, but as mentioned earlier, this is tricky. Anything that could get in the way of golf is not the intention of the game. Therefore, lighting needs to be installed where the light reaches the area of the pole that is least distant from the player. Given that every golf course is different, they all have their own lighting design.

7.4 Add a shade to the floodlights

This helps block out unwanted glare seen from different angles. Shades on floodlights are much simpler and usually have a metal clamshell that can be adjusted and tightened. This would be better for taller light poles and therefore better control of light leakage.

8. Why did you choose LED golf course lighting?

For golf course lighting, MKLIGHTS LED lighting is the best choice. The following arguments will convince you that this is the best option.

8.1 Longer life

One of the advantages of LED lighting is that it lasts much longer than traditional lighting alternatives. Traditional lighting, such as high-intensity discharge lamps and metal halides, is neither durable nor energy efficient. This suggests they convert up to 75% of their electrical energy into heat. So LED lighting makes a lot of sense because it can convert up to 95 percent of electricity into light. LEDs are commonly used throughout the golf course because of their superior efficiency. This results in a longer life for LED lighting.

8.2 High energy efficiency and low cost

As mentioned earlier, it is clear that LED lighting is more energy efficient. This means your electricity bills and maintenance costs will be lower. LED golf course lighting is much cheaper to run than previous lighting options. When you get LED lights, you will save thousands of dollars on your electricity bill each year. You can't get any higher quality than that.

8.3 Beam Angle management

Another advantage of LED lighting on golf courses is the ability to change the beam Angle. All areas of the golf course need lighting. Because of this fact, beam Angle management is necessary. Different terrains and distances may require greater lighting requirements.

8.4 Optimize quality and reduce cost

In addition, LED lighting maximizes the quality of lighting fixtures and reduces costs. Of all the lighting options, LED lighting has the lowest operating costs. Up to 80 percent of the cost of lighting will be reduced. So LED lights will pay for themselves.

8.5 Improving Security

Finally, LED lighting improves safety. Because of the importance of visibility to safety, investing in the best lighting is essential. LED golf course lights provide consistent, complete, and intense lighting, ensuring that all dark areas are fully illuminated. This improves security.

8. Conclusion

After reading this tutorial, you will know everything there is to know about golf course lighting. Follow all of the above tips for the best golf course lighting experience.

9. Related Products

Golf course Lighting Guide

Golf course Lighting Guide

Golf course Lighting Guide

300w Outdoor Floodlight1000w Sport Field Lights200W LED Sports Flood Lights


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