The TurfBreeze Benefit

 

Developed to provide airflow on the surface of golf course greens,

TurfBreeze is the most respected name

in surface aeration.  

 

Promoting a healthier turf environment through improved air circulation and the alleviation of heat stress are the primary reasons most golf course superintendents use fans on their greens.  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.  Fan use can lower the surface temperature of a green up to 10° Fahrenheit, which in turn, lowers the soil temperature approximately 4° to 6° F.  Fan

use increases turfgrass transpiration, cooling the plant internally and keeping it healthier overall.  As an added benefit, TurfBreeze fans can be used to evaporate excess moisture from heavy morning dew.  Although thinning trees works best, fans have shown to improve the quality of shaded greens.  TurfBreeze will assist you in planning fan size, quantity, and placement to best suit the needs of your course.  

Sky Creek Ranch Golf Club, Keller, Texas

 

Three years ago Stephen Best, Director of Maintenance at Sky Creek Ranch Golf Club, purchased his first TurfBreeze fan and had such great results that he purchased ten additional fans in 2009.

 

“I met with TurfBreeze following the TTA (Texas Turfgrass Association) Show and we started talking about it and after getting information from the competitor too, I realized that I felt more comfortable with TurfBreeze and with their customer service,“ explains Best.

 

When the temperature started to rise in Texas, around May, Best started running his fans 24/7 up through August.  “From our measurements the fans were keeping the greens’ soil temperature, at a 2-3 inch depth, 3-4 degrees lower all the way through the day.  When the temps would get into the 100’s during the day, the soil temp on the greens with fans would be about 92-93 and the greens with no fans would be 95-96,” says Best.

 

Best tells the story of how his #1 green has settled over the years and without the fan running by May it struggled all the way through the summer.  In addition, there was a traffic problem on the green and the conclusion was made that it would need to be rebuilt within the next couple of years.

 

“I don’t think we will be rebuilding it.  It had a great summer.  It never gave us any problem.  Because of the settling it had a lot of black layer problems, and we had no black layer this year."

Best adds that it helped with other things as well – helping to keep the greens dryer and firmer allowing for less ball marks and re-sodding, keeping the greens firmer and even cooling off the golfers in the steamy Texas summer.  

 

“Obviously our success is not all from fans, it’s all the other things that we do too, but the fans played a huge part.  We had close to 20-30 days over 100 degrees, but we breezed through the summer,” says Best.

“I can’t say enough – I just didn’t worry about the greens this year like I used to.  I was able to sleep better and my assistant never stayed past 3-3:30.  You’ve still got to do everything right, but having that tool as a little back up – it’s huge!”

Sky Creek Ranch Golf Club is situated between Dallas and Fort Worth within the community of Keller is a Robert Trent Jones, Jr design.