Turfbreeze fan

Happy Father’s Day! The weather has been anything but typical for the middle of June. The rain continues, the humidity is high, and the sun has only made a few appearances. To combat both the wet start to summer and sticky overnight temperatures, we recently purchased a large fan that you may have already seen out or will see soon.

The idea behind the fan is to create air movement in areas where trees block most of the wind or on greens that do not drain well. By positioning the fan correctly and blowing across the green we can either keep the humidity from suffocating the turf or to encourage excess water on the surface to evaporate.  

Because fungi that cause turf grass disease prefer warm, moist conditions, anything that can help to minimize those factors is beneficial. The moving air blowing across the green slowly wicks moisture out of the soil. Most turf grass pathogens are always present in the soil profile. The fungi are simply waiting for optimal conditions to reproduce and infect their desired host plant. If we can reduce the window for development of the pathogen then we can lower the risk of infection.

The turf plant also needs to cool itself when the temperatures rise. Humid air has high moisture content. When this humid air sits over the turf grass plant, the plant can’t cool itself because the air has no capacity to accept the evaporating moisture from the plant. Again, the excess moisture of humid air surrounding the plant is beneficial to disease development. Just as critical though is the fact that the plant cannot cool itself when the moisture it transpires does not evaporate. A plant that cannot cool itself is at high risk for disease and death. The wind created by the fan allows the moisture that the plant is transpiring to be wicked away.

The removal of moisture from the soil of the green also serves to improve playability. Soft, wet greens are slow and not nearly as good to putt on as firm greens. Also, some greens hold water differently than other greens depending on soil characteristics and slopes. If several greens are appreciably wetter and softer than the rest on the course than the consistency throughout a round is reduced. The fan speeds the process of getting the green back to fast and firm which is preferred by most players. The other great feature of this fan is that it is mounted on a trailer and portable. So if there were three greens that needed to be dried out then we could move the fan from one green to the next.

Over the course of the summer you will see the fan around some greens. Luckily, the fan is not too loud and you will only have to put up with the noise for a few minutes. Just remember the reasons that fan is out there and the benefits for the turf and for the golfers.

 

 See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org