Putting Greens: Effective Lighitng For Night Time Play
Putting greens that have lighting incorporated into them allow homeowner to use them when the sun sets. Home owners have been spending more time at home and investing into their landscape and they want to enjoy them. Lighting allows us to use and enjoy our landscaping after sunset and lengthens the time of the year we can use them.
Patio & Putting Green Lighting
Illuminated Surface Allowing You To Read The Green During Your Night Time Practice
Lakes Illumination Technology is excited to take you through the comprehensive design process we undertake with each client, as well as the meticulous installation process for this particular project. We will discuss the numerous advantages and compelling reasons behind enhancing your outdoor putting green with strategic lighting solutions, as well as the associated costs that come with the benefit of quality lighting and professional installation.
Design
During the design phase, Lakes Illumination Technology took a look at the landscape materials that were going to be used for the retaining wall and paver patio and decided to stick with the dark/black color theme. The ledge lights were an easy pick to go with black, as it blended so easily with the wall material. The surface lights on the exterior of the putting surface were chosen because it has an optional 3 inch riser to get the light source off the ground and protects from potential impacts with golf balls. These fixtures also have an adjustable shroud so we could adjust the light spreading across the surface and control the glare from the patio above. Lastly, we pondered whether we should install lights in the cups. We eventually decided to move forward with this because it would be easier to see and use them at night, but they also added a “cool” factor.
Installation
Lakes Illumination Technology would worth with an outside landscape contractor who was installing the retaining walls, patio and synthetic turf for the putting greens. The landscapers company was able to install the retaining walls and patio before LIT came in to install ledge lights to highlight the retaining wall and turf. The landscaper left the caps off the block so we were able to run wire in the wall to tie in all the ledge lights. We were able to run wire in the newly installed landscape, around the retaining walls to get to the base material of the putting greens. At this time we had the client lay out the cups where he wanted them on the putting surface and leave them a little below final grade. (The landscaping company would still have to come in and place a bedding material to create undulation and breaks for the putting surface). After this, we were able to run our main line through the middle of the putting green and tie in our Illuminated cups and exterior surface lights. It was important to test connections and lights to ensure everything was working correctly before the synthetic turf was installed over the top. Our final step after the turf was installed was to clean all the fixtures and properly aim them for the best lighting coverage.
Fixtures Installed Along With Synthetic Turf
Fine Tuning & Final Adjustments
Extended playtime after dark. In the Midwest, our summers are short and we have a limited daylight. When we get home from work at 4 or 5, we only have a couple of hours before the sun sets, and even less time as we leave summer and transition into fall. Lightning allows us to extend our time outside and usable spaces.
Landscape lighting on putting greens add value as you are able to use the surface and play on it after dark. The visual aesthetics also add value to the overall property and potential appeal to future homeowners.
Not only does lighting offer is longer time outside, it creates a sense of safety and navigation. For example, the ledge lights on the retaining wall near the stairs leading from the patio down to the putting green
Cost Break Down
Putting greens can be illuminated in a functional and cost effective way. To start lighting our putting green we knew power consumption wouldn’t really be a problem. It came down to how the customer wanted to control the system. You can purchase a simple on/off system with a simple photo eye or plug in pin timer for $400, all the way up to an astronomical phone compatible transformer for $1500. The 8 ledge lights on this project were a simple 5 inch fixture with a 20 W lamp that can be purchased for under $100 a piece. These fixtures are a cost-effective way to illuminate a wall and throw some light on a putting green. The 4 exterior surface lights with a 3 inch riser can be purchased for a little less than $250 each. Each of the 4 cups with a light and acrylic flag were $260 (can add a color changing module for additional $40). This entire project for a landscape lighting contractor took six hours, including the installation of the transformer with programming, wire installation and boring under sidewalk, digging in landscape, along with all the fixture installations and fine tuning at night. Landscape lighting contractors can charge anywhere from $80 to 100+ dollars an hour.
While there may be no definitive way to measure the monetary return on your investment, the invaluable moments you spend with your friends and family—whether playing games together or practicing diligently to perfect your skills—makes that investment worth every single penny!
Perfect Night For Putting
Definition Note:
Undulation refers to a wavelike motion or a series of gentle curves that can be used in landscaping to create visual interest and improve the functionality of surfaces like putting greens.
Lighting Fixtures Used On Project
Wall Light: FxLuminaire LD-20WLED-FB
Surface Light: WAC Linear Path Light 6401-27BK
Cup Light: Lumien LAB-180 + M4B1-3.5W-27K-40-A
Check Out The Landscaper Who Installed The Putting Green & Landscapes
https://www.reesmans.com/homeowners
