Time of Day A.K.A. Lighting ; Lighting as a Course Criteria.

[Deleted]

Hello golfers and Designers,

   Maybe it's just me. It usually is, but I usually like to play my golf on a nice bright sunny day. I'll remind everyone here that we don't have weather yet (cloudy days, rain please bring it). Are the days always like that? No. Do I play in the mornings and evenings sometimes? Sure. I just don't get the whole lighting thing when it comes to grading a course design. Course designers often put themselves in the position of being subjected to some highly subjective criteria and criticism. The feeling can get like your under a microscope (they use bright lights too) which is fine. You can't get rid of that completely. Now I'm guessing that lighting is one of those categories that does not carry a lot of weight it might be used to split hairs between 2 very close courses to which I would say,"It's a tie". Lighting is one of those things that can easily be adjusted on the fly. I look at it more like the multiple-pin option or green fairway speed, firmness. These are all categories that can be adjusted and changed to create some variety during rounds of play. I just think if your going to split hairs maybe this is one you should leave out and find a more solid criteria to split hairs about.

    Thanks for listening,

    -Mike

*these comments are solely my opinion and are highly subjective. 

[fuzion]

Lighting will just come under course aesthetics. No doubt that with the correct lighting, a hole comes to life compared to the opposite. Sometimes, the correct lighting will give longer shadows. Not only does it subtly change the colours of the course, but these shadows give the course some depth, some 3Dness that not only looks good but feels more real. Just my tuppence worth.

[Deleted]

Mar 18, 2015 11:39:27 GMT -5 fuzion said:

Lighting will just come under course aesthetics. No doubt that with the correct lighting, a hole comes to life compared to the opposite. Sometimes, the correct lighting will give longer shadows. Not only does it subtly change the colours of the course, but these shadows give the course some depth, some 3Dness that not only looks good but feels more real. Just my tuppence worth.

Fair enough I guess. I'll have to get a dimmer switch installed when I go play some golf next time. I can make my holes come alive at any time by adjusting the lighting if your in the mood. For me I like playing the brighter lit courses and think they look and feel better that way. 

[SmilingGoats]

I think the big issue with lighting is does it affect the playability of the course. Some very dark lighting conditions make it very difficult on the greens and such. If the lighting affects playability then it should be a factor.

[Deleted]

Mar 18, 2015 16:21:55 GMT -5 SmilingGoats said:

I think the big issue with lighting is does it affect the playability of the course. Some very dark lighting conditions make it very difficult on the greens and such. If the lighting affects playability then it should be a factor.

Designers and Course Reviewers,


I always thought using lighting and shadows fell mainly into trickery. Especially since in the majority of courses you won't find too many trees so close to the green that their shadows affect play. In some ways I do agree with your premise that lighting affects play-ability as does pin and tee placement so it's an enhancement to the course design and should not be a core criteria. I can see where dedicated course designers create tours with not only different pin placements but with different lighting, fairway, green and tee setups to create a really exciting tour. Like playing closer to dusk on Sunday to simulate a late round for the leaders; but you can't to do that without the core fundamentals of course design. The Valhalla of course design elements: Grass, Trees, Sand, Water and Relative Distance. That is all I am saying.

Sincerely,

-Mike 

[BMann1976]

Lighting also might look great on a few holes that face the same way, but when some holes go a different direction, they don't look as good. There has to be a balance.

[Deleted]

Want to play in snow? Try Winter Flin Flon

[Deleted]

Lighting helps set the mood for sure

Too bright takes away from the contours and makes the land look characterless and too dark takes away from playability while highlighting countours that do not come into play.

It's a good thing to play around with the lighting as you create to holes, but not finalizing it until you are finished, test out the orientation from all angles once you have found a good sun angle, make sure all greens are good and none are "left in the dark"

If course is too bright, the bunkers in some themes do not look right. Most ppl play at times other than when the sun is at its peak.

[Deleted]

Hello,

     I thought I would follow up with some more observations . Obviously if someone submitted a course that was so dark it affected play that would be considered an issue with play-ability criteria. I could be wrong but it looks like the lighting criteria is just too artistically driven which brings in a good bit of subjectivity, something that most review boards try to avoid unless they are judging some artistic endeavor. Maybe that is what the review and staff have set as the standard. The criteria for lighting should be very direct and simple, like those areas where points are docked for to many bunkers, water etc. Something as simple as;  Does the lighting affect play? If it does? Dock a point or whatever the measurement structure is. All other lighting conditions should be irrelevant to the final grading of the course. I'm not sure what having a bunker pop has to do with good course design mechanics and general beauty. A course should be beautiful but lighting should not be a major consideration when determining a course grade.

Thanks,

-Mike