Golf Course Fan Heats Up Residents

CHARLOTTE, NC - Despite the pop-up storms on Sunday, it was a fairly nice day to the play golf. However,?the summer heat can be brutal on players and the green grass.

To?keep it cool and alive, some courses, like Cedarwood Country Club, use fans.?But their use around the clock has temperatures rising for some south Charlotte residents.

"You would think even on days when it's not so humid, they could turn it off at night," said south Charlotte resident Jane McNeice. "But it goes all night."

The McNeice family loves certain features about their home.?Its got a sunroom, a year old deck and a view of the Cedarwood golf course they could enjoy.?But a fan just beyond their back yard runs -?24 hours a day/7 days a week -?to keep the grass alive.?

Abby McNeice says?the?noise is a nuisance. "If you sit inside our sunroom, you have a direct view of that fan."

The club placed fans through out the course.?Some are away from residential areas, and traffic drowns the noise.?The McNeice say this one was moved away from Highway 51,?and?closer to homes about a year ago.

"Basically, well, we're going to save these greens and it really doesn't matter whether you're comfortable or not in your home,"?is what Jane says she was told by Cedarwood management.

According to?a decibel app on an iPhone, a quiet conversation is 50 dBs; normal conversation is 60; annoying is 70;?and possible hearing damage is 80 dBs.?When placed near the fan, the iPhone?reads a?range?in the low 70s.

"I mean, I could understand how some of the houses around here wouldn't like them," said south Charlotte resident and?Cedarwood guest player?Ryan Marder.

Players say air from the fan is refreshing.?While they've seen them at other courses, those fans?don't normally?run all the time.

"If i lived on the course,?I wouldn't be happy with it,"?said Charlie Murphy, another guest player and Ballantyne resident. "If my bedroom was right here on the green, it's pretty loud."

So, while residents try to work with the country club to at least turn the fans off at night, "I know it's difficult for my neighbor,"?said?Jane?McNeice, "in terms of sleeping because of where her bedroom is located."

According to McNeice, one solution to the sun and humidy?has been adapted by several area courses. They're?switching to Champion Bermuda grass which?requires less water or fan activity. Those courses making the change this summer include Verdict Ridge Golf and Country Club, River Hills Country Club, and by 2017, Quail Hollow Club.

FOX?Charlotte?contacted Cedarwood to get the club's?side?to these concerns, but no one returned?the station's?call or email.

Source: http://www.foxcharlotte.com/news/top-stories/Golf-Course-Fan-Heats-Up-Residents-161746145.html

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