Whenever you need temporary lighting on the golf course or driving range, you can always rely on portable light towers. These mobile devices come in different models with varying lights. Moreover, their vertical mast allows for numerous applications thanks to the compact design. For example, you can place one lighting at a putting green and then move it to the chipping practice net.
With so many models available on the market, it is easy to get confused. So here are the basics to get to know telescopic and transportable lighting towers. You will learn about its main components and advantages. Then, I will discuss the buy and rental options to help you understand what you might need at this moment.
What is a portable light tower?
A portable light tower is a mobile, temporary lighting solution for the golf course. Most models are independent lighting systems and are often used to provide emergency lighting. Mainly, its constituents include five parts:
- a light source
- the telescopic mast
- a base
- the generator
- a lighting control system
Different models exist to adapt to various sports facilities. As you know, golf involves moving down the fairway and reaching the green. So, portability and weight are critical factors. The structure of a movable light tower should suggest which model is suitable for indoor training as well. Usually, a mobile golf light tower system offers waterproof and dust protection for every outdoor activity.
1. High power LED or solar lights
The most wide-spread light source of light towers is LED. To be precise, each light tower might have a different number of LED lights. For example, four or six LED lights, each one with different wattage. One of the reasons for that difference is the type of light tower. That is, a standard model that connects to the grid or an independent solar light tower.
In brief, you can find these watt ratings on these two wide-spread models:
- 200 to 2000W if the lights are powered by a generator
- 100 to 1000W if the lights are powered by a solar cell
2. Adjustable light pole
First, you might need to move the portable light tower near the green. But then, you might want to lengthen the telescopic mast to illuminate the green and the greenside bunker area. The adjustable light pole lets you do that on command. Well, if the light tower is indeed equipped with one.
Usually, the light pole of the light tower extends anywhere from 6 to 15 meters. But another important feature you might want to check is the manual or electric adjustment system. Solar towers can benefit from a taller light pole the most. After all, they need to gather the energy of the sunlight, so a taller model might be of help in finding a better location for the recharge.
3. Movable base
Transporting a light tower on the golf course could mean covering several kilometers. So, the movable base of the light tower becomes of uttermost importance. As you can imagine, stationery light towers require the use of a pickup truck or another vehicle. But mobile light towers come with trailers and hand trolley structures. You could even connect the machine to the golf cart via a support bracket or trailer hook.
The more powerful and equipped the light tower, the heavier it becomes. In other words, a movable base is an essential element that any light tower should have. Especially to provide temporary lighting in several parts of the golf range.
4. Generator
You can find models with or without a generator. In detail, the former ones are great if you have an auxiliary generator. The latter ones offer many options like, for example, an integrated inverter.
Thanks to the principle of electromagnetic induction, the generator produces electricity. Therefore, it is useful on so many occasions. Portable power generators provide power anywhere you cannot install a traditional light pole. So, when you select a mobile light tower, you should consider the electric system of the golf facility too.
One of the perks of generators is that they can provide direct current. So, LED lights will not create any flickering effect. This is a common issue for video camera recording. And television broadcasting.
5. Lighting control system
In the average 18-hole golf course, you need more temporary lighting points. This is also true for the driving range, where you might want to provide extra brightness in precise target areas.
When you have to manage more than one portable light tower at a time, it could be time-consuming to manually turn on and off each unit. You should walk or drive to every device. Then again, you might want to quickly turn off or intensity a beam of light due to a shower of rain coming up.
So, a remote lighting control system may be a crucial feature. The latest models offer control by smartphone apps. Basically, you pair each unit with your smartphone and change each setting as you wish.
Advantages of portable golf course light tower
1. No underground wiring
Sometimes, wires on the golf course can be a hazard. A player’s golf ball might hit the wire lying in the deep rough or even the fairway. Other times, underground wiring could cause casual water to form indirectly. Well, a portable golf course light tower eliminates this issue at once.
A light tower integrates itself with the surrounding elements of the playing area. More importantly, they let players move around it as they please. Think of them as additional trees or rocks of the landscape. Plus, they are very sturdy and robust, so they do not need stabilization with extra ropes or cables.
2. For golf course without light poles
Golf course owners might expand their facility to include more holes. But at the same time, they must incur heavy expenses to install new light poles. In fact, not only do they have to pay for a new lighting design but also wait for the foundation excavations, materials to arrive, and so on.
With portable light towers, you can skip the light pole construction as it is very expensive. Or you can integrate them to immediately profit from a new hole. Later, you can repurpose the mobile light towers for other new projects and repeat the expansion of your facility to double your profit.
3. Emergency lighting
Setting several mobile light towers in precise places is a smart way to position an emergency lighting system. Thunderstorms, electrical disturbances on the distribution line, and other external events can cause a power failure in any golf facility. But if you have these portable light towers, they could even turn on automatically when the power fails.
When a blackout occurs for no apparent reason, several hours could go by before things get back to normal. Without emergency lighting, the players would have to stop any activity. This unlucky event could lead to complaints and partial refund requests. So, it would be wise to think ahead and position some light towers for temporary lighting in case of an emergency.
4. Can light up a specific portion of the golf range
If you did not renovate the lighting system, you might need to turn on the whole apparatus. Even if you only need to light up a particular portion of the golf range. Of course, this limitation leads to incidental expenses and could end up in undesired light pollution.
Light towers help you to save energy and reduce light pollution. When you place a mobile unit with a telescopic mast, you can set up the machine to illuminate a specific area of the fairway. Perhaps, you only need to illuminate the putting green or a few hitting areas in the driving range. If so, with these towers, you can do that.
5. Flexible illumination
Today, LED lights are the most cost-efficient light sources and adapt to any weather condition. Because you do not have to worry about downtime after each use, you can move the light tower freely whenever you want.
With flexible illumination, it is easier to get creative and create new projects or business ideas. Let us say that you might want to offer a junior summer golf camp to young golfers. For one thing, you might use mobile light towers as light sources for temporary tee boxes. Then, you might move them in the driving range to illuminate a target area for creative team competitions. Or you might accommodate a golf club and provide extra lighting for intense training practices.
Mobile light tower for the golf course – buy or rental?
The last knot to untie regards the purchase or rental of these mobile light towers. For the best results, you should opt for the most convenient solution from time to time. In fact, there is no definitive answer to which one is best. Here are several reasons why you should choose to buy or rent one or more light towers. These ideas are supposed to help you focus on what you really need right now.
First, let us see the most popular reasons to buy now:
- instantly available, no need to book or pay every time
- to actually save cost in the long run because the rental cost per ten units equals the price of a light tower
- you can order customized units
Finally, here are reasons to support rental as the best choice:
- for tight budget golf course owner
- for a one-off event such as community activities or a competition
- you have no place to store the machines
- for temporary users or for when the golf facility is spilling over with customers
Conclusion
Deciding to buy or rent a mobile light tower for a golf course or a driving range follows a thought process. First, you need to identify the essential components. In the first section, you can read and reflect on what the temporary lighting solution is for.
Then, you need to understand how to use it and for how long. The part on the advantages of portable golf course light towers explained some of the most wide-spread uses to help you with that. Finally, you need a reason to choose between the actual purchase or rental of the machine. And I hope that some of the listed reasons can help you find insights about the desired outcome and consequences relating to both choices.
Of course, if you need more guidance, you can always contact us. Especially for more complex cases such as a new golf course construction.
