How much sun do we really get at Highlands CC? See for yourself:

Today we monitored each green on the golf course to see when sunlight specifically reached the green.  See the notes because even after a certain time, many of the green still had areas shaded.  The green color on this spreadsheet represent our best greens.  The yellow are our "thinner" greens.  This is pure science!  Again, there isn't a special formula to spray when sunlight is lacking.  There is no substitute.  Remember the rule: quality turfgrass requires 8 hours of direct sunlight per day.  Our greens are great in the middle of the season when the sunlight is more intense and abundant for the most part, although not ideal.  Come November, these numbers worsen even more.  Consider the continued traffic they receive.  The next time someone comments they feel our greens aren't so dense in October, think of this spreadsheet.  There is a direct correlation to quality of turf and length of sunlight.  It is really that simple!!

Green	What time does sun reach the green?	Hours of Sun exposure/day:	Notes and areas still shaded
PG	8:30 AM	5:30	area closest to Clubhouse
1	10:15 AM	3:45	front right
2	11:00 AM	3:00	Front left and back of the green remian in shade past 11 am
3	10:45 AM	6:00	Front left and back of the green remian in shade past 11 am
4	9:10 AM	4:50	back right and middle left
5	9:40 AM	4:20
6	10:15 AM	3:45	front half remains shaded past 11 am
7	10:40 AM	3:20	front right
8	10:15 AM	3:45	right side and back of the green remains shaded
9	8:45 AM	5:15
10	9:30 AM	4:30
11	10:50 AM	3:10	back and middle left
12	10:10 AM	3:50	back left
13	9:40 AM	4:20	front of the green shaded longer
14	8:30 AM	5:30
15	11:00 AM	3:00	front and back left remain shaded past 11am
16	11:00 AM	3:00	back of the green remains shaded
17	8:30 AM	5:30
18	8:30 AM	5:30

Morning sun is most photosynthetically active.  This is the goal.  Note how many greens are shaded even at 12 noon!  After 2pm in October, the sunlight is not that which benefits plant growth.  The goal is 8 hours per day.  The hours were figured by counting the hours of sun exposure from the time the sun first hit the green until 2:00pm.