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For superintendents

Grow better turf with less guesswork.

Sunlight, heat, water and terrain data for every green, tee and fairway — so you can defend a tree decision, target water and labor, and catch problems before they show.

Modeled direct sun-hours per day across a client course at the summer solstice, 0 to 14 hours
Modeled direct sun-hours per day · client course.
How it works

How a shade study works

  1. We fly the course

    One survey flight captures the whole property. We schedule it around play and your crew.

  2. We model the sun

    From the survey's surface model we cast shadows hour by hour for peak summer, the fall equinox and the low winter sun, then total the sun each green receives.

  3. You get answers, not imagery

    A light budget for every green, the trees responsible for its shade, and stands ranked by the light they would return if cleared — in a report and as layers in Cortex.

Executive summary page of a shade and light analysis: greens rated for creeping bentgrass and ultradwarf bermudagrass, today and modeled, with what the data says
Executive summary page from a client Shade & Light Analysis report.
Questions

Asked and answered.

How does a shade study work?

We fly the course once and build a surface model of the terrain and tree canopy. From it we model shadows hour by hour for the summer solstice, the fall equinox and the winter solstice, then total the direct sun each green, tee and fairway receives.

What data do I actually get?

Full-day sun-hour maps, a daily light integral (DLI) budget for every green rated against your grass species, the trees contributing to each green's shade, and stands ranked by light returned if cleared. It comes as a report and as map layers in Cortex.

Do you have to fly the course?

Yes — the study is built from our own survey flight rather than satellite imagery, so the model uses your course's actual trees and terrain. We plan the flight around play and your maintenance schedule.

How does it settle a tree debate?

It replaces opinion with a model of your own course: which greens are short on light, which specific trees cause it, and how much sun would return if they were cleared. You can model clearing a stand before any work starts and show the board the numbers behind the decision.

Bring the data to your next tree meeting.