Titanium a Hot Concern for Tinder-Dry Golf Courses

A recent study and video from UC Irvine

Chris Duthie

It’s official: After being played for hundreds of years and suffering through generations of questionable fashion, confounding rules changes and larger-than life egos, we can now state that golf is, in fact, hot.

So hot, in fact, that playing the game can sometimes cause accidental fires. We kid you not.

In a recent study published by University of California Irvine, it was determined that titanium alloy golf clubs can be the cause of wildfires. Apparently, when a club coated with the lightweight metal is swung and strikes a rock, it creates sparks that can heat to more than 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit and ignite dry foliage. (See video.)

Findings were published in the peer-reviewed journal, Fire and Materials.

The study was prompted by Orange County, Calif., fire investigators which asked UC Irvine to determine if titanium clubs could have caused blazes at Shady Canyon Golf Course in Irvine and Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo a few years ago.

“One fire almost reached homes before they stopped it. This unintended hazard could potentially lead to someone’s death,” said UC Irvine Professor James Earthman, lead author on the study. “A very real danger exists, particularly in the Southwest, as long as certain golf clubs remain in use.”

Earthman said titanium-headed clubs played within unirrigated areas could be blamed for fires. In Southern California, those areas are often rife with flammable scrub brush.

In the lab, researchers re-created conditions on the days of the fires. Using high-speed video cameras and powerful scanning electron microscope analysis, they found that when titanium clubs struck or grazed hard surfaces, intensely hot sparks flew out of them. In contrast, when standard stainless steel clubs were used, there was no reaction.

“Rocks are often embedded in the ground in these rough areas of dry foliage,” Earthman noted. “When the club strikes a ball, nearby rocks can tear particles of titanium from the sole of the head. Bits of the particle surfaces will react violently with oxygen or nitrogen in the air, and a tremendous amount of heat is produced.

“The foliage ignites in flames,” he warned.

We’re still awaiting word from the USGA as to whether carrying a fire extinguisher violates the Rules of Golf’s bag limit.

RELATED LINKS

Nine Ways to Start a Fire Without Matches

Survivor 101: Make Fire With Orange

Did You Know That? 40 Golf Factoids

Chris Duthie is a contributor to Colorado AvidGolfer, the state’s leading resource for golf and the lifestyle that surrounds it. It publishes eight issues annually and proudly delivers daily content via www.coloradoavidgolfer.com.