No smoking on the course

sjw

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Personally I welcome it. Makes my piss boil when people who smoke don't seem to constitute dog ends as littler.
On a different note, do you know how hard it is to start a fire with a cigarette? When I completed my fire investigation course they gave our group two hours to try and start a fire using a disguarded cigarette. Non of us managed it. The most interesting part was when they put a cigarette out in a ashtray full of unleaded fuel.
Then they gave us a broken bottle. Longest group took 50 minutes to start a fire.

I imagine after a few minutes, the cigarette was cold, so I'm not sure why you carried on for two hours
 

Slab

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Is this sarcasm?

Not really. I assume the post about the 3ball smoking during a ban period is legit & that they knew it wasn't permitted but did so regardless. That's why I wonder if it was maybe a communication issue and they maybe didn't know it was banned (or maybe they just don't care)
 

sjw

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You clearly have no idea how a cigarette burns.
I don't, you're right, do they stay lit that long and not just burn away? My comment was a silly joke, assuming you actually kept lighting it or something
 

Bobthesock

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Has a golf course ever set on fire due to a cigarette? Luckily we don't have a smoking ban but if we did I would still smoke on a path between holes or somewhere, would just be extra cautious to make sure it's fully out.
 

r0wly86

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As part of the study, called Can cigarettes butts start (Bush)fires, Ms Dainer conducted outdoor trials, supervised by Station Officer Scott and three firefighters with a fire engine from Parramatta Fire Station. She lit cigarettes and threw them into grass on the side of a road in the Sydney suburb of Prospect where there was no danger to surrounding property. At the time the prevailing conditions were recorded as wind speed of 40km/h, fuel (grass) moisture content approximately 12% of oven dry weight and humidity 14%.

“On the day it was around 27°C with a north westerly wind, and it was pretty dry,” Station Officer Scott said. In three out of the 75 trials, or 4%, the grass caught alight and started to burn, requiring the firefighters to extinguish the flames.

“The fires would have progressed quite quickly if we hadn’t been there,” says Station Officer Scott. “It’s no wonder we’re called to so many fires on busy roads and freeways and by railway lines when they can start so easily.”

As well as the outdoor trials, the study also involved:

  • laboratory trials to show whether cigarette butts could ignite grassy fuel (hay) in a well-controlled environment and to identify the parameters which affect ignition potential; and
  • a survey of the number of cigarette butts on two median strips on a three lane road in Western Sydney.
The laboratory trials found cigarette butts ignited the hay in 33% of cases. Ignitions increased when the wind speed increased, fuel moisture decreased (though wetter fuels could ignite with the application of wind) and the degree of the contact between the fuel bed and combustion area of the cigarette increased.

During the survey, 426 cigarette butts were collected in a 60 square metre area of the median strip of Abbott Road, Seven Hills, over a three-week period. The wind draught created by a line of passing traffic was also recorded and found to be sufficient to increase the potential for a cigarette butt to start a fire on the roadside even if the prevailing conditions were calm.


An Australian study, but yes cigarette butts can cause fires
 

oxymoron

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Has a golf course ever set on fire due to a cigarette? Luckily we don't have a smoking ban but if we did I would still smoke on a path between holes or somewhere, would just be extra cautious to make sure it's fully out.
Why? Do rules not apply to you ? I would hope you are kidding otherwise i really would hope the club would take action against you .
 

Bobthesock

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Why? Do rules not apply to you ? I would hope you are kidding otherwise i really would hope the club would take action against you .
It's common sense. It's not going to set the path on fire is it. Especially if I discard my butt in an empty bottle. Anybody who just flicks it into the wispy rough should be punished but we are all adults and should be treat as such.
 

r0wly86

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It's common sense. It's not going to set the path on fire is it. Especially if I discard my butt in an empty bottle. Anybody who just flicks it into the wispy rough should be punished but we are all adults and should be treat as such.

and if the wind blows it from the path to whispy grass? Jts don't smoke for 3-4 hours or don't play golf
 

KenL

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It's common sense. It's not going to set the path on fire is it. Especially if I discard my butt in an empty bottle. Anybody who just flicks it into the wispy rough should be punished but we are all adults and should be treat as such.
People who smoke are devoid of common sense surely?
Besides, those empty bottles should be taken home and recycled.?‍♂️
 

Bobthesock

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So now people think that ash is going to set the course on fire! I like smoking and will continue to do so. Personally I think there is more chance of a trolley or buggy exploding and setting off a fire. Let's ban all the old folk as well!
 

GB72

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So now people think that ash is going to set the course on fire! I like smoking and will continue to do so. Personally I think there is more chance of a trolley or buggy exploding and setting off a fire. Let's ban all the old folk as well!

Not so concerned about ash (I am an ex smoker and still a vaper so no axe to grind) I am more concerned about the idiots (and I have seen more than a few) that just chuck the butt into the rough without thinking.
 

r0wly86

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So now people think that ash is going to set the course on fire! I like smoking and will continue to do so. Personally I think there is more chance of a trolley or buggy exploding and setting off a fire. Let's ban all the old folk as well!

As my post from an Australian study shows, cigarette butts can cause fires when discarded into dry grass. Currently the grass at golf courses is incredibly dry due to the hottest days ever recorded in the UK.

That is not to say every discarded cigarette is going to cause a fire, but each discarded butt does pose a risk. Given the risk factors multiplying due to the dry and hot weather it is perfectly sensible to ban smoking on courses.

It really doesn't matter how risky you personally believe it to be, the clubs have decided that it is just not worth the risk for a few weeks to allow smoking on the course, which in my view is a very sensible precaution. Yes other things may cause fires, incidently bottles often cause wild fires in Australia and USA due the bottle magnifying the sun and causing enough heat to start a fire, so if you are chucking bottles on the ground then you literally have no common sense.

As above my course went up in flames yesterday don't know of the cause, but seeing as it was close to a shallow gas main and a petrol station, either of which caught fire would have caused a national catastrophe in a highly populated area. Then removing as many risks as possible is the correct decision.

And after all that you still think, I like smoking so going to continue smoking despite the risk, then you have no common sense whatsoever
 

Bobthesock

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Not so concerned about ash (I am an ex smoker and still a vaper so no axe to grind) I am more concerned about the idiots (and I have seen more than a few) that just chuck the butt into the rough without thinking.
I fully agree that is a recipe for disaster. That's why I said I would only smoke on a path between holes and put the but in an empty bottle. Some idiots still think that is going to cause an inferno!
 

GB72

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I fully agree that is a recipe for disaster. That's why I said I would only smoke on a path between holes and put the but in an empty bottle. Some idiots still think that is going to cause an inferno!

Used to carry an ash try with a screw on lid to put them out and store the ends. Haivng been where you are as a smoker I know that anything, however minor, can and is turned into a reason for a total ban on smoking. My old club banned it for a few days last year I think when it was very dry and would not have been surprised if there were not people lobbying to make it permanent. Trouble is that a number of the ones I saw chucking un stubbed out dog ends in the rough were the great and the good fo the club.
 
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