The Institute fosters golf's greener side
Presented by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America
Acres of grass, majestic trees, tranquil bodies of water. If it weren't for
the flags and tee markers, you might think you were in a national park and not
on a golf course.
Golf courses offer not just a beautiful place to engage in a family friendly
sport, but a variety of benefits to almost any community. Golf courses are also
economic power houses. According to Golf 20/20, the nation's golf courses add
about $20.5 billion in direct revenues and $62 billion total to the economy
every year. In addition, the annual impact of golf on charitable giving is more
than $3.2 billion.
Along with the economic benefits, golf courses provide habitat, serve as natural
water treatment systems, improve air quality and offer community green spaces.
On the average golf course, more than 70 percent of the area is considered
rough and out of play, according to the Golf Course Superintendents Association
of America (GCSAA). These areas of natural grasses, trees and shrubs offer appealing
homes to species from throughout the animal kingdom. Golf course ponds, rivers
and streams also provide aquatic plants and animals and water fowl a place to
call home.
Water is a key factor in any golf course operation, and golf courses help retain
and filter water in return. Well-conditioned turf absorbs and filters runoff
rainwater to the point that in many communities, golf courses have become water
recycling sites and use treated wastewater for irrigation. Turf is also conducive
to growing microorganisms that cleanse water by digesting and speeding up the
normal breakdown of contaminants in the water.
Turf is also a friend of the air. Not only does a golf course provide a large
area of flora that takes carbon dioxide from the air and turn it into oxygen,
but it also provides a natural "air conditioner" -- particularly in
urban areas where much of the land is covered by asphalt.
Even the Environmental Protection Agency has seen the benefit that golf can
bring by restoring brownfields into golf courses as part of its Brownsfields
Assessment Demonstration Pilots. Currently the program is planning to leverage
more than $33 million to transform 600 acres of vacant and abandoned sites into
new golf courses. And as a golf course that stands on once-damaged land matures,
its dense root system helps reduce erosion and add organic matter to the soil.
Committed to strengthening the compatibility of the game of golf with the natural
environment, The Environmental Institute for Golf provides programs and services
for all who come in contact with the game of golf. The Institute is the philanthropic
organization of GCSAA. GCSAA is comprised of 21,000 members throughout the world
and is the leading professional organization for the men and women who manage
golf courses.
Superintendents stand as stewards of golf courses and the benefits they provide.
World Golf Hall of Fame Member Greg Norman serves as chairman of The Institute's
Advisory Council. "I think the unsung heroes in all this are the superintendents,"
Norman said. "They’re responsible to the local environment. That’s
why I became involved in The Environmental Institute for Golf."
The Institute is a collaborative effort of the environmental and golf communities.
The Institute concentrates on delivering programs and services involving research,
education and outreach that communicate the best management practices of environmental
stewardship on the golf course. The primary areas of environmental focus are:
- Water management
- Integrated plant management
- Wildlife and habitat management
- Golf course siting, design and construction
- Energy and waste management
The groundwork for the Institute began more than 50 years ago as GCSAA's Scholarship
and Research Fund, but has evolved in both name and purpose to meet the changing
demands of the golf course industry. Throughout the decades The Institute's
accomplishments include:
- Completion of nearly 70 applied scientific research projects funded by The
Institute.
- The continuing education curriculum for the golf course management industry
has played a key role in delivering practical information to advance the knowledge,
skills and abilities of golf course superintendents to manage golf facilities
in an environmentally-friendly manner.
- Information, tools and resources have been made available to the industry
to continuously advance environmental stewardship practices.
- More than 1,300 scholarships have been awarded to individuals to advance
their knowledge of golf course management.
Although The Institute has a rich history, it continues to look toward the
future by funding research projects in the focus areas and, in 2006, launching
the Golf Course Environmental Profile project.
The goal of the multi-year Environmental Profile project, which is conducted
through a grant from The Toro Co., is to collect information from superintendents
about their courses. Initially the information will focus on golf features,
management practices and environmental stewardship efforts.
But what does all this environmental information, research and support mean
to the golfer and the communities in which they live?
"There is so much tremendous value in the green space that we deliver
with these golf courses," Norman, CEO of Great White Shark Enterprises,
said. "So I am saddened in many ways when people don't understand that
because, at the end of the day, the impact that we generate for the community
is tremendous."
Research is the cornerstone of continually increasing golf's positive impact
on the environment. In the last half century, research has not only lead to
turfgrass cultivars that have improved speed and the quality of playing surfaces,
but also those that need fewer controls to maintain those surfaces. The Institute
is committed to sponsoring applied research projects that result in challenging
and enjoyable playing conditions in a manner that is compatible with the environment.
Research projects scheduled to begin in 2006 include determining the minimum
rate of fungicide required for acceptable levels of snow mold control; the potential
use of storm water for golf course irrigation; and developing a biological control
options for the Annual Bluegrass Weevil.
So while a golfer may not be concerned about weevils during his or her weekly
game, the outcomes of such research are making sure he or she never has to worry.
The Institute is conducting a ground-breaking project, the GCSAA Golf Course Environmental Profile, which is a multi-year series of surveys to determine the physical features found on golf courses, practices used by superintendents to maintain golf courses, and inputs and outputs associated with management of golf courses. The overall goal of the project is to develop an environmental profile of golf courses. The project began in 2006, and the final survey was completed in 2009. It was funded by The Institute through a grant from The Toro Giving Program. It will serve as the basis for "sustainability" within golf by providing the means to measure continuous improvement and provide data to guide industry environmental efforts. The data will provide the means for individual facilities to identify and make improvements, as well as to communicate golf’s values within their communities. GCSAA has and will use the data to define the competencies necessary for a superintendent to be successful and then design education programs to support the competencies. The GCSAA Golf Course Environmental Profile reports are available online at www.eifg.org.