If you're like most golfers, as you line up your shot on a par 3 and feel the sun on your back and the breeze in your hair, you think how pleasant it is to be in the midst of green, grass-covered fairways lined by oaks and elm trees. Birds flutter overhead, and there may even be some fish in the water hazard. But before you take in a deep breath of fresh air, realize that the setting is not as natural as it looks.
The expansive lawn beneath your feet is green thanks to fertilizer and herbicides and an extensive irrigation system that keeps turf vibrant in even the driest weather. Mosquitoes aren't messing up your putt thanks to pesticides. And that manmade pond is a poor substitute for the wetlands that were filled in to create fairways. For decades golf has been about the least "green" pastime it was possible to enjoy, but now more courses are jumping on the environmental bandwagon, its owners recognizing that there are ways to create a beautiful, professional course that has minimal impact on the natural world around it.
Between 1996 and 2007, 96 percent of golf facilities in the United States completed at least one environmental improvement, and 57 percent implemented at least five environmental initiatives, according to the Environmental Institute for Golf, an outreach of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA). The most common measures taken were upgrading irrigation systems and improving chemical storage. Nearly one-quarter of U.S. courses are involved in the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary program, which creates wildlife habitats within courses. Nearly half, 44 percent, have increased naturalized areasby an average of 10 acres. This year, Golf Magazine inaugurated "Green Golf" awards, with 10 properties honored for "a serious emphasis on resource conservation and protection."
Priority: Earth
One of those green courses honored by Golf Magazine is a favorite incentive destination for groups: Mauna Lani Resort on the Kohala Coast of Hawaii's Big Island. The resort is one of those lucky trailblazers that was built with environmental protection in mind so its courses will not have to be updated to fit the new green era. Mauna Lani has made environmental stewardship a priority for 25 years, including in that mandate, management of its two-courses with 36 championship holes of golf. The founder's two great passions were "conservation and hedonism," jokes Mark Glickman, director of resort marketing at Mauna Lani.
The property hosted the Senior Skins Game, now known as the Wendy's Champions Skins Game, for 11 years.
"A lot of our holes are considered the most scenic and signature holes in the world," Glickman says, adding that about 30 percent of business at the resort is business groups and meetings. "Golf is definitely an appeal for groups here."
Glickman says he's been hearing from an increasing number of planners who have questions about environmental standards on the golf courses.
"Once upon a time the whole green movement was considered more of a fad," he says, "but now it's obviously a trend."
There is an increasingly profitable reward for resorts that prioritize environmental protection, Glickman says, quoting a Travel Monitor report by Chapel Hill, NC-based Yankelovich Inc. that indicated 40 percent of hotel consumers would prefer to support a resort that is environmentally friendly.
"In 2009, we're looking to introduce a green golf package," Glickman says. "Our pro shop identified some recycled and biodegradable green golf products, like tees, golf shirts, and golf visors that are all green-friendly. We're putting a package together that is going to be very specific to that."
In addition to solar-power panels that keep the lights on at the resort and power irrigation pumps, Mauna Lani was one of the first to use drought-resistant turf grass for its courses that requires "significantly less fertilizer and herbicides." In addition, the tough-natured turf allows for brackish water irrigation that is pulled up from surrounding areas where ocean and fresh water mix. A cross-departmental "Green Team," including members of the golf management staff, meets weekly to discuss new environmental initiatives and prioritize goals.
"We're not suggesting that we're perfect, but we have a pretty good baseline of environmental efforts that we're doing," Glickman says. Other environmental initiatives the resort is launching include a new tree-planting program to offset carbon emissions generated during travel to the resort.
At Mauna Lani, each group is assigned a personal golf professional to assist with whatever is neededbag transfer and tournament rules and scoring as well as personalized bag tags, yardage guides, spring water service, and signage. The resort also offers pre-planned derby events for groups, including a putting contest, a night game with glow-in-the-dark golf balls, and a three-hole team contestall with an awards ceremony and dinner following the event.
Goal in One
Is it possible to have a high-class golf event that is green as well?
Cheryl Ferguson, vice president of sales at the well-regarded golf mecca Pinehurst Resort, in North Carolina, thinks so. Pinehurst also won top honors for environmentally friendly golf from Golf Magazine.
In fact, most planners are more concerned with the environmental practices for their event than with those of the facilities overall, she says, so it's likely that a group would make the golf activity green, with the course influencing the group. Some "industry leaders" also have corporate social responsibility requirements that mandate green quotas for events, she adds.
"They're happy to know we've implemented many green initiatives on our courses, but a lot of planners are looking at green things they can do for their specific event," Ferguson says. "For a golf event, this would mean how you package your food and beverage for a box lunch, so they aren't using the heavy cardboard-stock printed boxes, plastic bags, or Styrofoam containers."
Groups make up about 55 percent of business at Pinehurst and many groups use the putting green for a teambuilding exercise designed by Pinehurst that gives attendees a chance to send a golf ball crashing through a pane of glass, she says.
Pinehurst also offers "rehydration stations" on the courses where golfers can fill up their reusable water bottles, an ideal opportunity for branded attendee gifts that are environmentally conscious, she adds. The resort works with vendors to offer biodegradable and bamboo golf tees, and even a biodegradable golf ball. Planners should look for these little ways to make their golf events greener, Ferguson says, as they go a long way toward making a big impact on environmental initiatives.
Small Steps=Big Change
Golf course managers are looking for low-hanging fruit as well. Eric Ward, head of the greens at Mont Tremblant Ski Resort in Quebec, Canada, and a Certified Golf Course Superintendent (CGCS), says the resort is doing what it can to be environmentally friendly while remaining competitive with other courses. For one thing, Mont Tremblant has returned areas of its courses back to naturalized area, Ward says, reducing water consumption and fertilizer use.
"These areas are what we consider out-of-play near the beginning of the hole," Ward explains.
This year, Mont Tremblant has begun to work toward certification in the Audubon Society program, a lengthy process that may take three years.
"We have to show what we're doing to limit the use of water, the use of pesticides, and those [naturalized] areas also enable us not to treat for clover or weeds anymore," he says. "You have to show that you're promoting water quality, so what we're doing there is creating bands of vegetation around our water bodies to stop the potential flow of fertilizer. We're also creating habitats, like birdhouses or duck houses. The last [Audubon requirement] is education. So we have to communicate with the citizens of the town about what we're doing and what the benefits are."
Mont Tremblant has added a filtration system to the areas where equipment is cleaned to break down oils, gas, and pesticides before they enter the water system.
Moving beyond these relatively easy to achieve objectives may be more difficult. While products like bio-friendly herbicides and pesticides exist, competition from cheaper and more powerful chemical products is still pushing them out of the market, says Ward. He and his team attend yearly seminars on golf course management products, and he says greener products are becoming more available as the industry reaches a tipping point in market adoption.
"The problem with these products right now is how reliable they are [at this stage]," he says. "When you have the other tools out there that you know are working, it's hard to say you're not going to treat and [instead choose to] go with a new product that they say will work; but you have an investment to protect. You can't let your greens die."
Tee'd Off
Without comprehensive legislation forcing courses to adopt green practices, Ward says it's difficult for individual resorts to be competitive. Government action is "essential," he says, but regulations need to be state- or province-wide or even national, as city and community laws could hurt properties that have to follow rules their competitors can avoid.
"Everyone has to have the same tools available. There's no point for us being in bad shape when the golfer can go across the street to a manicured golf course. We know that golfers enjoy the fact that we're trying to do more and use fewer products, but the reality is you still have to offer the conditions people expect," he says.
Some regulations have already begun to change how supervisors manage their courses, after some very public environmental disasters. The use of the insecticide diazinon was banned in 1988, due in part to a private course in Hempstead, NY, which overapplied the chemical and killed at least 700 Atlantic brant geese.
But while the Environmental Protection Agency may swoop in after a tragedy with new rules and regulations, the lack of a clear standard on what makes a resort green, or not, could be holding back properties from fully pursuing new initiatives. Rather than looking for one central authority on green during site selection, planners may want to look into local or state guidelines for environmentally friendly properties.
"The industry has been looking for a certification," Mauna Lani's Glickman says, "and what I've noticed, because there hasn't been an umbrella organization that's been meaningful to the industry, is that a lot of states are going to a model of developing their own green program."
THE GREEN LINING
If courses act as environmental stewards, there is the opportunity for them to actually benefit nature. The vast expanses of green grass and trees act as "air conditioners" and produce large quantities of oxygen while cleansing the air of pollution. Turfgrass can trap and hold pollutants in place, acting as a catch basin for residential and industrial runoff, according to the GCSAA. Golf courses can also be built on environmentally damaged sites, like landfills. And golf course managers, who often cite their love of nature for their career choice, continue to push new and innovative solutions to environmental problems.
Products like biodegradable golf tees are already on the market, from companies like Eco Golf in Indiana. The biopolymer technology also helps to save "millions of trees" that are cut down to create the more than 2 billion golf tees used in the United States each year.
At Austin's Barton Creek Resort, Club & Spa (another of Golf Magazine's top 10 green award winners), innovation in environmental responsibility isn't a choice, it's essential. The resort sits atop the Edwards Underground Aquifer Recharge Zone, the source of filtered drinking water at the property. "Anything that touches the ground could possibly end up in our drinking water," say representatives, so the property employs an on site environmental assurance manager responsible for maintaining green initiatives. The water hazards on the golf courses act as rainwater capture stations for natural irrigation. The courses also use effluent water from the resort and surrounding residential communities, which is treated and stored on site. Areas around water bodies are designated "no treat zones," and native vegetation is established at the perimeters of the ponds to act as a buffer against impurities. Instead of chemical algae treatment, ponds are cleaned by hand, and the turf areas actually benefit the environment by aiding in flood control and acting as a natural water filter.
The innovative approach continues in pest and weed management, where golf course managers rely on daily scouting and a combination of "cultural, physical, biological, and chemical control strategies." This includes environmentally sensitive fertilizers with slow-release organic products that are selected when available.
Originally published Nov. 1, 2008
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