Martin my friend....The South East US is naturally blanketed with longleaf, slash and loblolly pines that drop volumes of good quality needles annually as a very renewable resource. In urban areas they need to be raked up and disposed of and when applied as a mulch they are excellent for weed control and help keep the moisture in the ground. Using this debris as mulch is preferable to burning them or taking to a landfill.
The SE is also one of the worlds premier timber producing regions with millions of acres of pines planted in pine plantations...... there is a whole industry that has evolved with the use of mechanical balers that harvest the newly fallen needles to recycle to home owners and businesses.
Removing this fuel load also helps prevent forest fire loss......something that is a common occurrence in these parts.
Much of the time pinestraw is applied to cover the sparse grass and exposed dirt that is common to the low light conditions found along the wooded periphery that exists on many of our golf courses in this region, and it helps improve playing conditions in the secondary rough.
Lastly, pines and hardwoods are the natural mix of the forests of the region and finding pine needles under hardwoods is a natural occurance and a normal condition found in the woods.
What do y'all use for mulch in the UK.....coal?