Water conservation and golf

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Intersting article about conservationists turning to golf course suprs about water conservation:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/06/science/earth/06golf.html?_r=1&hp

[Link Walsh]

Interesting article.  I live in the metro Atlanta area, so I know how bad the drought was.  I liked the line about how counties and cities could learn from golf courses about best practices for watering their ball fields. 

[Rob Rigg]

Since it has been over a 100 for most of the past two weeks in Portland, I have decided to donate my "lawn water" to golf courses by letting all the grass "get natural".

The neighbors are not appreciating it . . .

But in all seriousness, continued learnings on the golf course in terms of watering techniques, agronomy, etc. may help save our courses in the future along with cities that reside in areas that face increasing water shortage problems.

Is it likely that courses will need to start planting "new" or "improved" grasses in the next five to ten years to combat warmer summers and a dwindling water supply?

[Matt Day]

The same sort of thing is happening in Australia. Recently introduced winter sprinkler bans in WA were introduced without much thought as to the commercial consequences of that decision. Its the course supers association leading the charge to provide relevant data and information to the government authorities..

Being based in one of the driest parts of the world with a pure sand base we've becoem pretty good at using water wisely. When we spent $2.8 million four years ago putting a new irrigation system in we made sure that we covered the water saving bases

- weather station with mutiple rain sensors linking back to the weather station
- harvest all car park rainwater to the main irrigation lake. If that's full we pump from the mainline into a designated wetland
- sensor down one of the production bores monitoring groundwater levels
- lysimeters at different points measuring leachate at different root depths
- Valve in head system allowing the use of individual sprinklers as required
- fertigation unit allowing regular light applications of wetting agent across the entire course
- now harvesting stormwater from a housing development across the road which is then pumped back to them for irrigation of the landscaping

Golf generally has a good story to tell in regards to water use, we just need to tell the story better

[astavrides]

Golf generally has a good story to tell in regards to water use, we just need to tell the story better

An average American golf course using the same amount of water as 1400 people is a part of the story that you might want to leave out.

Another part is that turf is the thirstiest of all plants.

[Lou_Duran]

As I watch the city where I live in heavily water its medians even in the middle of the day and through heavy thunderstorms, I wonder how the citizens feel when they receive a citation for watering their lawns during prohibited times (essentially daylight hours).  Might pricing water at its true cost not go a long ways to resolving the problem?  Might water (as opposed to carbon) be the real future challenge to the world?

[Jeff_Brauer]

Golf generally has a good story to tell in regards to water use, we just need to tell the story better

An average American golf course using the same amount of water as 1400 people is a part of the story that you might want to leave out.

Another part is that turf is the thirstiest of all plants.

I am not sure about your 1400 people stat, but golf uses about 0.5% of all water consumed in America.  When said that way, it doesn't seem like a huge problem as it does when phrased other ways.  If we cut water use by 25% - certainly doable and we are on our way - we would go down to about 0.4% of water useage nationwide.

And, as a matter of fact, trees use more water than a well adapted turf, at least in Texas.  I found that funny when interviewing for the El Paso job that Fazio got - tree ordinances required so much tree planting and no lawns, when in fact, lawns and fewer trees would have used much less water.  Of course, shade is a nice thing to have.

Lou and I live in the same city and its true. I think water sensors, etc. will have a huge impact on reducing water useage for landscape irrigation.  Our town prides itself on environmental responsibility, but with a budget crunch, I doubt they have the money to add those sensors right now, unless its part of the stimulus package they applied for.  Hmm, save some water or add police?  Right now, water is not an immediate concern.

I will say that they have added some nice entry markers to the historic area and downtown, each with a nice pot of flowers on top.  As I passed those yesterday, I wondered if that was an example of landscape design not being water conservation minded, I have to admit.  I also wondered just how they were watering those flowers.  Did they tap the city main for irrigation?  Do they send out a truck?

[David Druzisky]

Having worked throughout the desert southwest for the better part of 15 years I have seen the golf industry just get pounded on water consumption.  The result has been many great adaptations and as we move on I believe we are ahead of a much larger curve that is yet to reach it's peak.  No doubt the remaining areas that need to apply the learned lessons of the golf industry will be commercial landscapes and municipailties.  In a way the golf industry has been the R&D department for the rest of the users.

It seems to me the municipalities are the worst offenders.  As already mentioned you drive by a school in the middle of summer and in the middle of the day the sprinklers are running.  Half of them barely work.  They are watering bermuda grass in poor soils or that have not had any infusion of fertilizer for some time.  At the end of the day those schools and parks are the responsibility of the folks that are going to try and come up with legislation that puts strict and hopefully productive regulations in place for all to abide to.  They will need to start in their own kitchen first. 

Like a fool i have taken on the duty here in my HOA of managing the Lanscape management including the irrigation.  We get irrigation ditch water so we have our own large pump station that many of yo superintendents could only dream of.  We have 7 different irrigation controllers to control 16 acres of common area including half of that or more being turf.  Those controllers are not linked by any central computer or controller.  That alone makes for huge inefficiencies in watering and ultimately waste as compared to what is actually possible with the right control system.  Do you think in all such landscapes is anyone going around and adjusting for rainy days?  How about hotter or cooler days etc like we do in golf.

[astavrides]

Golf generally has a good story to tell in regards to water use, we just need to tell the story better

An average American golf course using the same amount of water as 1400 people is a part of the story that you might want to leave out.

Another part is that turf is the thirstiest of all plants.

I am not sure about your 1400 people stat, but golf uses about 0.5% of all water consumed in America.  When said that way, it doesn't seem like a huge problem as it does when phrased other ways.  If we cut water use by 25% - certainly doable and we are on our way - we would go down to about 0.4% of water useage nationwide.

It wasn't my stat.  It was in the article.  But it is pretty easy to check.  If your 0.5% stat is correct, and domestic water use is 10% of total water use, then the numbers work out to about 1 golf course water use=1000 people's water use.  [using 17,000 golf courses and 300 million as the us population].

[Matt Day]

Golf generally has a good story to tell in regards to water use, we just need to tell the story better

An average American golf course using the same amount of water as 1400 people is a part of the story that you might want to leave out.

Another part is that turf is the thirstiest of all plants.

In my case we sit on 320 acres of land 10 minutes from the CBD, if there was no golf course there would be approximately 1400 homes on it with 20% green space. I know which option is better for the environment long term

[astavrides]

Golf generally has a good story to tell in regards to water use, we just need to tell the story better

An average American golf course using the same amount of water as 1400 people is a part of the story that you might want to leave out.

Another part is that turf is the thirstiest of all plants.

In my case we sit on 320 acres of land 10 minutes from the CBD, if there was no golf course there would be approximately 1400 homes on it with 20% green space. I know which option is better for the environment long term

What is the CBD?  Were those 1400 homes, in effect, built elsewhere?

[Matt Day]

Golf generally has a good story to tell in regards to water use, we just need to tell the story better

An average American golf course using the same amount of water as 1400 people is a part of the story that you might want to leave out.

Another part is that turf is the thirstiest of all plants.

In my case we sit on 320 acres of land 10 minutes from the CBD, if there was no golf course there would be approximately 1400 homes on it with 20% green space. I know which option is better for the environment long term

What is the CBD?  Were those 1400 homes, in effect, built elsewhere?

CBD is central business district, we are now surrounded by surburbia and act as a haven for native flora and fauna. If we weren't here in 1932 the land would have been used for housing

[Kyle Harris]

Golf generally has a good story to tell in regards to water use, we just need to tell the story better

An average American golf course using the same amount of water as 1400 people is a part of the story that you might want to leave out.

Another part is that turf is the thirstiest of all plants.

I am not sure about your 1400 people stat, but golf uses about 0.5% of all water consumed in America.  When said that way, it doesn't seem like a huge problem as it does when phrased other ways.  If we cut water use by 25% - certainly doable and we are on our way - we would go down to about 0.4% of water useage nationwide.

It wasn't my stat.  It was in the article.  But it is pretty easy to check.  If your 0.5% stat is correct, and domestic water use is 10% of total water use, then the numbers work out to about 1 golf course water use=1000 people's water use.  [using 17,000 golf courses and 300 million as the us population].

How quickly is the water from the golf course returned to the water table as compared to the water used by a household?

[Chris Cupit]

One other key fact to remember is that courses overwhelmingly irrigate with non-potable water.  In Georgia at least I do not know of a single course that uses drinking water to irrigate. 

Homeowners use drinkable water most often as they tap into city lines for their irrigation systems (few in suburbia have their own wells or lakes).  Homeowners also use far more water and herbicides per acre than golf courses.

My course is 200 acres within a CUP instead of 1300 more homes (as allowed by current zoning).  I take the run off water, capture it, irrigate with it before it heads into the river and this is clearly preferable to having that same water run directly from the neighborhood into the river.

The 1400 people stat I am not sure of either but that is a per person not a per household figure.  Also I am not sure where grasses get the "thirstiest" title from but acres of my course are native grasses as well as drought tolerant sedges, fescues, and a host of every kind of ground cover you can think of.  I would think the benefits of an acre or grass versus a grove of trees would compare nicely re: photosynthetic benefits, erosion control.....

There is still a tone of apathy not so much in the industry but among club players about water.  I was part of a small group that gave a water presentation with Mark Esoda at the AGCSA industry show a few years ago discussing how Georgia was/is reacting to our water issues and most of the attendees were from Australia   The general consensus then was marked by an answer to this question someone posed, "When do you think we can get golfers at the grass roots level to really understand and appreciate water issues in the industry?"  The answer came from Mike Waldron, EX. Dir. for the GSGA when he said, "When someone turns the water off!" 

Golf is certainly not perfect but we do have a far more positive story to tell about our environment and responsible use than we ever seem to get credit for.  Supers in GA have done a phenomenal job reacting to the water crisis through their proactive BMP program and I am proud to see they are getting some recognition for it.

[astavrides]

Golf generally has a good story to tell in regards to water use, we just need to tell the story better

An average American golf course using the same amount of water as 1400 people is a part of the story that you might want to leave out.

Another part is that turf is the thirstiest of all plants.

In my case we sit on 320 acres of land 10 minutes from the CBD, if there was no golf course there would be approximately 1400 homes on it with 20% green space. I know which option is better for the environment long term

What is the CBD?  Were those 1400 homes, in effect, built elsewhere?

CBD is central business district, we are now surrounded by surburbia and act as a haven for native flora and fauna. If we weren't here in 1932 the land would have been used for housing

OK, green space in that case seems like a valid factor in favor of the golf course, especially if it is a public facility, where the green space can be appreciated by a higher portion of people.

[Jeff_Brauer]

The idea that grass is thirsty is clearly wrong, although many landscapes are overwatered.  Logically, would so many have planted lawns in the pre-irrigation days if they weren't hardy enough to survive well?  Of course not, and they have been a staple of US homes (with the idea brought from England) since the beginning.

The constant improvement of irrigation to keep grass perfect in any condition rather than vary is the American Way, just as better golf maintenance is.  And, as we charged ahead to solve one problem, we may have inadvertantly created others, at least in light of ever growing water demand and have started to adjust, in terms of both water quantity and quality.

[JSPayne]

Here are a couple contributions to help with this discussion:

From the GCSAA "Quick Facts About Golf Courses":

"A typical 18-hole golf course produces enough oxygen to support 4000 to 7000 people."

"Golf courses have a cooling effect during the hot summer months. The average temperature on the golf course is typically 5-7 degrees cooler than a residential area and 7-15 degrees cooler than an urban downtown setting."

Also, two pics that can help support the claim posted above that golf course irrigation use only amounts to roughly 0.5% of the total national consumption:



And this photo of what many golf courses currently do and will be forced to look like in the future should current trends continue. I've saved this picture to show my general manager what he can visually start to expect if/when we get any tighter with our water:

[Matthew Petersen]

Went looking for this topic based on something interesting I saw yesterday.

I played at Pointe Lookout Mountain, a Forrest Richardson design in Phoenix, AZ. The course is in the process this fall of converting the three lakes on the course into desert/sand bunker hazard areas. The pond that more or less surrounds the 18th green has been drained and dug out. They will be going to a temporary green on the hole starting next week. The pond on #16 has been drained, but not otherwise worked on yet. The pond on 15 is still full of water but it does appear they are clearing brush around it, as there was a huge pile of debris on its bank.

I'll be interested to see what these new hazards will look like, but it's hard to argue with the concept from a conservation perspective. The notice about the project, which is posted in the shop and in the carts, says that they expect to save ten million gallons of water annually by eliminating the lakes.