On the idea of Sustainability...
I'm getting a little weary of the word sustainable being tossed around so much. There are all kinds of ways to define that and then even more ways to apply the word towards whatever agenda is being supported...or torn down.
I grew up in an agricultural environment. In fact, I came to the golf course world as an agriculturalist more than I came as a golfer. So I tend to define the sustainability of an agricultural system in terms more along the lines of looking at an Amish farm versus a more "modern" system.
I think a system that requires inputs doesn't disqualify it from being sustainable. All agricultures require a degree of input..some more and some less. So the notion that something is sustainable if it requires nothing isn't really the way I would look at it.
A sustainable system (or a developed sustainable system) in true definition means that a degree of productivity can be accomplished without the need for inputs that are "single use" type additions. Indeed, in the true sense, a sustainable agriculture uses all parts of the biotic pyramid to raise a crop and in turn, the desired yield can be taken from the system without the system failing.
Real world. I took over a property that was agronomicaly tired. As I looked at the revitalization of the property there were big gaps in the management of holistic resources available. In the time before me, every day, the section guys mowed greens, filled their utility vehicles with clippings, came into the shop and shoveled those clippings into the dumpster. So we created a compost pile, stopped sending good carbon off to the landfill and used that compost, returning it to the course. Simple. Carbon from leaves, tree work etc, was also composted and returned to the course. Soils were tired, so instead of just the usual synthetic NPK fertilizers, we used a strategy to increase mineral inputs. Lime and Gypsum and organic oriented, mined materials and minerals were added in mass and the result was a performance oriented soil that needed less in the way of NPK inputs and manual intervention. A layer of thatch had developed and instead of stripping it off, carbon based materials, rich in bio-diversity were added to the program to create better degradation. Water, while a natural input, was used sparingly and the intent was not to water unless we had done everything else and when we did water, decrease the opportunity for runoff and allow that water to penetrate soil and oxygenate that soil. A long history of preventative fungicide spraying was replaced with curative treatments only. Weeds, while undesirable, were looked at as indicators of soil issues and problem solving inputs were made instead of symptom treating efforts. Overall, pesticide use was taken to almost nil and $ spent was diverted to areas that were more of an investment in agronomy (seed, compost, minerals, bio dynamic inputs) versus consumable single use products (pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, wetting agents).
More Real World. In construction, we saw time and again that even the most well meaning clearing and grubbing efforts were taking away topsoils or topsands and were either turning those under or sending them away or destroying their structure. A change in soil handling methods left soils that were not beaten up by construction. Handling traffic (a fairway that is treated like a haul road will always look like a haul road) was also of prime concern and we did a lot of "sustainable" work in managing traffic on sites. Many of the courses you all know and love here that are newer (or restored) have had painstaking efforts made to handle soil better and do so with an eye for soil as an asset rather than just a plant holding mechanism.
Sustainable Golf is real. Lots of folks are doing it. Requires a dramatic shift in thinking and a degree of thumbing the nose at the agronomic old guard, but it is being done and will continue to grow as a movement. Regardless of grass type.
I'm stoked that this discussion is going on. Good for all of us who love the game!!