[John Emerson]

https://www.greenbiz.com/article/golf-industry-doing-enough-combat-climate-change


My answer is nope, not anywhere close.  At least in the USA.  Especially on the grass growing side.  The only way this will get under control is , unfortunately, with regulations.  This industry will not police itself and there’s no reward for doing less, and actually there’s reward for doing more. Thoughts?

[John Kavanaugh]

I would like to see all on site vehicles switched to electric power. Just for the quiet if nothing else.

[JohnVDB]

The USGA is a signatory to the UN sports for Climate Change Initiative: https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/articles/2020/04/usga-joins-united-nations--sports-for-climate-action-initiative.html

[JohnVDB]

I would like to see all on site vehicles switched to electric power. Just for the quiet if nothing else.

Agree, especially leaf blowers.

[Tom_Doak]

The USGA is a signatory to the UN sports for Climate Change Initiative: https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/articles/2020/04/usga-joins-united-nations--sports-for-climate-action-initiative.html

A quote from that press release:


As part of a forward-facing approach, the USGA issued a challenge to the golf industry to improve golfer satisfaction by 20 percent while reducing golf’s use of critical resources, such as water, by 25 percent by the year 2025. The effort includes a continued investment in education and outreach through a variety of vehicles, including a bi-annual Innovation Symposium, as well as a commitment to sustainable practices in the conduct of its annual competitions.
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I am sorry but that just sounds like the same sort of empty promise as most climate change initiatives.  What have they done to pursue it?  I know of no outreach asking golf courses to curb their water use by 25% or providing resources on how to do it.

When I lived in the UK most of the maintenance crew worked without vehicles:  the bunker guys walked around the course with a rake.  Switching the dozen maintenance vehicles at an American course from gas to electric power WILL save energy, but it will still be much much more than their overseas counterparts.

Likewise, fertilizers and chemicals are very energy-intensive to produce, and require lots of water to produce, so reducing their use is "green" in additional ways than normally understood.

[Peter Flory]

Staples has been focused on it for a while I know.  It is interesting to look at golf because it actually involves a lot of carbon sequesters in the grass and trees.  Most industries don't have that compensating factor at all. 

[Tom_Doak]

The only way this will get under control is , unfortunately, with regulations.

It doesn't necessarily require regulations, it requires everyone actively thinking about the topic, which we sadly do not think about near enough.


Probably the best thing I've done on the environmental front in the past couple of years was to figure out a way to capture some of the runoff from the Memorial Park Golf Course so that it could be re-used for irrigation.  This saved them from using 60 million gallons of municipal water last year. 


Honestly, I never would have thought about doing that had the Memorial Park Conservancy not set the goal in their guidelines for the park.  Previously they were just trying to get the golf course to drain as fast as possible, which meant sending all that water straight into the bayou, to the point that it contributed to downtown flooding during hurricanes.  They made us think about it.


Making it work did NOT include miles and miles of underground pipe; it just involved diverting the runoff into a couple of swales that could be dammed up to catch the water, and then pumping from there to a much larger irrigation pond with steep banks that have plenty of freeboard for additional storage about the normal lake level.  It's not my favorite look, but it worked:  all of that infrastructure is built into the finishing holes of the course, and nobody seemed to notice last year.

[John Kavanaugh]

I would like to see all on site vehicles switched to electric power. Just for the quiet if nothing else.

Agree, especially leaf blowers.

As an old man living in Florida this is something that I have given considerable thought. On the rare day that I'm not playing golf the leaf blower causes me to wonder what the hell I am doing home. Not sure I'm believing this article that claims electric leaf blowers are quieter.


https://theallelectriclawn.com/are-electric-leaf-blowers-quieter/


I do only drive electric cars, not for the environment but because they improve the quality of my life. I have little doubt that electric maintenance vehicles would improve the work environment in a similar way. Obviously those of us who enjoy golf carts never opt for gas. So why should we burden the people who take care of the course in a similar way?

[Bruce Hospes]

So now we want to regulate how golf courses are maintained?


What's an acceptable amount of inputs? Do we treat all courses the same regardless of where they are?


I think that there is a huge misunderstanding of how much fertilizer/chemical usage there is on the average American golf course.  That stuff costs a lot of money and most maintenance budgets don't allow for excessive usage.  Besides, the more inputs you use, the more you have to maintain due to growth.  Most Superintendents these days are quite responsible in their input usage and try to do the right thing. 


I'm in on the electric blower thing, I've always hated listening to the drone of blowers...

[Thomas Dai]

Start at the top and set an example for others to follow. And maybe where the elite male pros are playing this week and high profile USGA events would be a good place to get things moving?
Atb

[Ronald Montesano]

Top courses and clubs can stay in business/solvent despite making switches.


Is this feasible for low and middle clubs/courses?


Can municipalities fast-track this type of initiative, or does it require public acclaim through vote, or public notice, or something equally tricky?

[jeffwarne]

I would like to see all on site vehicles switched to electric power. Just for the quiet if nothing else.

Agree, especially leaf blowers.

could not agree more-nationwide in neighborhoods
Nothing worse than that guy who can't rake or pick op the last leaf, blowing it across the yard to the pile...

[Bruce Hospes]

A lot has been said about the "Augusta Syndrome" as it relates to golf maintenance everywhere.  Is the fact that it's really green due to an excessive amount of inputs, or is it because turf breeders have done an excellent job of breeding perennial ryegrasses that have a deep green color?  I've been involved with the maintenance of multiple golf courses in the desert southwest and under the right conditions, ryegrass doesn't need a lot of fertility to keep it's color.


Food for thought....

[John Emerson]

I agree that genetic color breeding has improved cultivars, but what about exorbitant amounts of water to keep it green and alive? It shouldn’t be used in the first place.

[Wayne_Kozun]

So now we want to regulate how golf courses are maintained?


What's an acceptable amount of inputs? Do we treat all courses the same regardless of where they are?


I think that there is a huge misunderstanding of how much fertilizer/chemical usage there is on the average American golf course.  That stuff costs a lot of money and most maintenance budgets don't allow for excessive usage.  Besides, the more inputs you use, the more you have to maintain due to growth.  Most Superintendents these days are quite responsible in their input usage and try to do the right thing. 


I'm in on the electric blower thing, I've always hated listening to the drone of blowers...

Don't most areas have all kinds of regulations today that have been in place for decades?  Here in Toronto when our club cuts down a tree it has to plant three new ones.  And pesticide use is highly controlled - you can no longer buy most pesticides in Ontario and golf courses are regulated in their use. And Carbon taxes will make using hydrocarbons more expensive over time. 

I am guessing that Europe is even WAY more restrictive, which is why some courses on the continent are so overgrown with trees.

[Bruce Hospes]

I agree that genetic color breeding has improved cultivars, but what about exorbitant amounts of water to keep it green and alive? It shouldn’t be used in the first place.

I guess that's your opinion. 


With an average of 44" of rain a year, they probably don't water a whole lot except during the germination process.

[Sean_A]

There are ways to save money, but after a certain point, doesn't it come down lowering golfer expectations? Higher fairway and green cuts would be a great place to start, but I think it would take a serious education effort on the value of doing such. I think many supers have been savvy in delivering similar or acceptably different standards for less money. But eventually, that approach can only go so far. 

Ciao

[Wayne_Kozun]

Does ANGC water when the course is closed.  A lot of aerials - check out Google Maps, show it completely brown.
And see this story:  https://www.bunkered.co.uk/golf-news/what-the-hells-happened-to-augusta-national

[John Chilver-Stainer]

The aerial is a strange contrast to the actual situation of patchy green/brown greens and radioactive green fairways.


Hats off to the Masters for presenting the firm dry greens - only possible by keeping levels of watering and presumably fertiliser to a minimum.


Unlike recent Opens venues where bright green greens are considered by the R&A to be the preferred requisite to meet "modern playing standards"

[Thomas Dai]

Golf, it’s ruling bodies and those who make money from it need to get its own house in order or outside semi-governmental, enviro etc regulatory bodies will exert ever more influence over the game. And some outside organisations have already got, or rather been allowed, to get their fingers embedded in the golfing pie.
If golf gets its own house in order expeditiously then the various other bodies who might like to stick theirs noses further into golfs affairs can perhaps be cut off at the pass.
I fear however, that golf has already left quite a few stable doors open such that most of the horses have bolted and are now well on their way to the pass where various and numerous outside regulatory bodies will be delighted to catch them and ensnare them within their bureaucratic empires.
And we as golfers have to be prepared to lower our standards and expectations in respect of conditioning, maintenance, footprint and playability.
Atb


PS - apologies for the cliche type references.

[John Emerson]

I agree that genetic color breeding has improved cultivars, but what about exorbitant amounts of water to keep it green and alive? It shouldn’t be used in the first place.

I guess that's your opinion. 


With an average of 44" of rain a year, they probably don't water a whole lot except during the germination process.

Considering that evapotranspiration rates can average 4+mm/day and growth potential is above 50% for cool season grasses at this time of the year in Augusta, I can assure you they aren’t just watering during germination.

[John Emerson]

Does ANGC water when the course is closed.  A lot of aerials - check out Google Maps, show it completely brown.
And see this story:  https://www.bunkered.co.uk/golf-news/what-the-hells-happened-to-augusta-national

All the bunkers are covered also.

[John Emerson]

There are ways to save money, but after a certain point, doesn't it come down lowering golfer expectations? Higher fairway and green cuts would be a great place to start, but I think it would take a serious education effort on the value of doing such. I think many supers have been savvy in delivering similar or acceptably different standards for less money. But eventually, that approach can only go so far. 

Ciao

Nailed it. 

[Bruce Hospes]

I agree that genetic color breeding has improved cultivars, but what about exorbitant amounts of water to keep it green and alive? It shouldn’t be used in the first place.

I guess that's your opinion. 


With an average of 44" of rain a year, they probably don't water a whole lot except during the germination process.

Considering that evapotranspiration rates can average 4+mm/day and growth potential is above 50% for cool season grasses at this time of the year in Augusta, I can assure you they aren’t just watering during germination.

I didn't say that the only watering occurred during germination.  I said that beyond that process, they probably don't water as much as you think.

[John Kavanaugh]

Give a hoot, don't pollute. For those of us near or in our 60's we can remember the time when we decided to quit throwing trash along side the road. I can't believe it used to be so common. I also can't believe that I don't know exactly why I quit. Must have been Alice's Restaurant.


Just though the gradual changes I have voluntarily been making in my own life solely based on quality issues it feels like we are doing enough. As a golfing demographic at least.

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