Green Gadgets: EcoGolf

Snazzy video describing basic eco-options for golfers, including Golf Carts, Golf Balls and Tees.

Bearly Just Water Hazards in Whistler BC

Waters not always a "hazard"

While submersed in the walls of a golf course, you couldn't feel further away from the concrete jungle when you witness a Blue Heron strike a small fish and watch as it gulps down lunch. While supporting habitat needs has become a secondary function of our golf courses (along with carbon sequestering, heat-island sinks, storm water management, etc...) maintaining these functions has become a primary focuses. One of the basic elements that contributes to overall ecosystem health is of course water quality. Once superintendents have employed techniques to protect, preserve and improve water quality, the next step is to encourage wildlife.

Whether a golf course is located on a stream, large lake or dotted with small ponds, aquatic life is essential to the local food chain. I've compiled a few resources explaining what golf courses are doing to increase the effectiveness of our water features for aquatic life and some basic "how to" links that can provide guidance.

Links to improving fish habitat on the golf courses from The Environmental Institute for Golf:

• Little Deschutes River Restoration and Fish Habitat Enhancement at Crosswater
• Seasonal Wetlands on the Golf Course
• Pond Improvements to Provide Better Habitat for Aquatic Life
• Eastmoreland Golf Course and the Johnson Creek Watershed Council: A Case Study in Cooperative Problem Solving

Water under the Bridge - Managing Fish Habitat and Stream Crossings on a Manitoba Golf Course (Word Doc.)

Here are a few links to the regulations of restoring and protecting fish habitat and the process of stocking your pond or stream:
Why Protect Fish Habitat? Here is some great starting info from Fisheries and Oceans Canada. This site begins to outline the regulations surrounding interactions with fish habitat. Here are few regional links, I recommend you review them all, but be sure to contact your local government body responsible for enforcing fish habitat related regulations.

• The fish and Habitat Primer, Ontario Edition
• Ontario's Fish Stocking Program (Funding Assistance and Guidelines)
• Trout and Walleye Pond Stocking Tips - Very good Q & A
  
• Protecting Integrity of Fish Habitat, Quebec Presentation
• BC guide to the Fish Protection Act (General Streams, Sensitive Streams, Managing Debris, Riparian)
• Alberta - Fish and Wildlife - Habitat on Public Lands, Integrated Management

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Habitat and Resource Conservation

On Course for Sustainability

Our Euro buddies are really showing us up lately, check out this public relations video.

Vinland Natural Nine

Although it won't be hosting a PGA event anytime soon, I'd like to play it!

This Week in Green Golf

Bird-B-Gone Mist, the latest ground-breaking product offered by Bird-B-Gone Inc., has been named one of Buildings Magazines’ TOP 100 Products of 2009! Products were chosen based on their “innovation, functionality, efficiency, and environmental friendliness”. I like the Bird B Gone products because they have a focus on deterring the birds, and do not aim to hurt the birds, although I've got to say I've never been a fan of spikes.



In Cambodia, Turtle Stew is considered a delicacy. But when poachers are collecting thousands of endangered turtles someone has to step in and provide a sanctuary. In this case, it's a golf course. From the article:

"The Angkor Golf Resort and the Jay Pritzker Academy are working with the Angkor Centre for the Conservation of Biodiversity to provide safe havens for critically endangered turtles that have been confiscated during government raids from markets where the animals were being sold by the kilo to turn into stew.

Turtles are considered a delicacy by Cambodians, and the demand for their meat is high enough to support an illegal trade, pushing many species toward extinction. While police can confiscate turtles from poachers, the more difficult task is finding a safe area to release them.

Jim Gubricky, golf course superintendent at the Angkor Golf Resort, said the resort started fostering turtles about 18 months ago. "The wife of a guy who used to work here saw a bunch of turtles being sold in the market. She bought them all - probably about 50 or 60 - brought them to the course and released them."



Now I'm sure this won't come as a surprise to superintendents, but it's always nice to see it in the news: "Environmentally Friendly Golf Course Project Cleans Storm Runoff".

We've all seen the sludgie water come in to our urban golf courses and watch how that is filtered and transformed into a clear life giving substance that many take for granted, but lets face it, our golf courses are not recognised as fulfilling this function. This stigma can change thanks to articles like this. Side note: I googled this golf course and 6 articles about this project came up, very well done. From the article:

"The private course in northeastern New Hanover County (Eagle Point GC) on Tuesday opened its gates as part of a push to help treat storm water before it flows into Little Creek and eventually the Intracoastal Waterway.

More than 60 volunteers, including some teen-agers from the Community Boys and Girls Club of Wilmington, spent Tuesday morning getting their hands dirty planting nearly 5,000 plants."

GCM is one of my favorite golf industry news sources, here's a couple of recent items that were of interest to me.

A 2010 Ryder Cup Update, From the article:

"Europe's Ryder Cup Captain Colin Montgomerie is lending his support to the initiative: "I am delighted that The 2010 Ryder Cup is pioneering sustainability in sport events. To know that important social and environmental issues are being addressed across all aspects of the event adds even more to the already huge sense of pride I have in captaining the European Team.

"Come event time, we are going to witness some inspirational sporting drama, within a stunning environment, and with a legacy of improved understanding and practical action in Wales and across the game of golf."

The action plan cuts across four core areas:

The Venue: Further developing the Celtic Manor Resort's existing environmental management program, through which the resort hotel and clubhouses have already achieved level three of the Welsh Green Dragon Awards for sustainable businesses.
Event Staging: Establishing policy, promoting best practice guidance and collating baseline data for a wide range of issues such as energy, transport, catering, waste and temporary structures. This part of the action plan aims to ensure outreach through procurement, extending the initiative as far as possible out into supply chains.
Communications: Preceding and during the event, undertaking a wide range of media communication activities to make the most of the unique opportunity to raise public awareness and demonstrate leadership in this field.
Legacy: Ensuring that Ryder Cup achievements have a multiplier effect across golf and the environment in Wales and internationally, including setting in motion a movement towards the greening of all golf events and the provision of a detailed Sustainable Golf Events Toolkit to aid delivery."

More from GCM

"American Golf Corp., in an effort to conserve thousands of gallons of water on southern California courses, is retrofitting sprinklers with efficient metal nozzles. The company is working with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which offers rebates to courses that switch to FCI Profile metal nozzles from plastic nozzles. The FCI Profile nozzles feature stainless steel orifices to increase distribution uniformity and save water, the company says. The nozzles are manufactured by Underhill International. American Golf manages more than 110 private, resort and daily fee courses in the U.S. Contact Underhill International, 866-863-3744 (www.underhill.us)."

Tiger Woods PGA 10 - Live Weather Conditions

Although I'd like to see a little more buffer-zones, bird houses and compost piles on the courses in Tiger Woods PGA 10, I was impressed by the "Real Time Weather Conditions" courtesy of the Weather Channel built into the game, very cool.

Methane Powered Golf Cart

I'm not going to even bother with an intro, from the Japan For Sustainability website article:

"Japan's Yamaha Motor Co. has developed a golf cart that runs on methane made from cow dung. In preparation for commercial production, in October 2008, the company began testing the cart on a golf course in Katori, Chiba Prefecture. Osaka Gas Co. provided the methane at a low cost for the vehicle tests, as part of its efforts to promote the use of cow-dung biomass as a low-cost fuel.

To make methane usable as a vehicle fuel, both a methane refining system and a high-pressure gas-filling system are required, among other things, which come at high cost. As a fix, Osaka Gas developed activated carbon capable of absorbing methane at low pressure. When methane is put into the gas tank filled with this type of carbon -- under a pressure of around one megapascal (equivalent to the pressure at a depth of 100 meters under water) -- the tank can hold around 30 times the tank's volume of methane, thereby eliminating the need for high-pressure filling.

In Katori, there is a place called "Biomass Town," where citizens promote the use of cow dung for local biofuel, and it was here that the city looked for users of dung-derived methane. After consulting with the city, Yamaha Motor found a golf course in the vicinity willing to participate and began studying the possibility of using methane in golf carts, which travel relatively regular distances and are not driven at high speeds. This testing has led to the development of a golf cart powered by the locally produced biomass."

Go Solar Now!

I love this stuff, nothing says "Environmentally Conscious Golf Club" like solar powered golf carts at your entrance.

Peel and Stick Solar Panels for Golf Carts care of Earth Care Solar

"Now everyone can enjoy the benefits of owning a solar golf cart with the Peel and Stick Roof Kit from Earth Care Products, Inc. This revolutionary new product offers an easy and affordable way for consumers to GO GREEN."

Environmental Turf awarded for green grass

Environmental Turf Inc. has been awarded the 2009 Turf and Ornamental Company of the Year award by BoardRoom magazine, the official publication of the Association of Private Clubs & Directors.
From the World Golf article:
"The focus for Environmental Turf in 2008 was in helping to educate the golf and private club industry, including golf course architects, superintendents, managers and PGA Professionals at private clubs all over the world, about the innovative ways they can help the environment by grassing or regrassing their golf courses with low water use grasses such as SeaDwarf Seashore Paspalum,"

Bethpage Black Superintendent Craig Currier

This is not much of a post, just a couple links to interviews with Bethpage Black Superintendent Craig Currier.

Wall Street Journal - In response to a question about what the biggest challenge was, from the article:
"Getting the roughs right. This graduated rough, [a recent change in USGA philosophy where a shot farther from the fairway is more likely to find deeper rough] the USGA didn't want it too thick or too high, so finding just the right height has been tough. We're actually cutting the first few feet of rough at 2.5 inches, which is lower than we cut it every day for the public. Even around the greens, we're making a pass at 2.5 [inches]. I've actually never cut it below 3 [inches] for the public."

Grounds-Mag - Article discusses fairway fertility, Crabgrass and IPM where Mr. Currier explains the IPM program at Bethpage Black, from the article:
“We divided the course into three sets of six greens,” says Currier. “We follow a normal program using pesticides on the first six greens, while we follow an IPM program on the second six greens. On the third six greens, we use no pesticides whatsoever. It will be interesting to see the results at the end of the three-year period."

Bethpage may be greener than most!

Just found this tidbit on how Bethpage Black is Audubon Certified and uses effluent water for irrigation, right on! Bethpage Green has been playing with reduced pesticide rates for a while with the help of Rossi and Jennifer Grant, check out this link and this one too.
Easy to see the natural beauty of the site in this video.

Here are some effluent links for your reading pleasure, most are pro's, but the last one describes one of the con's, all good reads.

Using Effluent Water on Your Golf Course - MSU Turf Library
Waste Water Reuse for Golf Course Irrigation - The book
Effluent Water Encourages Turfgrass Growth - University of Florida Turfgrass Department Study
Effluent Study - Case Study - Foliar Damage Associated with Effluent Use on Mixed Landscapes

JT GOESFORETHEGREEN with Audubon Classic

The Audubon Classic is a new service/certification through Audubon International. The program is much like their Signature service/certification that delivers a high standard for new properties, but deals with the restoration/reconstruction of older properties.

From Audubon International:
"Owners and managers of properties with existing land uses have expressed interest in joining a program of similar rigor to our Audubon Signature Program for new developments. These properties include ones being redeveloped or going through restoration for improvement, while maintaining the same use. The Audubon Classic Program is based upon Audubon International’s experience working with multiple property types and also takes into account that some properties have been developed for certain uses and might be constrained by the prior development. Like the Audubon Signature Program, the Audubon Classic Program takes an approach that is flexible and adaptable to almost any type of existing property, including redevelopment and restoration projects. Membership is open to existing properties in any country."


Teeing off the programs first property is Justin Timberlakes new club Mirimichi, formerly Big Creek Golf Course, located just north of Memphis.
Here's an article from Mephis's own commercialappeal.com describing his efforts.

"Sustainable Moments" care of GCSAA

Hand picking weeds and using quick cupplers, a few of the things we can do to reduce over use of resources.