Golf Inc - March/April 2009 - (Page 41) World for By Rebecca Larsen They’re getting rid of plastic cups that can’t be recycled. They’re buying scorecards printed with soy-based ink and tees made from bamboo. They’re planting native shrubs and switching to salt-tolerant grasses such as paspalum. And they’re taking more and more turf out of play. From clubhouse to cart barn and from tees to greens, more and more golf communities around the world are getting serious about making their projects environmentally sustainable. The goal: Use only the resources needed to meet human demand while still being friendly to the natural world. Even older clubs have come up with ways to improve their sustainability — and their bottom line. Joellen Lampman, who works with existing courses as manager of the Audubon International Cooperative Sanctuaries program, said she encourages clubs to make changes when they do renovations. “ It’s d e f i n i t e l y c o s t - e f f i c i e nt ,” Lampman said. “Why do they do it? It’s very site specific. Some want to do the right thing. Some want to save money.” But there’s a more intangible benefit as well, she said. “Clubs setting themselves apart in the marketplace as being different and more environmentally friendly can use their practices as a selling point to players and potential members. Marketing surveys More courses are pushing the envelope to devise ways to save and enhance natural resources. Here are strategies that three operators in different locations around the world have adopted to make themselves more environmentally sustainable while still maintaining a healthy bottom line. Golf say that people will go out of the way to purchase an environmental product.” Being eco-friendly can even mean cutting costs, according to Nancy Richardson of Audubon International. Richardson is director of the Signature and Classic programs that help new clubs under construction in the United States and elsewhere build in an environmentally sustainable way. “We look at the design and help clubs consider taking out turf grass, which cuts costs for maintenance and management while still creating a good playing course,” Richardson said. “We use a lot of native plants in the design so that a club has the opportunity early on to design a low-maintenance facility.” Here are the green histories of three clubs — one in Singapore, two in the United States. All have were founded on principles of environmental stewardship. But even as the years have passed, they have continued to come up with new ways to cut water use, reduce fertilizer and pesticide applications, preserve plant and animal habitat and recycle waste. March/April 2009 www.GolfIncMagazine.com 41 The heron colony (photo opposite page) at the National Service Resort & Country Club (above) has benefited from the course’s designation since its opening as an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary. http://www.GolfIncMagazine.com
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