Golf Inc - March/April 2009 - (Page 44) A voice for the Environmental Institute for Golf unites industry’s green efforts By Keith Carter When it comes to the strongest voices in the drive to promote sustainable growth within the U.S. golf industry today, none speaks with more authority than the Environmental Institute for Golf. Created six years ago from an educational foundation originally established by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, the EIFG has worked to bring together a wide range of organizations and individuals, all with the aim of making golf more compatible with the natural environment. Its successful fund-raising efforts have helped create programs and offer incentives that have raised the environmental awareness of golf industry professionals, Less (turf) is more (savings) One big way courses can cut back on costs and be eco-friendly is to reduce areas of maintained turf. “We estimate that at most courses an average of 22 acres can be taken out without interfering with playability,” said Joellen Lampman, who works with courses as part of the Audubon International Cooperative Sanctuaries program. “That amounts to a reduction in water used and less electricity for pumping the water.” The drive to cut back on maintained turf is growing. A recent study by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America and Environmental Institute for Golf indicated that from 1996-2006, about 44 percent of U.S. golf facilities increased non-turf acreage. One of those making the change is Barona Creek Golf Club in San Diego, which recently eliminated alternate tee boxes and converted about 12 acres of out-of-play turf to waste bunkers or natural landscape. Golf operations chief Don King said the steps address several environmental issues, from reduced fuel and energy consumption to the use of fewer fertilizers and chemicals for maintenance. “Water savings could run as high as 100 percent in areas that will be eliminated or returned to native plantings,” he said. Joellen Lampman 44 Golf Inc. March/April 2009
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