Inland Empire Golfer - March 2008 - (Page 18)

FEATURE GOLF COURSES HAVE A HUGE STAKE IN WATER CONSERVATION: In January of this year, the USGA, SCGA, and GCSASC hosted a Regional Green golf superintendent’s water conference focused on the California Water Crisis. Dr. James Baird, a keynote speaker from UCR, is an expert on turf grasses and a member of the USGA Green Committee. UCR is a recognized center of excellence for Research and Development, including turf grasses. He announced that a tour of UCR turf grass farms is underway for September of this year. Dr. Baird suggests, “Develop a Business Management Plan (for irrigation) …and adhere to a water budget that meets the needs of the facility.” Consider more drought tolerant species, plan for new irrigation systems, and explore alternative sources of irrigation water (i.e. reclaimed).” According to Dr. Baird, the USGA has invested $27 million in turf grass research over the past 30 years. The UCR team includes other experts on turf grasses including Dr. Vic Gibeault who recently retired, and Drs. Frank Wong and Steve Cochran. Pat Gross, USGA Green Committee Chairman, had this to say about the stewardship of water conservation: “Focus on water use efficiency.” Gross outlined a four-step plan: (1) establish goals, (2) conduct site assessment, (3) utilize best practices, and (4) weigh costs and benefits. He cited the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Management System (EMS) as a resource to manage environmental attributes of the course to help when weighing cost versus benefit. The site is www.epa.gov/ems/info/costben.htm. A key feature of any plan is to develop a prioritized list for water use, such as depicted in this table. Golf Course Plan Key Features Develop a Water Usage Prioritized List 1. Greens 2. Green Banks 3. Fairway Landing Zones 4. Fairways 5. Tee Box 6. Primary Roughs 7. Trees and Landscapes 8. Remaining Rough UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT RIVERSIDE EXPERT RESOURCES: Dr. Baird is not the only expert in the field of research at the University of Riverside. Dr. Laosheng Wu and Mike Henry are also noted experts in their fields and are excellent resources to utilize. Dr. Wu is at the University’s Water Resource Center at the foot of Mount Rubidoux in Riverside and has conducted extensive research on water resources. He stressed three considerations in water resource management: (1) utilize the CIMIS information, (2) a uniform irrigation system to minimize requirements, and (3) irrigate according to the soil water holding capacity. Dr. Wu sites the development of crop coefficients, and the relevance of Evapotranspiration(ET). According to Henry, Evapotranspiration is “water taken up by plant roots, moved through the plant and used by them before escaping through pores in the leaves to the air; plus an additional amount of water that is directly evaporated from the soil surrounding the plants or the surface of the plant….” “Climate factors including temperature, humidity, sunlight intensity and wind speed drive plant water use; so, the plants in the Inland Empire use more water than the same species growing along the coast since we generally have higher temperature and drier air.” Over the past forty years, scientists at UCR have been breeding and evaluating new grasses for the Southern California region. Henry offers choices to be considered by golf course superintendents. SANTA ANA BERMUDA GRASS– smog tolerant EL TORO ZOYSIAGRASS – improved zoysiagrass easier to manage and slow growing VICTORIA AND DE ANZA ZOYSIAGRASSES – hold some green color in the winter in inland valley areas, shade tolerant as well. SEASHORE PASPALUM – very salt tolerant grass, suited to inland and desert regions. Has twice the salt tolerance of bermudagrass. U C VERDE BUFFALOGRASS – holds green color on the coast in the winter but not inland. Has extremely good drought tolerance in case summer water has to be stopped – it won’t die. 18 INLAND EMPIRE GOLFER March 2008 www.inlandempiregolfer.com http://www.epa.gov/ems/info/costben.htm http://www.inlandempiregolfer.com

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Inland Empire Golfer - March 2008 Contents Cover Story: Shenzhen China & The Inland Empire The Looming Water Shortage Artificial Turf Demand Grows Leisure Living Bob Hope Chrysler Classic Mechanics Of The Bunker Shot The Proper Golf Swing Motion Callaway Squareways What's New? How Well Do You Know The Rules? Golf Course Reviews IE Golf Course Directory

Inland Empire Golfer - March 2008

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