Golf Environment Organization

A comprehensive water conservation program is an important component of environmental stewardship. 

As the world’s population grows, there will be increasing demands for stream and river impoundments, the drilling of more and deeper wells, and water withdrawal from most natural water bodies.

High demand for and overuse of water not only affects deep and shallow groundwater, and surface water levels, it can also contribute to water pollution by altering stream flows and saltwater intrusion due to excessive surface and groundwater withdrawals. Polluted runoff is also a concern, which is linked to excess water applied for irrigation and landscape maintenance, that can carry sediments, nutrients, salts, and other pollutants.

The earth's water resources are becoming more and more stretched with almost all arid and semi arid, and even temperate regions reporting significant water deficits.

Water use efficiency practices fall into two general categories:

Physical Practices include alteration of golf course design and/or installing or retrofitting of features or irrigation systems that provide long-term benefits in saving water. These include the installation of computer-controlled irrigation equipment or the retrofitting of irrigation components to make the system more efficient such as the use of part-circle irrigation heads.

Behavioural Practices include changing individual water use habits so that water is used more efficiently through intelligent management and decision making systems.

There is a considerable amount a golf facility can do to minimise its water consumption. This cuts across golf course and landscape irrigation, maintenance area wash down, mixing and rinsing, and across clubhouse operations. Here are some practical ideas across each of these areas. 

Golf Course Planning and Design

A minimal amount of irrigated turf area should be incorporated into the golf course design, and the best adapted turfgrass species and cultivars for the climatic region should be used.

Advances in turfgrass breeding have produced more drought-resistant cultivars and grasses which tolerate poor quality water and are well-suited for golf courses.

Where possible, irrigated turf area should be reduced and replaced with native grasses, groundcovers or other vegetation that doesn’t require irrigation. Alternative water sources such as non-potable or reclaimed water should also be used as an irrigation source.

Irrigation system design and operation

Irrigation should be confined to crucial playing areas only. Water use priority areas should be identified including those requiring little or no supplementary irrigation.

The system should be designed to meet the water requirements of the turf by supplementing natural rainfall.

A comprehensive audit should be performed on the irrigation system at least once per year. This identifies leaks, irrigation head malfunction, and/or design limitations, as well as determining if the proper water distribution is being achieved in all irrigated areas.

Course maintenance

To make water resources stretch as far as possible, as high a cutting height as possible is maintained within the confines of the particular turfgrass use on putting greens, tees, or fairways. An optimum soil pH between 6.0 and 7.0 should be maintained to maximize nutrient availability and microbiological activity. Additionally, adequate soil potassium (K) levels should be maintained to promote root development. Excessive nitrogen (N) fertilisation should be avoided  - especially on cool-season grasses - as it forces shoot growth at the expense of root development. During times of stress, a root-stimulating growth enhancement supplement should be used.

The effects of soil compaction should be alleviated with turf cultivation when necessary. Excessive thatch accumulation which encourages root development in the thatch/mat layer only should be avoided. However, intense mechanical maintenance practices such as topdressing, vertical cutting, and turf cultivation should be avoided during summer stress periods.

Certain pesticides - particularly pre-emergent herbicides - can also be toxic to the root system. Potentially serious insect, disease and nematode pests that feed on the root system should be controlled.

Irrigation management

Shallow-rooted turf requires frequent irrigation whereas deep-rooted turf can be irrigated less frequently. A healthy durable turf that withstands minor drought can be achieved by irrigating thoroughly, but as infrequently as possible. A sure sign that turf will benefit from irrigation is a wilted appearance. 

Turf should always be watered at the most efficient time of day, typically from late evening through early morning (between 10 pm and 8 am). Irrigation frequency should also vary with environmental or climatic factors. Turf and soil conditions may result in the need for more than one irrigation event per 24-hour period, including during daylight hours. Under such conditions, site specific watering (e.g., hand watering and syringing) should be performed.

When irrigating steep slopes, water should be applied slowly to avoid runoff. This is a particular concern where turf thatch has accumulated or where soils are heavily compacted. In these situations it is more effective to apply only a portion of the total water needed and to move to a sprinkler or switch to another station to irrigate other areas of the golf course. After the water has infiltrated and percolated into the soil, apply another portion of the water and repeat the cycle until all the water is applied.

Clubhouse

While important to actively train and engage clubhouse staff members in water saving measures, opportunities for improve water efficiency through capital investment should also be considered priority - eg. installing of accurate meters and roof rainwater catchment for use in flushing toilets.

Raising awareness of water saving initiatives is key to securing staff commitment. Establishing operational water conservation and efficiency policies will help staff deliver the facility’s water and wastewater management aims and objectives. But the provision of systems which support good practice are still important. One of the most effective strategies can be simply asking staff to identify water conservation opportunities, provide training if necessary and reporting back to staff on progress - by posting up meter reading and water charge data, for example.

Applying a 'green filter' to all relevant purchasing decisions is and ensuring that all staff responsible for purchasing receive water-efficiency awareness training., testing water credentials such as whether product/supply is required(use drought tolerant plants or mulching in landscaping to avoid the need for supplementary watering), is there a more water-efficient alternative (eg there is an enormous amount of “embedded” water in the production process for bottled water which makes it hugely less water efficient to procure than tap water), special features (eg half load options on washing machines, “soil sensor” on dishwashers).

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