Design Checklist

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Landscape & Ecosystems

  • Ensure all topographic changes are consistent with the protection and enhancement of the landscape character of the site, within its surrounding landscape context.
  • Do not be afraid to change site topography if doing so will enhance landscape character (this is particularly relevant in degraded and intensively man-modified landscapes.
  • Don't assume that agricultural landscapes are visually degraded - pastoral and arable landscapes are often appreciated by local people and many embody important cultural values.
  • Utilise materials that are typical of the neighbouring landscape - including local stone, wood, and aggregates. Match colour and texture with existing landscape accents.
  • As far as possible reduce the need for signage, furniture and other incongruous landscape elements.
  • On visually sensitive sites, strive to reduce the intrusion of highly visible golf development features such as bunkers, tee and green complexes, maintenance facilities, car parks and buildings.
  • Pay attention to transitional zones between vegetation types and habitats. "Edge effect" is an important ecological concept, explaining why species-rich and diverse habitat zones tend to occur where different ecosystems connect. This implies the need for careful consideration of detailed design at the interfaces between rough grassland / scrub / woodland, and for transitions from deeper open water, through shallow margins and wetland fringes, out into rough grasslands or woodlands. Contoured and convoluted edges are more ecologically rich, due to the increased physical length of edge, and also because scallops and 'capes and bays' create varied microclimates (e.g for butterflies and other invertebrates) and smaller habitat niches comprising an important interplay between seclusion and visibility (e.g. for small birds). Also bear in mind that graded edges can be highly attractive - in terms of texture, colour and shape - helping to naturalise the course and create stunning definition for playing surfaces, and backdrops to fairway landing zones and greens.
  • Maximise patch sizes and connectivity. Small, isolated patches of vegetation do not create viable habitats. By contrast, large, well-connected habitats provide a much more significant contribution to the conservation of biodiversity, by allowing the smallest and least-mobile species (those at the base of the food web) to breed successfully - creating sustainable species populations.
  • For ponds and wetlands, first of all consider whether open water is appropriate and/or a sustainable option for the site. Avoid using liners whenever possible, but be aware that in many contexts lined ponds can provide a valuable addition of open water 'oases' within otherwise wetland-impoverished regions.
  • Naturalise all water features as far as is possible. Sterile, synthetic, wet holes are not as attractive as diverse, living water bodies.
  • Use native species in all landscaping designs, and drought-tolerant varieties where climate dictates. Do not add a further irrigation burden to the development by selecting thirsty exotics for landscaping.
  • Grassing Plans - pay attention to detail in defining grass species selection and area. Bear in mind that in resource input terms decisions over fairway and semi-rough grass species selection are likely to be more important than tees and greens.
  • Design buildings in a local and distinctive vernacular.

On the Ground: Castle Stuart, Inverness, United Kingdom. Designed by Gil Hanse with Mark Parsinen.

Water

  • Target the grassing plan as a crucial design outcome, being aware of its significant implications on water consumption, quality, and the ability to recycle runoff. Take time over grass species selection, and the mapping of turfgrassed areas. Bear in mind that every unnecessary acre of fairway, semi-rough and maintained rough increases the water footprint of the development for decades to come.
  • Select the best-adapted turf species and cultivars for the local environmental conditions and most sustainable use of water. Allow for the potential need to trade-off playing quality of turf areas against responsible water use
  • Strive to use open drainage features as an alternative to pipework – including open ditches, swales, and filtration trenches. These can add character and strategy to the course, reduce drainage costs and increase landscape and ecological interest. Many such features create biodiverse niche habitats.
  • Incorporate buffer zones, no-spray spaces and other ‘structural’ Best Management Practices (BMPs) to ensure protection of water quality. Locate these strategically in relation to the overall catchment and to smaller tributary catchments, beginning as close as possible to the source of run-off
  • Avoid the need for artificial lining of water features wherever possible, by designing for connectivity between surface water and ground water. Take opportunities to create new open water features whenever possible.
  • When designing open water features on sites where they are appropriate and don't require heavy trains of engineering, be ambitious. Water features have a tendency to shrink as they mature. If committed to water on the course, then make a statement with large and interconnected bodies of naturalised design. These projects, which includes floodplain and agricultural land restorations can be hugely valuable to local and regional biodiversity.
  • Focus on important aquatic system design details such as littoral shelves and shallow margins, varied depths and convoluted pond and wetland edges.
  • Design and spec out an irrigation system which will deliver the most efficient application of water to the smallest possible area of turf. Pay particular attention to minimising the total hectarage of irrigated area, to balancing sprinkler head numbers and location with modelled irrigation needs, and utlise the latest technologies in timers, pumps and nozzles to ensure the most efficient application to the turf.
  • Minimise the water demands in non-golf landscape areas by using only native (and drought-tolerant) species.
  • If you have good existing vegetation on the site (e.g. dwarf shrub communities and open sand wastes), make sure these remain undisturbed and integrated into the design and grassing plan to ensure water is not wasted in irrigating areas that otherwise would have been attractive and playable.

Energy & Resources

  • In general, seek a design for the site that minimises the amount of earthwork, thereby reducing energy and fuel demands during construction. One way of doing this is to incorporate the natural contours of the land within the design. However, if the sites landscape is degraded or poor for golf (too flat or too hilly), then carefully evaluate the amount of earth-shifting necessary to create a viable product. It is also important to bear in mind that on some sites, higher levels of earth-shifting during construction will payback over the life-cycle of the development in terms of enhanced landscape, enhanced biodiversity and economic multiplier. Evaluate such trade offs as you reach an optimal, but minimised earth movement programme for the site.
  • In terms of energy and resource consumption and life cycle maintenance costs, of longer term importance is the value of minimising the playing area footprint. The all important grassing plan. Bear in mind that every unnecessary acre of fairway, semi-rough and maintained rough increases the carbon footprint of the development for decades to come.
  • Minimise irrigation requirements (irrigation systems should be carefully zoned in order to water specific areas only when needed). The treatment and pumping of irrigation water is a major source of energy consumption in golf developments.
  • Minimise drainage installation (for the benefit of conserving energy inputs, reducing the amount of plastics, aggregates and other piping materials).
  • Minimise or avoid excessively sloped angles or shapes around bunkers and green complexes, which require labour intensive and fuel inefficient hand mowing.
  • Design a golf course that can be walked, thereby reducing the amount of addition fuel and resources expended over the life-cycle of the development on the purchase, maintenance and fuelling of golf cart fleets.
  • Design bunkers that are hand raked rather than by diesel or petrol powered bunker rakers.
  • Apply key principles of passive design to reduce energy demands, e.g.
    • Maximise daylighting of buildings, ensuring windows don't lose energy
    • Orientate buildings to allow best exploitation of sunlight while allowing effective control of solar gains
    • Locate and orientate buildings to optimise use of shelter and shade– layout and landscaping design should be utilised to provide shelter from prevailing winds and natural shading for facades and, wherever possible, to avoid overheating
    • Maximise use of natural and mechanical ventilation – the ventilation strategy can affect the form and layout of buildings. Natural and mechanical ventilation can be designed and employed independently or as part of a hybrid scheme
    • Size, position and detail windows to maximise benefit from the sun while avoiding overheating in summer and heat loss in winter
    • Provide sufficient exposed thermal mass to store heat from the sun in the winter and act as a heat sink for cooling in the summer
    • Specify high levels of insulation to reduce unwanted heat loss or heat gains through roof, walls, doors, windows and floors
  • In addition, design in the latest in energy efficient technologies, including heating a cooling units, lighting and electronic appliances.
  • Consider investments in small scale renewable technologies. Small scale wind and solar water heaters are the most efficient and effective, but also look to biomas and biogas, and ground source heat exchangers. Combined heat and power plants can also be viable if the scale of the development is sufficiently large enough.
  • Bear in mind the relationship between water and energy. Almost all forms of water treatment require energy intensive processes - from the treatment of sewage effluent, to desalination, to the processing and provision of potable water. Seek to define a water/energy package that combines use of the lowest grade water with the most natural provisioning sytems - within the parameters of minimum standards for turfgrass health. The obvious challenges to this stem from the development of golf in regions where rainfall is not prevalent and fresh water is not readily available for irrigation. In these circumstances the water energy nexus takes on even more significance. Seek to combine the most efficient integrated water and energy processes and solutions.
  • Water / energy integration for arid regions - and example: Deep sea air conditioning for cooling all parts of the development. Taken through reverse osmosis desalination plant to produce a low quality non potable supply (swimming pools etc) and a high quality potable supply. All waste water (grey and sewage effluent) is then discharged to covered anaerobic digestion tanks which produce biogas. The biogas is used to power the desalination plant. The water from the biogas plant then receives a secondary treatment before being used as a source of irrigation water. All sewage residue is mixed with golf course green wastes and food wastes to produce a soil improver / soil amendment.
  • Passive design principles can be applied to other energy intensive systems and processes within a golf development, particularly the treatment, storage and distribution of water. Water sources for the development should be engineered such that the benefits of natural water flow and head pressure are utilised effectively in order to minimise pumping requirements.
  • Additionally, rainwater harvesting – the collection of water that would otherwise have gone down the drain, into the ground or been lost through evaporation – whilst improving water efficiency, can also allow for significant energy savings. Depending on usage, rainwater has minimal treatment requirements, and if collected and stored appropriately can minimise distribution requirements.

On the Ground: Mirimichi, Tennessee, United States. Remodelling by Bill Bergin.

Products & Supply Chains

  • Design buildings in a style that also enables them to be constructed using local materials but local tradespeople, rather than shipping in prefabricated products and components from distance. One example of this could be in roofing and window design, where tiles, slate and glass are locally sourced as supposed to shipped in.
  • Design all landscape and engineering features in a way that they can be constructed using using local materials and construction approaches. The most significant might be walls, fencing, paths and paving. Drawing upon local accents and traditional approaches during design will ensure that materials are close to hand and skilled local labour can create a high quality product.
  • Design out as many features as possible that will require international transportation of materials and products. For example, sustainable drainage techniques reduces the importation of drainage materials and aggregates that may either have to be transported over distance, and / or will have higher levels of embodied energy in their production.
  • In addition, integrate into design the ability to utilise on site materials that may arise through construction - such as soils, stone, wood and existing cleared plant material (i.e. shrubs and tree relocation).

Environmental Quality

  • Design out all pollution risks - to air, water and soil.
  • Given that the locations where fertilisers and chemicals are stored, handled and mixed are a golf facilities potential 'pollution hotspot', it makes sense to design a top of the range maintenance facility. This will protect your development from the financially and reputationally harmful effects of a pollution incident. Give the maintenance facility plenty of space, site it away from open water courses or hydrologically sensitive parts of the site, make sure it is large enough in area, with well bunded impervious surrounds. Include all the safety features in nozzles for fuel dispensers, double or triple skinned tanks, high capacity bunding around fuel, silt and oil separators, hazardous materials storage etc.
  • On the course, design in water protection measures in the form of rough grass soakaways and attenuation areas, swales and turfgrass biofilters. Use topography to shed water into natural attentuation areas and ditches, transferring water around the surface of the site, and allowing for slow percolation through vegetation and organically / biologically rich thatch layers - thus protecting soil and water quality.
  • In designing ponds and wetlands, strive to create healthy, balanced and functioning ecosystems. Such systems are more robust, with higher and more consistent water quality standards, and are less susceptible to nutrient over-loading and eutrophication. Varied depths increase the stratification of water temperature, whilst littoral shelves and submerged and semi-submerged aquatic plants help to strip out nitrates and oxygenate the water. Ecologically and chemically balanced water bodies require fewer artificial inputs of energy consuming aeration, and of aquatic colourants and algicides.
  • Select grass types that are the most wear resistant, disease resistant and drought tolerant. By designing a course with such turfgrasses, you can be sure you are minimising long terms inputs of water, fertiliser and pesticides - reducing risks to soil, water and air quality.

People & Communities

  • Whilst the most significant aspects of a golf developments contribution to people and communities are defined during project conceptualisation and masterplanning, there remain practical things that can be integrated into design that will make the project more accesible, relvant and positively received by local people. These include:
  • Design in vegetation screens and vegetative buffers to separate golf from other potential recreational users such as walkers, cyclists and horse-riders.
  • Create secluded wildlife havens and habitat meeting points (areas where a number of habitat types come together in one place) to create biodiversity hotspots that are accessible to non golfers, and that could for example be used as outdoor classrooms by local schools and community groups.
  • Design to avoid damage of, and where appropriate integrate, features of historical and cultural heritage interest. These can form interesting additional story-lines to the course and at the same time ensures that local sense of place and people's connection with the past is celebrated and interpreted rather than lost.

On the Ground: Arbor Links, Nebraska, United States. Erik Larsen and Victoria Martz (Arnold Palmer Design Co.)