Golfdom, December 2010

PHOTO TOP BY FRANK DIMARCO We need to position ourselves to lead the way he says Were in a position where we can do that We have the knowledge base the interest and the skill set to be out in front of this In time Carlson would like to see golf courses evaluated for their playability in accordance with how little water they use not how much But golfers perceptions have to change too Carlson says And golfers have a real hard time with anything thats not green w w w g o l f d o m c o m Golfdom 29 When water is scarce PEOPLE ARE GOING TO GET WATER INTO THEIR HOMES long before the golf industry and other segments of the green industry get water Grady Miller Ph D turfgrass professor from North Carolina State University Miller points out the concept of going organic on golf courses is getting more attention in the golf course maintenance industry as part of the overall green movement He wonders if a strict irrigation concept could also gain a foothold as part of that movement Could the day come when a golf course promotes that it only irrigates 10 acres of greens and tees in an effort to be the best conservationist golf course in town Says Husting I see golf courses maybe not looking as pristine as they used to partly because of water restrictions But is the golfing public ready to accept less than pristine conditions The effluent factor Is irrigating with effluent water the answer to increased regulation Yes and no In the case of Broken Sound and other Florida golf courses effluent makes great sense More and more environmental groups are blocking Southern Florida municipalities from dumping wastewater into the ocean on the reefs Hubbard says As a result more golf courses are working out agreements with municipalities to irrigate with effluent For years the city of Boca Raton dumped about 6 million gallons of treated wastewater into the ocean Thanks to an agreement between the city and Broken Sound much of that water about 16 million gallons a day is now directed to the clubs two golf courses for irrigation Boca Raton paid 13 million to build the infrastructure to get the water to Broken Sound which pays about 300000 in utilities to get the water Now Broken Sound always has water for irrigation even during water restrictions We couldnt ask for a better partner than the city of Boca Raton Hubbard says And the water quality is just phenomenal While effluent could probably solve a lot of water woes there are some issues mainly its availability Husting calls effluent a viable alternative but the infrastructure must be in place to get the water from point A to point B That said it would cost a lot of money for Woodbridge to irrigate with effluent because the infrastructure is not in place Millions of dollars would have to be spent to get a pipe here Husting says And somebody has to pay for it Do you think a country club is going to survive that assessment Probably not The problem in North Carolina and other less populated areas is producing enough effluent water to use on golf courses Miller says Poor quality effluent is also an issue Theres some reluctance to even want to use it Miller adds The color green To deal with increased regulations Miller expects more golf courses will be designed and renovated to irrigate with less water which is already happening In 2020 there will also be more droughttolerant turfgrass varieties more efficient irrigation equipment and more water wise minded superintendents And what about golfers Well it may be that they will be forced to change their demands for lush and emerald colored green turf Hard and fast fairways may become popular after all But Esoda probably speaks for many superintendents and golfers when he says he doesnt want to hear anybody else say that brown is the new green when it comes to golf course turfgrass The statement was uttered by United States Golf Association president Jim Hyler earlier this year Grass is supposed to be green Esoda says But you shouldnt over water it