Golfdom, November 2017

TIMELY TURF ADVICE by Clark Throssell Ph D Clark Talks Turf Natural capital on golf courses Eric Lonsdorf Ph D is a lead scientist at the University of Minnesotas Institute on the Environment IonE IonEs Natural Capital Project seeks to understand and inform people about the benefits nature provides to society You may reach Eric at lons0011@ umn edu for more information Q Describe natural capital as it pertains to a golf course Natural capital is a novel way to view the impacts and benefits that the natural environment provides to society On a golf course examples of natural capital include stormwater retention filtering water recharging groundwater open space habitat for wildlife and promoting biodiversity The University of Minnesota is collaborating with the USGA to fully explore how golf courses impact natural capital and to attach an economic value to that natural capital We want to estimate the full economic value of a golf course beyond the game of golf The motivation for the project is to provide a complete picture of the economic value of a golf course including the natural capital so a community can make informed decisions when discussions occur about the value and benefits of a golf course Q How can natural capital be quantified and an economic value established Conceptually it makes sense to quantify natural capital and the associated economic value In practice it is a challenge to do so The two components of establishing the economic value of natural capital on a golf course are understanding the biophysical ecological characteristics of the site or feature of interest and evaluating the economic consequences of that feature NATURAL CAPITAL EXISTS ON ALL GOLF COURSES WHETHER IT IS MEASURED OR NOT GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENTS AND LEADERS SHOULD INTEGRATE NATURAL CAPITAL INTO ALL DECISIONS Two non golf examples illustrate ways to establish economic value of natural capital Our team worked on a project to determine the importance of water clarity in lakes and determined that increased water clarity leads to more visitors using the lake The team quantified the number of visitors using the lake and from that we established the economic value of water clarity A second example is pollination of fruit by wild bees Weve learned that as the number of wild bees increases on fruit farms fruit yields on those farms increase From this increase in fruit yield and the corresponding increase in value we could determine the economic value of wild bees Q What can golf course superintendents do to enhance natural capital on their golf course The first step is to think broadly about the golf course the maintenance practices of the golf course and the role of the golf course in the community Consider all the ways the golf course impacts the community including golf and the non golf benefits I mentioned earlier One example is determining which parts of the golf course are used by golfers when playing golf and which parts of the golf course are maintained as playable turf that golfers rarely if ever encounter when playing We can determine this by asking golfers to slip a GPS tracker into their pocket before playing then downloading the information concerning where they played their shots from at the end of the round Pooling the data from where 50 or 100 or more golfers of varying ability played their shots from provides insight into where to prioritize maintenance It may be possible to convert some areas of maintained turf into other types of vegetation such as a woodland prairie naturalized area or wetland Some golf courses have established honey bee colonies on the golf course and pollinator gardens to help support the honey bees These efforts create a direct connection that helps golfers and the public understand that a golf course provides benefits in addition to the game of golf Q Is there anything else you would like to add Natural capital exists on all golf courses whether it is measured or not Golf course superintendents and leaders at the golf course should integrate natural capital into all decisions The golf course is part of the community and its important to be a positive member of the community Clark Throssell Ph D loves to talk turf Contact him at clarkthrossell@ bresnan net 34 Golfdom November 2017 Golfdom com