Golf courses cannot exist without water. Ideally, rainfall would provide what golf courses need but, even in wetter climates, rain rarely falls in the amount or frequency necessary to maintain healthy turfgrass or acceptable golf course playability. That is why almost every golf course relies on some form of supplemental watering. Applying irrigation in the right amounts, in the right locations, and at the right times is a critical part of successful golf course maintenance – but accomplishing these goals is not easy.
There are many challenges in determining how much water grass needs across potentially hundreds of acres, irrigation systems have limitations, and staff time is always in short supply. Golfer expectations can complicate matters further. However, there is no question that many opportunities exist for golf courses to use less water and there are many potential benefits in doing so.
Water conservation is important
Water is becoming more expensive and increasingly regulated, even in areas where it is relatively plentiful. In dry areas of the western U.S., the cost and availability of water for golf course irrigation poses an existential threat to many courses. Water budgets routinely exceed $1 million per year in places like California and Arizona, and even if courses have the money to buy water they may not have any say in how much they can get. The water supply for many courses in the West is vulnerable to factors like drought, population growth, and politics that are totally outside a course’s control.
Courses in wetter parts of the U.S. also face rising water costs and are vulnerable to the politics of water use in their area. Even if there is plenty of water available, that does not mean a golf course will necessarily be able to use it, or that their current access to water will remain the same going forward. Golf courses that normally get adequate rainfall are still vulnerable to drought, and increasingly extreme weather patterns may make longer and more-severe droughts more likely in many parts of the country. Population growth is another factor affecting water availability across the U.S. Finding ways to use less water and be more resilient to drought will be valuable for golf courses everywhere in the years ahead.
Even if water conservation is not a primary concern for a golf facility, more-precise irrigation translates to better playing conditions, which is something all courses care about. Water use is also connected to many other inputs that are scarce and expensive across the golf industry. Irrigated turf must be mown, which requires fuel and staff time. Irrigated turf requires more pesticide applications than non-irrigated areas, which again translates into fuel, staff time and other costs. Using more water requires more pumping, which means higher electrical bills – and the list goes on. Something as simple as irrigating less area within a golf course can reduce maintenance costs, increase environmental value and allow the maintenance team to focus scarce resources where they matter most.
The Playbook
Since its founding in 1920, the USGA Green Section has advanced water conservation in golf with millions of dollars of research, a wide range of education offerings, and countless consulting engagements with golf courses. The USGA Water Conservation Playbook is simply the next step in our efforts to help golf courses optimize their watering and use less when it is possible or necessary. The Playbook focuses on nine important water conservation strategies that fall into three broad categories – Fundamental Irrigation Stewardship, Advanced Irrigation Techniques and Conservation Strategies, and Water Sourcing/Storage Stewardship. The Playbook provides detailed information about the costs, benefits, limitations, and steps for implementing each strategy. These focal areas were developed through a collaboration between university researchers, golf course superintendents and architects, and USGA agronomists and scientists with decades of experience in irrigation management and research.
A challenge
The strategies for water conservation laid out the Playbook range from fundamental to highly advanced. Some can be implemented immediately at low cost, whereas others require significant investment and years of planning. Which ones offer the most benefit for a particular golf course depends on water saving goals, resources available, location, and many other factors. Most courses have probably implemented some of these strategies already, but there are always opportunities to do more. Improved grasses, new technology and better irrigation management practices are constantly creating new ways for golf courses to use less water.
The golf industry faces many challenges when it comes to water use, but challenges create opportunities for meaningful change. Over the past several decades, many courses have completely transformed how they use water and realized significant benefits in playing conditions and their overall business. Continuing to advance water conservation in golf will require collaboration between superintendents, researchers, regulators, golfers, and communities. It is a constant but necessary pursuit, and we hope the Playbook will help.
Cole Thompson, Ph.D., is Director of Research for the USGA Green Section.