How Green's Your Golf Course?

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By Ted Johnson
Photos by Justin Bailie

If green is not natural to the regional ecosystem during summer and fall, yet golf courses retain their lushness, what impact is there? Is the use of water for this type of land beneficial? Does fertilizer run off into watersheds?

One of the prominent themes in the work of noted conservationist Wallace Stegner centered on the need of those in the West to embrace the region’s aridity. It does not take a discerning eye to observe that in the open spaces of Northern California, green is an atypical color come summer. For that matter, green is rare throughout the Western United States.

A stark example of Stegner’s observation can be found in the foothills east of Sacramento, home to much of the metropolitan area’s real estate boom over the last 20 years. Amidst the rolling hills it is now possible to find manicured turf against the natural grasses of the surrounding hillsides, grasses turned brown — “golden” in the words of our forebears — from lack of rain.

For all the talk about the benefits of golf, the fresh air and the recreational benefits that come with a game played among vernal expanse, the question arises: How green is golf?

Proactive Supers

The golf industry includes manufacturers of equipment and apparel but is represented by leading management groups such as the United States Golf Association (oversees the rules of the game and runs championships), the Professional Golfers Association (certifies pros to teach the game and manage its facilities) and the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (certifies course maintenance).

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