With direction from a Planning Guide and Template created by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, local superintendent groups across the country are developing guides specific to their regions to share with golf course maintenance teams. In addition to the standard turf-care topics, the Hawai’i manual includes sections on archaeological awareness and wildlife protection.
The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) created a Best Management Practices Planning Guide and Template, which was partially funded by the Environmental Institute for Golf (EIFG) with additional support from the United States Golf Association. Now, superintendent associations from Hawaii, Delaware and the Eastern Shore have developed their own manuals to help assist colleagues in maintaining their golf courses.
The Hawai’i Golf Course Superintendents Association (HGCSA) released a handbook of Hawai’i Golf Maintenance Best Management Practices (BMPs) that promotes environmental stewardship, golf course playability, and overall health of the Hawai’i golf and tourism industries.
The BMPs provide guidance for Hawai’i golf course maintenance professionals covering 12 key areas including archaeological awareness, wildlife protection, surface water management and water quality, nutrient use, integrated pest management, energy, and others.
“We’re proud to release the handbook, the HGCSA encourages its 125 members to perform at the highest standards with ongoing care and respect for the environment,” said Nanea Golf Club superintendent, HGCSA president, and BMP steering committee co-chair Scott Main. “It’s important for collaboration within our communities.”
The HGCSA is the first state chapter to integrate the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) throughout its handbook. The SDGs, or Global Goals, are a universal call-to-action to end poverty, protect the planet, and promote peace and prosperity.
“Our goal is to provide healthy green spaces, honoring the land, tradition, and people of Hawai’i,” said sustainability consulting firm Radius Sports Group President and HGCSA steering committee co-chair Gina Rizzi. “Integrating the Sustainable Hawai’i Initiative and SDGs demonstrates how Hawai’i’s golf maintenance practices align to local and global goals.”
The GCSAA, supported by the USGA and PGA TOUR, provided state chapters with a national BMP template and grant through the EIFG to help develop guidelines specific to each state by 2020. The HGCSA BMP steering committee, comprised of superintendents, experts from the University of Hawai’i, and sustainability field, authored the book. Radius helped develop the guide and conduct a stakeholder review with industry leaders and officials from the Hawai’i Departments of Health and Agriculture.
“Golf maintenance is a critical function,” said Main. “Our efforts can help conserve resources and enhance community relations, plus support jobs, golf rounds, and occupancy levels to drive local economic impact. We appreciate GCSAA, USGA, and the PGA Tour, in addition to our local and national affiliate partners who have supported the handbook.”
The handbook is now available online at www.hawaiigolfbmp.org or by clicking HERE.
In Delaware, Superintendent Greg Thomas is usually seen riding in a small utility cart at The Rookery Golf Club in Milton, tending to some nagging turf management problem of the moment, the Cape Gazette reported. He has also made his presence known as part of a steering committee helping to produce a best management practices manual for Delaware golf courses.
The Delaware and Eastern Shore superintendents used the GCSAA template in creating their version, the Gazette reported. Jamie Palokas, superintendent for Baywood Greens in Long Neck, Del., was also one of the greenskeepers on the steering committee.
The BMP document addresses a wide range of issues that superintendents must handle, including pesticide management, water-quality monitoring, nutrient management, and maintenance operations, the Gazette reported.
“Part of this was to show our awareness of the issues and to share our knowledge with the government agencies that regulate us, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, DNREC and the Department of Agriculture,” Thomas said recently. “We had help from the University of Delaware’s horticultural people to review and comment on the draft, to cover all the bases.”
The BMP is not a quick read, with more than 150 pages of material, the Gazette reported. On the other hand, reviewing just a few sample pages of the document gives an immediate impression of its quality and depth of analysis. It is available online HERE.
“Some of these BMPs can be pretty expensive to implement fully,” Thomas said. “That’s why several of them are recommendations. Some courses can’t afford to do everything that’s suggested, but they can try to come as close as the budget and other constraints will allow.”
Thomas and talked about this past summer’s challenges to course maintenance, the Gazette reported. For example, many Cape Region golf courses showed evidence of the strain of the hot weather, rain and goose grass.
Goose grass is a weed that seems to like golf courses, especially in lightly turfed and compacted soil areas, the Gazette reported. It spreads easily and is a challenge to remove. It’s also not the best grass on which to hit a golf ball, because of its tough, wiry texture.
“This year it’s been bad for everybody,” Thomas said. “It’s different from crabgrass, although a lot of people think that’s what it is when they see it. The big problem is there are pesticide limitations for treatment. One type of pesticide will kill the goose grass but also hurt Bermuda, and another pesticide will work on goose grass but also hurt bent grass. It’s at least as aggressive as crabgrass, especially in thin areas. Pre-emergent treatment is expensive, and we’ve also learned that the label rate [for application] is sometimes not enough.”
Thomas experimented with wholesale removal and replacement of turf in some parts of Rookery South, for example near the back, greenside bunker on the 13th hole, the Gazette reported. Unfortunately, the nasty stuff came right back, so he and the other course superintendents will continue to fight the weed as best they can.
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