Water is clearly a precious commodity. While some superintendents are blessed with an abundance of precipitation, many are forced to draw from a dwindling resource.
Growing up, I learned about all sorts of activism that shaped our world. From Gandhi’s hunger strike in India, to Rosa Parks’ bus boycott in Montgomery, Ala., to Tommie Smith’s and John Carlos’ Olympic protest in Mexico, people were creating positive change across the world. Like Dr. Martin Luther King, many paid the ultimate sacrifice for what they believed in.
Not all civil disobedience works for the better, however. “Harmless” acts like animal rights activists throwing paint on people who wear fur are destructive and rarely effective, while a peaceful protest in 1989 resulted in many deaths at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. America’s history with disobedience goes much deeper and gets a heck of a lot more horrific, of course, but I’ll leave that discussion for another day.
In August, we posted an article online—and in the daily newsletter—about climate activists vandalizing a French golf course after clubs received a water ban exemption. A local branch of the Extinction Rebellion movement filled golf course holes with cement to protest against the exemption of golf greens from water bans amid the country’s severe drought.
The exemption of golf greens in France has sparked controversy as 100 French villages are short of drinking water, BBC News reported. Golf officials say greens would die in three days without water.
“A golf course without a green is like an ice-rink without ice,” Gérard Rougier of the French Golf Federation told the France Info news website. He added that 15,000 people work at golf courses across the country.
Some constraints on the golf course remain, BBC News reported. Watering must be carried out at night with no more than 30% of the usual volume of water.
Conversely, we’ve also recently covered news from a survey conducted in 2021 by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) and funded by the GCSAA Foundation as part of its Golf Course Environmental Profile. The program found that U.S. golf facilities applied approximately 1.68 million acre-feet of water in 2020, a 29% reduction since 2005.
“Golf course superintendents are responsible stewards of water resources, and the latest national survey results demonstrate that,” said Rhett Evans, CEO of GCSAA. “Superintendents are committed to efficient water management and have implemented evidence-based best management practices that result in reduced water use.
And it’s not just that superintendents are using less water, in some cases they’ve completely switched to reclaimed water. The Lakes at Hemet West’s nine-hole golf course in Hemet, Calif. recently made the change to using recycled water to irrigate the course and drought-tolerant landscaping in some areas, reports The Press-Enterprise of Riverside, Calif.
Glenn Miller, Golf Course Consultant for The Lakes, told The Press-Enterprise the sustainable change will preserve the 50-year-old lakes and “allow us to continue to live in a comfortable environment.”
Part of that change was partnering with the Eastern Municipal Water District, which has converted about 10 other courses in the area, including Golf Club at Rancho California in Murrieta, Cherry Hills Golf Course in the Sun City area of Menifee, and Canyon Lake Golf and Country Club, to recycled water for irrigation over the last few years, The Press-Enterprise reported.
Before, The Lakes used 250 acre-feet of drinkable water every year and after the water-conserving changes they’ll use approximately 70 acre-feet of drinkable water and 110 acre-feet of recycled water each year, says Joe Mouawad, Eastern’s General Manager.
Water is clearly a precious commodity. While some superintendents are blessed with an abundance of precipitation, many are forced to draw from a dwindling resource.
Superintendents are the best of the best when it comes to responsible irrigation. I can’t say that for the rest of us. I was driving home in the rain from an event recently and saw sprinklers at two homes and a public library watering their lawns. Blame a set-it-and-forget-it attitude, but you won’t see that type of waste on a golf course.
Rob Thomas
Editor
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