PUNCHBOWL GOLF » Golf & the Environment

DAVID STONE- THE HONORS

Will Smith — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:42:57 +0000

Tim Liddy, ASGCA, recently visited The Honors Course in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He spent time reviewing this top 100 golf course with a client from Savannah and then spent time with the superintendent David Stone. David, the only superintendent that is a member of the Tennessee Golf Hall of Fame, showed Tim his work with the declining population of song birds. “We all know golf courses, with wetlands and turf, are great filters for urban watersheds but David’s work further illustrates how golf courses can be a great friend to the environment,” Liddy said. ” The Honors Course represents the best in golf on many levels; golf course architecture, the environment, turf science and amateur golf.”

SPREAD THE WORD

Will Smith — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 13:35:32 +0000

For anybody in the golf industry, answering questions about golf’s negative impact on the environment, is a weekly occurrence if not a daily one. Now the newspaper of record, the New York Times, has published an article that helps make the argument that golf has actually been one of the leaders in sustainable water use. Leslie Kaufman, writes:

Mindful that global warming could provoke more and longer dry spells, state governments are increasingly consulting golf courses on water strategies. In Georgia, golf course managers have emerged as go-to gurus on water conservation for both industries and nonprofit groups.

And later in the article, Ms. Kaufman further explains:

As metropolitan areas sprawl outward, golf courses may be the only large-scale green space for miles around, offering crucial potential habitat for migrating birds and other wildlife.

These are points that many of us have been making for years, but it is great to see it in the pages of the normally liberal NY times.

TURFHUGGER.COM

Will Smith — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:33:56 +0000

I was recently sent a link to this website, and while I haven’t had much time to delve deeply into it, the site is a very welcome addition to the golf blogoshpere. A website that is a clearing house for all things relating to golf and the environment is long overdue. Hopefully, turfhugger.com will become this site.

Golf needs a vocal advocate pointing out the many good ways that golf interacts with the nautral environment and fighting the preconceptions of many outside the idustry. This year has seen golf attacked as elitist by both the left and the right of the political spectrum. It is crucial that the message being put forth by this website is heard by the general public.