Community - GolfBusiness

Golf Industry
Calendar
April 16
National Golf Day
Washington, DC
www.wearegolf.org
April 21-25
American Society of Golf
Course Architects Annual Meeting
Reynolds Plantation
Greensboro, Georgia
www.asgca.org
Throughout May
Welcome to Golf Month
Nationwide
Playgolfamerica.com
Throughout July
Family Golf Month
Nationwide
Playgolfamerica.com
July 8-14
Take Your Daughter
to the Course Week
Nationwide
Playgolfamerica.com
August 22-24
PGA FALL EXPO
Las Vegas, NV
August 30 - September 2
Patriot Golf Day
Nationwide
www.playgolfamerica.com
FOR MORE EVENTS, INCLUDING NGCOA
CHAPTER HAPPENINGS, VISIT WWW.NGCOA.ORG
Going Green On the Greens
Operators of The Vineyard have found
ways to go green on and off the course.
lthough the organic movement has
Atouched nearly every facet of modern
life, it’s been relatively slow (ironically)
in gaining widespread traction in the
golf industry. But one course on Martha’s
Vineyard is showing how golf courses can
go green—and still operate in the black.
The Vineyard, which opened in
2002, was met with fierce opposition
from locals when developers unveiled
plans for the private club located on
the island’s eastern tip. To allay locals’
concerns about the course’s impact
on the fragile aquifer, the investors
agreed to a series of strict restrictions
that included limitations on water use
(150,000 gallons a day) and bans on
chemical or synthetic products.
Superintendent Jeff Carlson was
charged with the unenviable task of
maintaining an elite-level private course
under these aggressive constraints.
Though he had worked at facilities in
New England with strict environmental
controls, the veteran turf care manager
admits he was “still pretty nervous”
about the challenge he faced at The
Vineyard. The early years, no doubt,
proved difficult.
“We had a lot of issues with dollar
spot in the beginning,” Carlson recounts.
“I actually thought it was going
to wipe out the course.”
But over the last
decade, Carlson and his
crew have adapted to their
circumstances. They’ve
had to alter nearly every
cultural practice, from
aeration to irrigation,
even nitrogen application.
Meanwhile, the industry
caught up as well, supplying
organic alternatives to
products he had been prohibited
from using. And
though most of the credit
goes to his hardworking
crew, Carlson says natural selection
is at work, too. “The grass that’s left is
the stuff that’s hardy enough to survive
in these conditions,” he notes.
Courses looking to go organic to cut
expenses will be disappointed; many
of the organic turf care solutions are
expensive and labor-intensive. “I could
have a full-time crew just doing weed
control,” Carlson quips.
Carlson does have advice for course
operators looking to lessen their environmental
impact: don’t focus on tees and
greens, as they’re only 5 percent to 10
percent of a course’s turf. Instead, start
with an organic management program
on large areas like the rough or fairways.
Moreover, the graduate of Drew
University stresses the importance of
communication. “Setting expectations is
key,” he says. “Don’t hide in your office—
get out there and talk to the members,
the greens committee, whoever it is.”
Carlson must be doing something
right. The course has hosted President
Obama on a number of occasions. That
presidential endorsement, and the approval
of the club’s demanding members,
makes all of Carlson’s hard work
worthwhile. “It’s even more rewarding
knowing we’re doing it without harming
the earth.” —Kyle Darbyson
44 GOLFBUSINESS March 2013