Spring 2011 - Northwest Indiana Business Quarterly Magazine

tapadh leat!
That is Scottish for Thank you.
Thank you for honoring
The Course at Aberdeen as
the #1 Golf Course in Northwest Indiana.
To show our appreciation we are offering
complimentary range balls with every tee time.
It’s our way of saying tapadh leat.
Designed by renowned architect Dr. Michael Hurdzan,
The Course at Aberdeen provides the total golf
experience that every player can enjoy.
Inquire about our annual and corporate passes,
golf outing packages & tee times today.
(219) 462-5050 GolfatAberdeen.com
245 Tower Road | Valparaiso, IN 46385
eNVirONMeNT
the rinse water biodegrades naturally
with the help of microbes.
Lost Marsh, says Sullivan, really
wants to share the green space with
the Hammond community—and not
just golfers. “Two times a year we
close the course and allow people
to come walk. And in the offseason,
we allow sledding.”
seeiNG The biG PiCTure
Back at Briar Ridge, McKone is continuing
to seek environmental ways to
make the most of the property. “We
have a lot of acreage, typically more
than we need to play the game,” he
says. “So we’re trying to establish natural
prairie plants, to establish some
prairies lost in the Midwest.”
He’s also read about bee colony
collapse disorder, which has been
decimating honeybee populations
and causing grave environmental
concern across the country, given
the important role that honeybees
play in pollination. With that in
mind, “this summer we’re bringing
in two honeybee hives,” he says.
Golfers needn’t worry, he adds,
because these bees are not aggressive
at all. But they’re endangered.
“There’s been a huge decline, so we
thought because this is such a concern
and we have the property, we
can do the right thing for the environment—and
maybe even serve
our members fresh honey.”
Briar Ridge wants to keep a close
connection to environmental science,
and is turning to Purdue University
Calumet. “We’re looking
for an intern to be a leader of our
environmental program, doing data
collection, outreach and education.
We’re looking to collect water-quality
data to get a feel for what’s happening
so we know how to treat it.”
The quality of water in a golf
course’s ponds and wetlands, McKone
says, is not just a matter of local concern.
“Most of our water eventually
ends up in the Gulf of Mexico. This
golf course and watershed affects the
fisheries down in Louisiana, so with
that in mind, we manage things a
little differently. We don’t want to be
part of the problem.” n
30 NORTHWEST INDIANA BUSINESS QUARTERLY SpRINg–SUmmER 2011