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© 2007 Plant Management Network. Golf Course Profile Describes Turfgrass, Landscape, and Environmental Stewardship Features Gregory T. Lyman, Clark S. Throssell, Mark E. Johnson, and Greg A. Stacey, Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, 1421 Research Park Drive, Lawrence, KS 66049; and Clark D. Brown, National Golf Foundation, 1150 S. US Hwy 1, Suite 401, Jupiter, FL 33477 Corresponding author: Gregory T. Lyman. glyman@gcsaa.org Lyman, G. T., Throssell, C. S., Johnson, M. E., Stacey, G. A., and Brown, C. D. 2007. Golf course profile describes turfgrass, landscape and environmental stewardship features. Online. Applied Turfgrass Science doi:10.1094/ATS-2007-1107-01-RS. Abstract The golf industry does not have comprehensive national data on the property features, management practices, inputs, and outputs associated with golf courses. A series of surveys will be conducted to collect the data necessary to develop a national golf course environmental profile. This was the first survey of the series and the objectives were to determine total acreage of a golf course, land-use characteristics, acres and grass species of each component of the golf course, acreage dedicated to natural resources and environmental stewardship practices. The survey was sent to 16,009 golf course facilities’ superintendents in the United States. Golf courses were stratified by agronomic region, course type, and number of holes to ensure all types of golf courses were represented in the results. Results indicate the total acreage of an average 18-hole golf course is 150 acres, of which 100 acres (67%) is maintained turf. Cool-season grasses are grown on 66% and warm-season grasses are grown on 34% of all maintained turf acreage on golf courses. The remaining acreage is comprised of non-turfgrass landscapes (16%), water bodies (7%), buildings (4%), bunkers (3%), and parking lots (3%). Approximately 44% of golf courses have increased the non-turfgrass landscape areas by nearly 10 acres over the last 10 years. Over the last 10 years, an average of five environmental improvements have been made on 18-hole golf courses, while those golf courses that participated in voluntary environmental stewardship programs have made an average of seven improvements. These data provide an accurate portrayal of golf course land use to guide golf industry agronomic and environmental initiatives and establish a baseline that can be compared to data from future surveys to monitor industry change. Introduction Golf course superintendents, golf industry leaders, golf association leaders, environmental advocates, university turfgrass scientists, and state and local environmental regulators participated in meetings hosted by The Environmental Institute for Golf (The Institute) to identify and prioritize research, education, and outreach needs. These meetings were designed to help The Institute fulfill its mission of strengthening the compatibility of the game of golf with the environment. One outcome of these meetings was that the golf industry did not have a comprehensive, centralized, or complete national database on the property features, management practices, and inputs and outputs associated with golf courses and golf course maintenance. Another outcome was that, although many individual golf courses had made changes to make golf courses more compatible with the environment, there was no systematic process in place to document changes that the golf industry nationwide has made to protect and enhance the environment. Surveys of golf course maintenance practices have been conducted in several states in recent years and the results of those surveys provided useful information for each state. Unfortunately, the questions asked on each state survey were not uniform and the responses covered different time periods so that it would be statistically invalid to combine data from the different state surveys to develop a national profile of golf courses and their maintenance practices. The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) initiated a project in 2006 to collect data on a nationwide basis on the property features, management practices, and inputs and outputs associated with golf courses and golf course maintenance. A series of surveys conducted at the rate of one or two per year for five years will be used to collect the needed information. Once the first phase of data collection is complete, the surveys will be repeated so that change in golf courses and golf course maintenance practices over time can be monitored. The objectives of this survey were to determine: (i) total acreage of a golf course, (ii) land-use characteristics, (iii) acres and grass species of each component of the golf course including overseeding practices, (iv) acreage dedicated to natural resources, and (v) environmental stewardship practices. Question Development Input on critical information needed to accurately develop an environmental profile of golf courses was collected from golf course superintendents, golf industry leaders, golf association leaders, environmental advocates, university turfgrass scientists, and state and national environmental regulators. GCSAA staff used this information to draft survey questions, which were reviewed by a group that was made up primarily of golf course superintendents but also included golf association leaders and environmental advocates who had not previously seen the survey. Feedback from this group was used to revise the survey questions. The revised survey was sent to the National Golf Foundation (NGF) for refinement and formatting for on-line and paper versions. Ten superintendents who had not previously seen the survey completed a test survey. Their suggestions for improvements were incorporated into the final version of the survey (Appendix I). The NGF adheres to The Code of Marketing Research Standards developed by the Marketing Research Association (5). Survey Procedures GCSAA and NGF databases on golf facilities, including name of facility, mailing address, phone number, fax number, and superintendent’s name and superintendent’s contact information, are updated on a continual basis. While not theoretically possible to reach all superintendents in the US, an attempt was made to contact and recruit superintendents at 16,009 golf facilities in the US to participate in the property profile survey and subsequent surveys necessary to complete the golf course environmental profile. An e-mail invitation to participate in the survey was sent to all superintendents with a known e-mail address, approximately two thirds of the 16,009 facilities. Superintendents without an e-mail address received an invitation postcard by mail. The invitation explained that individual responses would be kept confidential and that data would be analyzed in aggregate by agronomic region. Surveys were sent in late March 2006 by e-mail, fax, or mail to all facilities. To increase response rate, in mid-April surveys were mailed to all non-respondents who had not previously received a paper copy of the survey. In addition, reminders to complete and submit the survey were sent by e-mail and mail. Surveys were accepted until early July 2006. Golf courses were stratified by agronomic region, course type (daily fee, municipal, or private) and number of holes (9, 18, or 27+) to ensure that all types of golf courses in all regions of the country were adequately represented in the final data set. A total of 2,981 completed surveys were returned from 16,009 golf facilities, yielding an 18.6% return rate. All completed surveys were screened to determine if the response provided for any single question was reasonable in the context of the rest of the responses on that survey. Any response to a question that was judged to be an outlier was omitted from the analysis. A conservative approach to identifying outliers was used for this analysis. Values from respondents that were more than three times the standard deviation were evaluated and removed when they were considered to be human error. An example is an 18-hole facility that reported total maintained acres well outside of the comparable range of 35 to 200 acres. The name of the golf course on the returned survey was compared to the database of all golf courses in the US to make sure the survey came from an existing golf course and that no duplicates for a single course were received. Analysis of the completed surveys indicated a representative sample of the golf facilities was received as the distribution of respondents in key areas such as agronomic region and facility type are consistent with the distribution of golf facilities in the United States (Table 1). The number of golf courses under region, type, and number of holes does not add up to the same total due to incomplete information for some records. Agronomic regions and the location of golf facilities responding to the survey are shown in Figure 1. Agronomic regions were delineated by grouping geographic areas with similar climatic characteristics and boundaries were drawn using county borders. Table 1. Number of golf courses by region, course type, and number of holes, percent of the total number of golf courses nationally by region, course type, and number of holes, completed surveys received by region, course type, and number of holes, percent of the total number of golf courses nationally returning completed surveys by region, course type, and number of holes, percent of golf courses returning completed surveys within a region, course type, and number of holes and margin of error for agronomic region, course type, and number of holes.
* At 90% confidence interval.
Data were analyzed using Quantum crosstabs and SPSS analytics software (SPSS 15.0 for Windows, SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL) to run descriptive statistics and explore relationships between categorical variables such as agronomic region, course type, and number of holes. Total acres, acres of each golf course component, and turfgrass species used on each golf course component were calculated by multiplying the number of 18-hole equivalents by the average acreage for each golf course component or each turf species grown on that golf course component. Where 18-hole equivalent data are presented, data within a region were averaged over facility type and budget. The number of 18-hole equivalents in the United States is 14,969 and was determined by taking the total number of golf holes and dividing by 18 (6). Average acreage for each golf course component and the turf species used on that golf course component were determined in this survey. To distinguish between the permanent turfgrass species and the winter overseeded turfgrass species, respondents were asked separate questions to collect information on the permanent turfgrass species and the species, if any, used for winter overseeding. Data from permanent turfgrass species and winter overseeded species were analyzed separately. On many golf courses, particularly those with cool-season grasses, more than one turfgrass species is likely to be present on each component of the golf course. To account for this, superintendents were asked to estimate the acreage of each component of the golf course and estimate the percent of each turfgrass species present on that component. The acreage of each component reported was multiplied by the decimal equivalent of each turfgrass species present to give the acreage of each turfgrass species present. An example is if a superintendent reported 30 acres of fairways comprised of 50% creeping bentgrass and 50% annual bluegrass, a total of 30 acres of fairways would be recorded for the fairway total and 15 acres of creeping bentgrass and 15 acres of annual bluegrass would be recorded for the species total for fairways. When reviewing the data on turfgrass species acreage for each component of the golf course, it is important to recognize that on many golf courses, particularly those growing cool-season grasses, it is highly likely that each component of the golf course is comprised of more than one turfgrass species. Survey Results Land-use characteristics. In the US, the median total acreage and acres of maintained turf for 9, 18, and 27-hole golf courses is given in Table 2. An average 18-hole golf course comprises 150 acres, of which 100 acres are maintained turf including approximately 51 acres of rough, 30 acres of fairways, 7 acres of driving range/practice areas, 3 acres of greens, 3 acres of tees, 3 acres of clubhouse grounds, and 1 acre of turf nursery. As the number of golf holes increases, so does the acreage of the property, the acreage of maintained turf and the average playing length of the golf course (Table 2). Table 2. Average acres, acres of maintained turf and playing length
* Eighteen-hole course with the greatest number of rounds of golf played. The acreage associated with the primary land use features is described in (Table 3). There are an estimated 2,244,512 total acres on golf facilities in the US with 1,504,210 acres of maintained turf and 740,591 acres of non-turf landscapes, water bodies, buildings, bunkers, or parking lots (Table 3 and 4). Of the maintained turf acres, 777,051 (52%) are rough, 443,061 (29%) are fairways, 53,761 (3.5%) are tees, and 47,525 (3.1%) are putting greens. Table 3. Acreage estimates for land use on US golf courses.
Table 4. Total acres of maintained turf on US golf courses and acres of turf for each golf course component in each agronomic region.
* Agronomic regions: US = total United States; NE = Northeast; NC = North Central; Trans = Transition; SE = Southeast; SW = Southwest; UW/Mtn = Upper West/Mountain; Pac = Pacific. Bermudagrass. In the United States, more golf course acreage is planted in bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.) than in any other species (Table 5). Most of this acreage is in the Southeast, the Southwest, and the Transition regions, where it is widely used for tees (Table 6), fairways (Table 7), roughs (Table 8), and driving ranges and practice areas (Table 9). Bermudagrass also predominates on putting greens (Table 10) and turf nurseries (Table 11) in the Southeast. In the Southwest, however, the number of acres of bermudagrass and creeping bentgrass putting greens and turf nurseries are nearly identical (Tables 10 and 11). Table 5. Total acres of each grass species in the US and acres of each grass species within each agronomic region.
* Turfgrass species: AB = annual bluegrass; CB = creeping bentgrass; FF = fine fescue; KBG = Kentucky bluegrass; PR = perennial ryegrass; TF = tall fescue; BER = bermudagrass; PAS = seashore paspalum; ZOY = zoysiagrass. ** Agronomic regions: US = total United States; NE = Northeast; NC = North Central; Trans = Transition; SE = Southeast; SW = Southwest; UW/Mtn = Upper West/Mountain; PAC = Pacific. Table 6. Acreage for tees: Total golf course acreage and total acres of each species in the US and within each agronomic region.
* Agronomic regions: US = total United States; NE = Northeast; NC = North Central; Trans = Transition; SE = Southeast; SW = Southwest; UW/Mtn = Upper West/Mountain; PAC = Pacific. Table 7. Acreage for fairways: Total golf course acreage and total acres of each species in the US and within each agronomic region.
* Turfgrass species: AB = annual bluegrass; CB = creeping bentgrass; FF = fine fescue; KBG = Kentucky bluegrass; PR = perennial ryegrass; TF = tall fescue; BER = bermudagrass; PAS = seashore paspalum; ZOY = zoysiagrass. ** Agronomic regions: US = total United States; NE = Northeast; NC = North Central; Trans = Transition; SE = Southeast; SW = Southwest; UW/Mtn = Upper West/Mountain; PAC = Pacific. Table 8. Acreage for roughs: Total golf course acreage and total acres of each species in the US and within each agronomic region.
* Turfgrass species: AB = annual bluegrass; CB = creeping bentgrass; FF = fine fescue; KBG = Kentucky bluegrass; PR = perennial ryegrass; TF = tall fescue; BER = bermudagrass; PAS = seashore paspalum; ZOY = zoysiagrass. ** Agronomic regions: US = total United States; NE = Northeast; NC = North Central; Trans = Transition; SE = Southeast; SW = Southwest; UW/Mtn = Upper West/Mountain; Pac = Pacific. Table 9. Acreage for driving ranges and practice areas: Total golf course acreage and total acres of each species in the US and within each agronomic region.
* Agronomic regions: US = total United States; NE = Northeast; NC = North Central; Trans = Transition; SE = Southeast; SW = Southwest; UW/Mtn = Upper West/Mountain; PAC = Pacific. Table 10. Acreage for putting greens: Total golf course acreage and total acres of each species in the US and within each agronomic region.
* Agronomic regions: US = total United States; NE = Northeast; NC = North Central; Trans = Transition; SE = Southeast; SW = Southwest; UW/Mtn = Upper West/Mountain; PAC = Pacific. Table 11. Acreage for turf nurseries: Total golf course acreage and total acres of each species in the US and within each agronomic region.
* Agronomic regions: US = total United States; NE = Northeast; NC = North Central; Trans = Transition; SE = Southeast; SW = Southwest; UW/Mtn = Upper West/Mountain; Pac = Pacific. Creeping bentgrass. Most of the putting green acreage in the US and in the Northeast, North Central, and Transition regions is planted to creeping bentgrass (Agrostis palustris spp. Stolonifera L.). Most of the creeping bentgrass grown on fairways and tees are grown in the Northeast, North Central, and Transition regions (Tables 6 and 7). In the Upper West/Mountain region, nearly three-quarters of putting green acreage is creeping bentgrass (Table 10). Creeping bentgrass is also the most common grass on tees (Table 6) and fairways (Table 7) in the Northeast and North Central regions and on turf nurseries in the Northeast, North Central, Transition, and Upper West/Mountain regions (Table 11). Kentucky bluegrass. In the Northeast, North Central, and Upper West/Mountain regions, Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) is the most common species on golf courses as a whole (Table 5) and on roughs (Table 8), driving ranges and practice areas (Table 9) in particular. Kentucky bluegrass is also the predominant turfgrass on tees (Table 6) and fairways (Table 7) in the Upper West/Mountain region. Annual bluegrass and perennial ryegrass. In the Pacific Northwest, the two most common turfgrass species on golf courses are annual bluegrass (Poa annua L.) and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) (Table 5). However, on putting greens (Table 10) and turf nurseries (Table 11), annual bluegrass is the main species, followed by creeping bentgrass. Somewhat more perennial ryegrass than annual bluegrass is grown for tees (Table 6), roughs (Table 8), and driving ranges and practice areas (Table 9) in the region, but the reverse is true for fairways (Table 7). Winter overseeding practices. Winter overseeding is used on golf courses to grow a different species during the winter months, generally planting a cool-season species onto a warm-season species. It is conducted on one or more components of the golf course on 81% of golf courses in the Southwest, 80% in the Southeast, 38% in the Transition, 13% in the Pacific, 7% in the Upper-West/Mountain, 2% in the Northeast, and 1% in the North Central regions. Of those golf courses that overseed, 81% overseed tees, 50% overseed fairways, 40% overseed greens, 19% overseed rough, 37% overseed the driving range and practice areas, and 11% overseed the turf nursery. In the Southeast, 4,230 acres of putting greens are overseeded compared to 1,321 acres in the Southwest and 190 acres in the Transition region (Table 12). On putting greens, 75% of golf courses that overseed greens in the Southeast and 44% of golf courses in the Southwest that overseed greens use rough bluegrass (Poa trivialis), and 55% of golf courses that overseed greens in the Transition region use creeping bentgrass (Table 12). A total of 14,872 acres of tees, 76,118 acres of fairways, 42,995 acres of rough, 13,103 acres of driving range/practices area, and 574 acres of turf nursery are overseeded in the Transition, Southeast, and Southwest regions. Over 95% of these golf course components are overseeded with perennial ryegrass (Table 12). Table 12. Acreage for winter overseeded turf: Total acreage of golf course components and acreage of turfgrass species by component used for the Transition, Southeast, and Southwest regions.
Non-turfgrass land use characteristics. There are an estimated 740,302 acres on US golf courses comprised of non-turf landscapes, water bodies, buildings, bunkers, or parking lots (Table 3). There are an estimated total of 358,278 acres of non-turfgrass landscapes which include forests/woodlands, native/undisturbed grasslands, mixed/improved grasslands, non-mowed, shrublands, garden/landscape areas, buffer strips, riparian areas, deserts, or other natural areas by geographic region (Table 13). Forests/woodlands and grasslands (native/undisturbed and mixed/improved) are the predominate features representing approximately two-thirds of the non-turfgrass landscape. Table 13. Acreage of non-turfgrass landscapes on US golf courses.
* Agronomic regions: NE = Northeast; NC = North Central; Trans = Transition; SE = Southeast; SW = Southwest; UW/Mtn = Upper West/Mountain; PAC = Pacific. Superintendents were also asked to identify the changes made to non-turf landscapes over the last ten years using individual knowledge or facility records. The total amount has increased since 1996, with 44% of those reporting indicating an average increase nationally of 9.8 acres; 49% reported non-turf landscapes have stayed the same since 1996; and 6% have reduced their acreage by an average of approximately 16 acres (Table 14). When compared to other regions, the Southeast and Southwest report a significantly higher percentage of golf courses that have not altered the acreage dedicated to non-turf landscapes. Table 14. Changes since 1996 in non-turfgrass landscapes on golf facilities.
* Agronomic regions: NE = Northeast; NC = North Central; Trans = Transition; SE = Southeast; SW = Southwest; UW/Mtn = Upper West/Mountain; Pac = Pacific. **Within a row, values followed by the same letter are not significantly different from one another. Letters denote significance at the 90% confidence level. ‡ The base size of respondents to this specific question was too low for agronomic regions. However, the total for the United States was sufficient for reporting. Water bodies. Water bodies account for 7% of the total acreage or approximately 11 acres on an average 18-hole golf course. There are an estimated 161,183 acres of water bodies on golf course properties in the United States (Table 15). Table 15. Acreage estimates of water bodies on US golf courses.
* Agronomic regions: NE = Northeast; NC = North Central; Trans = Transition; SE = Southeast; SW = Southwest; UW/Mtn = Upper West/Mountain; PAC = Pacific. Bunkers, parking lots, and car paths. Sand bunkers are an integral part of the game of golf as a hazard for the players and as an architectural design element. There are an estimated 74,382 acres of bunkers on US golf courses, with 14,287 acres in the Northeast; 17,122 acres in the North Central region; 13,471 acres in the Transition region; 18,163 acres in the Southeast; 5,562 acres in the Southwest; 3,580 acres in the Upper West/Mountain region; and 2,197 acres in the Pacific region. Parking lots represent 3% of the typical 18-hole facilities acreage, resulting in an estimated average of 4.5 acres of parking lot per facility. There are an estimated 67,644 total acres of parking lots on US golf courses (Table 16) and approximately 90% of parking lots are constructed of impervious materials. Table 16. Acreage dedicated to parking lots on US golf facilities.
* Agronomic regions: NE = Northeast; NC = North Central; Trans = Transition; SE = Southeast; SW = Southwest; UW/Mtn = Upper West/Mountain; PAC = Pacific. **Within a row, values followed by the same letter are not significantly different from one another. Letters denote significance at the 90% confidence level. The participants reported the average length and width of car paths on their golf course property. The acreage reported is part of the total property acreage. There are approximately 2.8 acres of car paths on a typical 18-hole facility. The average width is 7.0 feet and the estimated total acreage is 38,419 acres nationally (Table 17). There are some variances in car path acreage by agronomic region. The North Central, Northeast, and Upper West/Mountain regions have significantly less acreage in car paths than do the Transition, Southeast, and Southwest regions. The North Central and Northeast regions have significantly less car path acreage than the Pacific region. Approximately 80% of the respondents reported that the car paths are constructed of impervious materials; the remaining car paths are made of pervious materials. Table 17. Acreage dedicated to golf course car paths on US golf facilities.
* Agronomic regions: NE = Northeast; NC = North Central; Trans = Transition; SE = Southeast; SW = Southwest; UW/Mtn = Upper West/Mountain; Pac = Pacific. ** Within a column, values followed by the same letter are not significantly different from one another. Letters denote significance at the 90% confidence level. Environmental stewardship efforts. Survey participants were asked to indicate specific environmental stewardship practices and participation in voluntary environmental stewardship programs. They also identified a range of environmental upgrades that have been made to the golf course since 1996. Facilities that are currently enrolled in one or more environmental programs are defined as "program participants." Survey respondents chose from the following list of environmental stewardship programs: • Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program • Audubon Signature Program • CMAA's Environmental Performance Audit • Golf Course Environmental Management Program • Florida Green Building Coalition • Michigan Turfgrass Environmental Stewardship Program • Oregon Stewardship Guidelines • San Antonio Water System Environmental Program • Any other official program Responses indicate that 29% of 18-hole golf facilities in the US currently participate in a voluntary environmental stewardship program. Participation is highest in the Pacific region, where 53% of the 18-hole golf facilities are involved in an environmental stewardship program. In the Southwest and Transition regions, the participation rate of 18-hole golf courses is 23%, and the rate is 28% for the Northeast, 29% for the North Central region, 34% for the Southeast, and 27% for the Upper West/Mountain region. More respondents (24%) participate in The Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program than in any other voluntary environmental stewardship program. The other programs tend to be highly regionalized. Golf facilities that have more than nine holes, are private, have higher maintenance budgets and employ a GCSAA member superintendent also have a higher participation rate in formal voluntary environmental stewardship programs (Table 18). Table 18. Environmental program participation of US golf facilities.
* Values followed by the same letter are not significantly different
In general, the golf course profile of 18-hole facilities participating in an environmental stewardship program is similar to that of facilities not involved in environmental stewardship programs (Table 19). However, there are several key differences between facilities that are involved with an environmental stewardship program and those that are not. Golf properties that are environmental stewardship program participants have a significantly lower percentage of maintained turf (63% of total property size) than facilities that do not participate in environmental stewardship programs (69% of total property size). Since 1996, 56% of environmental stewardship program participants and only 40% of non-participants have increased the acreage of non-turf areas (native/naturalized plantings, buffer areas, lower-maintenance vegetation, etc.). Those 18-hole golf facilities that increased non-turf areas added approximately 10 acres (Table 20). Table 19. Total acreage and percent of total acreage of specific
* Significant within row at the 90% confidence level. Table 20. Percent and acreage change to natural/unmowed areas since 1996.
* Significant within the row at the 90% confidence level. Nearly all facilities (96%) have made at least one environmental improvement since 1996 (Table 21). Environmental stewardship program participants have made significantly more improvements over the last 10 years (average of 7.1 improvements) in comparison to the non-participants (average of 4.7 improvements). Table 21. Number of environmental improvements on US golf
Environmental improvements. The five environmental improvements most often completed by 18-hole facilities are upgrades to the irrigation system (65%), chemical storage (53%), native plantings (51%), wildlife habitat (47%), and erosion control (42%) (Table 22). Environmental stewardship program participants have made significantly more improvements than non-participants in the areas of native plantings, wildlife habitat, buffer strips, use of chemical mix/load pads, waste reduction, and wetland restoration. Table 22. Environmental improvements made since 1996 by US 18-hole golf courses that were participating in an environmental program and those that were not.
* Significant within row at the 90% confidence level. Conclusions These data provide a comprehensive view of land use on golf courses and the opportunity to accurately portray golf courses to audiences both inside and outside the golf industry. Contrary to popular belief, the entire golf course is not composed of high-maintenance turf. Although the total acreage of an average 18-hole golf course is 150 acres, 100 acres of that total is maintained turf and 58 acres, the rough and driving range, are not highly maintained areas. On most golf courses, highly maintained turf can be found on greens and tees, each of which comprise 3 acres each, and at some golf courses on fairways, which comprise 31 acres of a typical golf course. Beard (1) reported the total area of a representative 18-hole golf course as 193 acres, of which rough/water/woodland comprised 147 acres. These estimates are higher than the 150 acres for an average 18-hole course with 85.5 acres comprised of rough/water/woodland as determined by this survey. Acres of greens, tees, and fairways of an average 18-hole course were similar in our survey and Beard’s report (1). Beard’s information was based on a survey of the USGA Agronomists concerning their experiences of visiting golf courses nationally. Cool-season grasses are grown on 66% of all maintained turf acreage, with Kentucky bluegrass the most widely grown cool-season grass grown on 23% of all maintained turf acres. Warm-season grasses, mainly bermudagrass, are grown on 34% of all maintained turf acreage. The grass species grown on each component of a golf course varies depending on the agronomic region of the country, supporting the principle of growing the best adapted turfgrass species for the particular geographic location. Non-turf acreage of an average 18-hole golf course is 50 acres, including 30 acres of elements such as forests, wetlands, ponds, streams, or other specialized habitats. The non-turf acreage on golf courses is substantial and can make an important contribution to green space and wildlife habitats for local communities (2,3,4,7,8,9). Superintendents have the opportunity and the responsibility to maintain these areas in a sustainable manner to further enhance the environmental qualities of a golf course property. On average, over the last 10 years, an 18-hole golf course has made five environmental improvements. Approximately 29% of 18-hole golf courses are involved in a formal, voluntary environmental stewardship program. Courses involved in formal, voluntary environmental programs have made an average of seven improvements to enhance the golf course environment in that time period. These data suggest that such programs are having a positive impact on the golf course environment. The results of this initial survey establish a baseline that can be compared to data from future surveys to identify change over time and provide an accurate portrayal of golf course land use to guide golf industry agronomic and environmental initiatives. Acknowledgments The authors thank The Toro Foundation for providing a grant to help fund this research. Literature Cited 1. Beard, J. B. 2002. Turf Management for Golf Courses, 2nd Ed. Ann Arbor Press, Chelsea, MI. 2. Dodson, R. G. 2000. Managing Wildlife Habitat on Golf Courses. Sleeping Bear Press, Chelsea, MI. 3. Gillihan, S. W. 2000. Bird Conservation on Golf Courses: A Design and Management Manual. Sleeping Bear Press, Chelsea, MI. 4. Libby, G., Harker, D., Harker, K., and Mackay, J. 2004. Managing Wetlands on Golf Courses. Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. 6. National Golf Foundation. 2007. Golf facilities in the US, 2007 ed. National Golf Foundation, Jupiter, FL. 7. Shepherd, M. 2002. Making Room for Native Pollinators: How to Create Habitat for Pollinator Insects on Golf Courses. United States Golf Association, Far Hills, New Jersey, and The Xerces Society, Portland, OR. 8. Stangel, P., and Distler, K. 2002. Golf courses for wildlife: Looking beyond the turf. United State Golf Association Turfgrass and Environmental Research. Online. 1:1-6. Far Hills, NJ. 9. United States Golf Association. 1994. Golf and Wildlife. United States Golf Association, Far Hills, NJ. Appendix I Survey Instrument
Thank you for agreeing to participate in our survey! All of your individual responses will be kept strictly confidential. For starters, we have some general golf course classification questions for you. Q1. Where is your golf course located? Q2. What is the 5-digit zip code of your golf course? __ __ __ __ __ Q3. How many golf holes do you have at your facility? (SELECT ONE)
Q4. Approximately how many yards is the course (from the back tee)? Q5. Which of the following designations best describes your golf course?
Q6. What is the price of a peak-season greens fee (including cart
rental) at your golf course? (IF PRIVATE GOLF COURSE: Please indicate
the "guest fee" including cart rental) Q7. Excluding capital improvement expenditures, which of the following best describes the annual maintenance budget for your golf course? This would include payroll/salaries, operating equipment leases, water, fertilizer/chemicals, etc.
Q8. Which, if any, of the following
environmental stewardship Q9. Since 1996, which of the following
improvements or additions have been made at your golf course to help
protect the environment?
Property Features Now, we have some questions for you about the property features – some of which ask for the approximate size in acres. As a point of clarification, an acre is about the same size as a football field. Q10. Approximately, what is the
total acreage of your golf course
including all areas (maintained turf, bunkers, buildings, parking lots,
water features, natural areas)? (INPUT NUMBER EVEN IF BEST ESTIMATE) Q11. Approximately, how many acres on your golf
course are maintained turf? (tees/greens/fairways/roughs/practice
areas/turf nursery/ Q12. Based on your answers at Q10 and Q11, roughly what percentage of your golf course’s total acreage would you say is comprised of the following areas? (INPUT NUMBERS BASED ON BEST ESTIMATE. TOTAL MUST EQUAL 100%.)
Q13. [ANSWER IF GOLF COURSE HAS WATER FEATURES:] Approximately what percentage of your golf course’s water features are comprised of the following areas? (INPUT NUMBERS BASED ON BEST ESTIMATE. TOTAL MUST EQUAL 100%.)
Q14. To the best of your ability, please estimate the length and average width of the following water features on your golf course. (INPUT NUMBERS BASED ON BEST ESTIMATE)
Q15. Approximately what percentage of your golf course’s natural/native/ un-mowed features are comprised of the following areas? (INPUT NUMBERS BASED ON BEST ESTIMATE. TOTAL MUST EQUAL 100%.)
Q16A. Has your acreage of natural, native or un-mowed areas at your
golf course increased, decreased or stayed about the same since 1996?
Q16B. [ANSWER IF INCREASED OR DECREASED AT Q16A] By approximately how
many acres have the natural, native or un-mowed areas at your golf
course increased or decreased since 1996? Q17A. Approximately, what is the total distance/length of the cart
paths at your golf course (in linear feet)? Q17B. What is the average
width of the cart paths at your golf
course? Q17C. What percentage of the cart paths at your golf course are
constructed of an impervious surface? (i.e., concrete, asphalt)
Q18. What
percentage of your golf course parking lots are constructed of an impervious
surface? (i.e., concrete, asphalt) Next, we’d like you to think about the maintained turf on your course. Q19. Earlier you indicated your course has approximately _____ maintained turf acres (INSERT FROM Q11). Approximately, how many acres of maintained turf does your golf course have in each of the following areas? (INPUT NUMBERS BASED ON BEST ESTIMATE.)
Q20. Please complete the following table which requests grass species by golf course feature (not including overseeded turf for winter play)? (PLEASE PROVIDE BEST ESTIMATES. COLUMNS MUST TOTAL 100%. )
Q21. Does your golf course
overseed any of the areas on the course for winter
play? Q21A. [ANSWER IF YES AT Q21] Approximately what percentage of the following golf course features do you overseed for winter play? For example, you might enter 100% for Tees, 0% for Greens, 30% for Rough, etc. (PLEASE PROVIDE BEST ESTIMATES FOR EACH. IF NONE, ENTER "0".)
Q22. [ANSWER IF YES AT Q21] By golf course feature, which grass species do you use to overseed? (PLEASE PROVIDE BEST ESTIMATES. COLUMNS MUST TOTAL 100%)
Those are all of the questions we have for you. Thank you for your time! Please indicate your contact information so we can notify you if you win the drawing. Again all of your individual responses will be kept strictly confidential. The drawing winner will be notified at the conclusion of this year's project. Prizes may be subject to taxes.
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