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New York Golf Course Foundation Spotlight - Impact of Golf Course Superintendents Using BMPs
Written by Ken Benoit, CGCS, Executive Director of the New York Golf Course Foundation

Related: NYGCF Website / BMPs for New York Golf Courses

Without superintendents, the game of golf would not exist.  “What?”  I know, that’s crazy talk, right?  But think about it, golf course superintendents are solely responsible for producing the course conditions on which the game is played. Every shot you play is impacted by the superintendent at your course…. well, Mother Nature also has something to say but, I digress.  So, it doesn’t require much of an imagination to realize what playing golf in an open unmaintained field would be like.  Not good, right?  With that in mind, I think it’s fair to say that golf course superintendents impact golf to a profound degree.  I can feel your pulse quicken. So, before I go any further, let me say that I’m not trying to take anything away from other professions within the golf industry.  In fact, I think the entire golf industry is full of amazing individuals who devote their entire careers to the game of golf.  Here’s my point, golf course superintendents have had and always will have a tremendous impact on the game of golf.  Many people don’t recognize that the impact from the decisions superintendents make while maintaining the course don’t end at the property line. In fact, the impact stretches far beyond the boundaries of the course they manage, into the surrounding communities. The maintenance standards at any given golf course are determined by the level of expectations set by course leadership i.e. golfers.  Maintenance standards which influence water resources at the course and surrounding communities are numerous and include routine maintenance practices commonly found at all golf facilities including the application of nutrients and pesticides, irrigation water use, turfgrass cultural practices, and even turf equipment washing, just to name a few. Many basic turfgrass management tasks have impact at the club and its surrounding community.  

“Hold it, hold it. Did you just say, maintain the course at the level of expectations set by the golfers?  What are you talking about?”  Yes, I said the superintendent maintains the property, or attempts to maintain the property, to meet the level of expectations set by the golfers.  “You are inferring that golfers have a direct impact on community drinking water?  Please explain!”  I’m not inferring, I’m stating, and I’d be happy to explain.  

When golfer expectations increase, the course management intensity increases.  All things being equal, the higher the intensity a given course is maintained, the higher the chances that course will impact drinking water resources.  Generally speaking, more pesticides and nutrients are required to maintain the course at a higher level.  “But we want the best conditions possible at our course.  Can we get there AND have a positive environmental impact?”  Okay, I get it.  We seem to have a dichotomy on our hands.  Here’s the key to the whole thing, the WAY in which a chemical is used very often determines its impact on water resources.  Golf’s relationship with environmental concerns is an issue the industry has always faced. Fortunately, New York Golf Course Superintendent leaders acknowledged their role in protecting the game of golf while simultaneously protecting New York water resources by developing the Best Management Practices for Golf (detailed in our last article) which help superintendents manage the golf course in a way which delivers high quality playing surfaces but with minimal risk of having a negative environment impact on their communities.  In fact, anecdotally speaking, golf courses, where superintendents have implemented BMPs, produce conditions where water flowing off the property is very often cleaner than water flowing onto the golf course property. Yes!  Believe it.  I’ve personally seen this time after time.  

“Great!  So our course has adopted BMPs and we can shoot for the stars!”  The New York Golf Foundation is looking to make sure that is a reality but as of this publication, just over 15% of the golf courses in New York with a GCSAA member as superintendent have adopted facility BMPs.  We need to get that to over 50% before next season!  It’s true that virtually every course superintendent around the state of NY has implemented BMPs into their course management program, but just telling that to lawmakers in Albany or at your local Planning Board meeting will have very little impact on their perspective of golf’s impact on the environment. However, if clubs around the state formally adopt a BMP manual, golf leaders from around the state can go to Albany and prove its commitment to protecting water resources when trying to influence decision making which can negatively impact your golf course. 

The good news is that the process to formally adopt the New York Best Management Practices manual is easier than many assume.  Assuming the golf course superintendent at your course is a member of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA), they need to log on to their account and go to the GCSAA BMP tool and download a working copy of the document.  In 30 minutes, they can create a completed document.  

If you want to see what the BMP template for NY looks like, you can find it on the GCSAA website: new-york-bmps-2nd-edition.pdf (gcsaa.org).  The BMP document is sitting there and ready for superintendents to make it a part of their club’s culture.  Any superintendent who is hesitant about the process of formally adopting their club’s BMP manual should attend one of the New York Golf Course Foundation’s “How to Adopt Your Facility BMP Manual” workshops planned for this winter.  If you have any questions feel free to reach us at kenbenoit@nygcf.org.