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Management companies getting the green light
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Orlando-based Grande Pines Golf Club (right) is one of many Marriott Golf-managed courses that has already achieved status as a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary. Wildlife and habitat management is one of several areas in which courses must demonstrate environmental quality. Marriott Golf announced a mandate for 34 of its golf courses to attain the environmental status by the end of this year. Photo courtesy of Marriott Golf |
At many golf courses, the goal of achieving status as a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary is one spearheaded by the superintendent or brought up by a club’s board of directors or perhaps a greens chairman.
But a growing trend has put golf course management companies at the helm of this environmental endeavor, implementing the process at an executive level and encouraging or even requiring the courses under their umbrellas to take part in achieving the environmental status.
One company making such a formal environmental effort is Marriott Golf, which announced in March new standards requiring 34 of its managed golf courses in North America, Canada and the Caribbean to become Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuaries by the end of 2008.
Billy Casper Golf is urging the courses it manages to strive for Audubon certification, as well. To help implement this initiative, the company in January hired Stuart Hartman, superintendent at Lederach Golf Club in Harleysville, Pa., (a course Billy Casper Golf manages) to dually serve as its director of environmental programs.
Hartman, who has already ushered a former course (Golden Oaks Golf Club in Fleetwood, Pa.) through Audubon certification and has another (Lederach GC) midway through the process, is acting as a consultant to superintendents of other Billy Casper-managed courses and guiding them through the sometimes complicated certification process, which includes environmental planning, wildlife and habitat management, outreach and education, chemical use reduction and safety, water conservation and water quality management.
He says of the 80-plus courses that Billy Casper Golf manages, 96 percent are either already registered in the program or a member of Audubon International. Eighteen courses are already certified, and Hartman hopes by next year that number will at least double.
It’s a step in the right direction for Billy Casper Golf, he says.
“It’s a company that understands the implications of the environment and how golf is impacting it, and if we can give ourselves a better perception to the golfer, that we are doing the right things for the environment, it’s a win-win for everyone concerned.
“A lot of (Billy Casper Golf’s) golf courses are privately owned, and it’s a real feather in their caps, as well, that we’ve become Audubon-certified to show the golfers and show the community.”
Though there’s no incentive set up at this time for superintendents who earn the certification, Hartman says they will be recognized at the company’s annual meeting.
Marriott’s move to mandate the certification is only part of the company’s broader initiatives, according to Robert Waller, senior director of grounds for Marriott.
The company, which manages a total of 62 golf courses at 46 locations in 13 countries, says it has been actively involved in energy conservation since the 1980s. Over the last decade, it has replaced 450,000 light bulbs with fluorescent lighting, introduced linen reuse programs and installed 400,000 low-flow showerheads and toilets at its hotels around the world. It also has replaced more than 2.5 million pieces of Styrofoam and plastic utensils at its corporate offices with biodegradable, environmentally friendly materials. These efforts helped the company earn the EPA’s 2008 Sustained Excellence award.
Marriott-managed courses that had attained status as Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuaries as of March include Stone Mountain (Ga.) GC; Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami; The Ritz-Carlton Members Club in Sarasota, Fla.; The Ritz-Carlton GC in Jupiter, Fla.; Grande Pines GC in Orlando; The Ritz-Carlton GC in Orlando; and Griffin Gate GC in Lexington, Ky.
Evolve Golf says it has produced the world’s only sustainable performance golf tee. The Epoch golf tee is made from renewable and recycled materials. In addition, the tees are said to last up to 10 times longer than tees made of wood or other renewable plant materials, which can lead to a reduction in tees used each round. Evolve Golf’s packaging, boxes and trade show booth materials are also constructed of recycled and renewable materials. Available in 3¼-, 2¾- and 1½-inch heights, the Epoch tees feature radius posts that span the width of a golf ball dimple, resulting in a low coefficient of friction between the ball and tee, deflection at impact and increased ball speed and control, the company adds. For more information, contact Evolve Golf, www.evolvegolf.com |
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