Drought? High water costs? What does this actually mean for a top course in the USA, which is located in the middle of California? In a state where water management has been an ongoing issue for years. At Monarch Beach Golf Links, we come across a course 1.5 hours south of Los Angeles, where residents and tourists have high expectations of the quality of the Robert Trent Jones course. How do management and greenkeeping reconcile all of this: saving water, maintaining high quality, and sustainable management?
Jim is what you would call an ambassador. One of those members who have opted for Premium Membership because they are always at the club, know a lot and question some things. Which is why he points to the large areas where bushes and ground cover are beginning to form a cohesive picture on the second tee during a round together. “All new dry areas,” he says. “We have to save water.”
Eric Lohman, General Manager of the course, which was opened in 1983 when water was not yet a crisis issue, immediately agrees with him at this point. “We try to convert around 15.000 square feet of fairway every year. We are now in our fifth year.” The end of the project is not yet in sight. Given the water shortage in the southwest of the USA, the authorities demand that golf courses reduce their irrigated areas. In many regions, there are also subsidies for this.
However, the pressure to convert is automatic. “In some areas, water has surpassed labor as the highest expense for golf course maintenance,” says Brianne Kenny, Manager of Environmental Services at Troon International, which operates not only Monarch Beach Links but numerous high-end facilities in the southwest of the USA. “That drives motivation to reduce use.”
Recycled water is the standard
The majority of golf courses in California already use recycled water anyway. However, its price is rising continuously. Golf courses in the Midwest can expect the price for 1000 gallons to rise from about seven to ten dollars in the future. After two significant droughts in the past five years, golf courses are not the only ones that have to rethink the water issue. Anyone driving along the coast will come across posters at playgrounds and green spaces. Watering gardens is strictly regulated. A kind of water police controls it.
Those who tend to be wasteful get a correspondingly high bill. According to the USGA, the average water budget in the southwest of the USA is between 600,000 and 1,000,000 dollars – a cost factor that not every golf course can generate. However, it is also reflected in the green fee prices. Monarch Beach Golf Links is no exception on California’s coast with a maximum rate of around 300 dollars for 18 holes. If you can’t achieve high green fees, you have to lower the quality. The price of water in this area has long since become a reason for the closure of golf courses.
“We try to save water and still keep the course at a high quality and make it visually appealing for the golfer. At the same time, we have to keep the typical golfer in mind,” says Lohman, explaining the requirements profile for successful water management. That doesn’t sound easy.
The reduction of grass in favour of dry areas with few or no plants has its pitfalls. In Bri Kenny’s experience, the main protest comes from homeowners whose properties are next to the golf course. “It can create a lot more dust in an arid environment and it is not aesthetically pleasing.” Plus, there are the costs of creating the so-called dry zones. To make them as appealing as possible for golfers and residents, large areas are planned by landscape gardeners and planted with suitable plants. That is expensive.
Finally, there is the golfer who has to live with the fact that bad shots no longer end on perfectly mown grass. At Monarch Beach Golf Links, the problem has been solved pragmatically for the time being. A shot into the dry zones means a penalty-free shot from the edge of the fairway. “At the moment, the golfers are all happy with the change,” is Lohman’s assessment.
Subscribe to our newsletter!
News & trends about sustainability in golf
Recycled water has also been accepted for a long time – its use is mandatory and therefore there is no alternative. However, it is not easy to use it in greenkeeping. Sometimes there is a lack of quality and the water is sometimes enriched with certain elements. “We also do a lot more mechanically,” says Lohman. “Topdressing, aerifying, sanding. There are a lot of things we have changed.” The course is still in first-class condition. As a high-end resort with a Waldorf-Astoria hotel next to the 18th green and a Ritz Carlton hotel around the corner, business is no different.
“Drought programs are a constant discussion on our courses, and I talk with superintendents about having a Drought Management Plan on every site visit” says Kenny, explaining the approach of Troon, America’s largest golf course management company. ” If they face an unexpected water shortage they know how they proceed and how they will communicate to their stakeholders what they are doing and why.”
In her experience, interest in the topic has long since increased. More and more facilities are launching projects that lead to drought resilience. “We even recently had a club decide to create its own water committee that will focus on water conservation projects and long-term planning for their club.”
Golf courses are the flagship project
In California, people often look to Las Vegas with envy. “Water management there works on a completely different level,” says Krista Guerrero from the Metropolitan Water District, who is responsible for supplying water to some of the golf courses. As a customer, however, she is delighted with them. “The golf courses are our flagship project when it comes to saving water,” she says, while at the same time making it clear that the price of recycled water will continue to rise as its quality improves. So, golf course operators who don’t want to increase their budget have no choice. There is no alternative to saving water.
Image: USGA