Winter drought on golf courses in New Jersey and New York
In New Jersey, people aren’t talking about snowstorms or freezing cold these days, but about water. The arrow on the state drought monitor is glowing red. A drought warning has been in place in the states of New York and New Jersey since mid-November. October was the driest on record. However, while only a level two warning was issued for New York, New Jersey and some regions have slipped into level 3. Here, too, the main concern is still the independent restriction of citizens and businesses. Only at level 4 will the authorities really start to gradually cut off the water. For the greenkeepers in the region, however, a daily glance at the drought monitor has become standard practice. “We’ve actually been dealing with extreme drought since the end of October,” says Doug Warner, Superintendent at East Hampton Golf Club. The experienced superintendent, who was previously responsible for the course at Maidstone GC on Long Island, cannot remember conditions like this year. Normally, water consumption is not a problem in winter. After all, the temperatures drop and the grass doesn’t need watering. Before it freezes, the irrigation system is prepared for the winter anyway. “This is by far the largest amount of water I’ve ever needed this late in the year in my career,” is Warner’s summary.
His colleague Jennifer Morris, Superintendent at Westlake Golf and Country Club, who has also been a member of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America for almost 20 years, takes the same view. The situation at the two golf courses is quite different: Morris has access to storage ponds and a permit for the extraction of groundwater. East Hampton Golf Club, as is not uncommon in the region, uses municipal tap water, which the club pays for.
Design and floor make a big difference
However, the approach to irrigation at the courses is fundamentally different. The East Hampton Golf Club was planned as a classic course from the outset – partly due to the sandy subsoil – with comparatively hard fairways and little irrigation. “The members here like this rather classic design, they have no problem with the fairways not being really green, but rather brownish,” Warner notes with relief.
The situation is different at Westlake Golf and Country Club, a classic parkland course within a so-called golf community, where there is more irrigation from the ground up. “The buyers of the houses here also bought with the expectation that they would have a view of green roughs and a green golf course,” says Morris. This is often accompanied by the expectation that even rough areas next to the fairways will be watered. She herself is now trying to reduce water consumption and at the same time meet the expectations of members and residents.
Reduction of areas
Both superintendents didn’t just start saving water at the beginning of the dry phase this year anyway. From 2022 to 2023, we have already reduced water consumption by 6 million gallons, explains Warner with satisfaction. “Many irrigated areas that were superfluous were taken out of irrigation.” In 2023, annual water consumption was well below 100,000 cubic meters. Warner is a fan of “minimalist irrigation” under American specifications, has optimized the irrigation of tees and greens in detail and refined the system with his irrigation technician. Top quality is certainly expected at the private club, but is not defined by green color.
“It’s really important that we make golfers aware of the topic and educate them,” says Jennifer Morris, who is well aware that quality is often equated with the shade of dark green, especially by the average golfer. After all, many golfers are not aware of the effects of drought on the golf course. “We have been seeing the weather change for years and are trying to adapt.”
Water consumption becomes an image problem
After all, even in New York and New Jersey, there is always the danger that golf courses and their irrigation will come under the spotlight when it comes to excessive water consumption. “We’re trying to represent the industry here in a positive way,” says Morris of the Westlake Golf and Country Club. The fact that the club has invested in a completely new irrigation system has been helpful. Still, she sounds a little skeptical about the future.
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News & trends about sustainability in golf
Due to the enormous density of golf courses in New Jersey, the operators of the courses repeatedly come under public scrutiny. Bedminster Golf Club, one of the Trump golf courses, therefore had to explain at a public hearing in 2020 why it wanted to continue using around 240,000 cubic meters of water per year, more than three times the amount used at East Hampton Golf Club, for example. Elliot Dowling, Regional Director of the East Region of the USGA, knows how diverse the golf scene is in the region: according to him, different water sources are used, from well water to groundwater to drinking water. Self-sufficiency when it comes to water is now a big issue. “Most courses have enough water in ponds or from springs, at least under normal conditions. The sites in the region are recognizing the importance of self-sufficiency and are in the process of finding additional sources or expanding their storage ponds.”
Luckily it’s winter
The golf industry is now coming to the aid of winter. The sprinkler systems are turned off anyway, golfers are rarely on the courses. Snow has already fallen, at least in New York. Hopes are high that the water emergency will also disappear. At the same time, however, there is certainty that the issue of water management will remain even in this region in the north-east of the USA. State Water Conservation Guidelines for Golf Courses have long been in place. The realization is that drought is not automatically a summer issue or one that is reserved for states like Arizona, Nevada, California or New Mexico. Time to get used to other colors. Dark green is definitely out.
