Acommon topic during Course Consulting Service visits is stormwater management, which seems to be increasingly challenging. Golf courses can receive large volumes of stormwater which increases as upstream land is developed. Water features that could handle severe storms in the past are now overwhelmed, resulting in more-frequent damage to the golf course. Streambank erosion and long durations of standing water deteriorate turf health and playability, and can add to downstream issues. A dilemma occurs when a golf course wants to mitigate the damaging effects but costs and regulations become a barrier to implementing solutions. Fortunately, an emerging resource can be considered.
In 2022, the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) entered a partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to improve the understanding of environmental practices and environmental stewardship on golf courses. Since then, the EPA has developed many practical resources through their Smart Sectors program with an interest to build meaningful collaborations with golf courses. During a recent round of golf with Hunter Pates, a life scientist in the Water Division of EPA Region 3 (mid-Atlantic) who assists golf courses throughout the region, he explained how the program is committed to providing resources to support environmental improvement projects on golf courses like invasive plant control, stream and pond buffers, stream crossings, bank stabilization, pollinator habitat, stormwater management and more. I regularly see the need at many golf courses to mitigate increasing damage from severe weather and the Smart Sectors program provides technical and financial assistance for nearly all adverse environmental impacts. Technical solutions are available through many contractors and product suppliers, but this resource can also assist in navigating regulatory questions and concerns. Another program benefit is assistance finding federal funding opportunities that make sense for your golf course.
The Smart Sectors program is dedicated to proactively addressing adverse environmental impacts and is actively engaging with the golf course industry to improve understanding of current problems, the decision-making process and impacts of those decisions. Environmental improvement projects can be a daunting task, but the EPA Smart Sectors program has many resources for golf courses to enhance their commitment to environmental protection and sustainability efforts.
Northeast Region Agronomists:
Darin Bevard, senior director, Championship Agronomy – dbevard@usga.org
Elliott L. Dowling, regional director, East Region – edowling@usga.org
Brian Gietka, agronomist – bgietka@usga.org
Information on the USGA’s Course Consulting Service
Contact the Green Section Staff