SPECIAL FOCUS

Natural Leaders
in Golf

Illinois public golf course superintendents are nationwide leaders
in the drive toward a "greener" golf environment

BY KIM KELLY

Opposite: Abundant trees and ponds provide a scenic experience for golfers and a great habitat for wildlife at the Lake County Forest Preserve District's Countryside Golf Course. Bluebirds, wood ducks, purple martins, and bats reside in 33 next boxes built and monitored by volunteers. Inset photograph by Richard Becker.

When it comes to environmental stewardship, Illinois ranks high among leaders in the U.S. golf industry who are dedicated to managing golf courses with respect to nature.

Illinois golf course superintendents from forest preserves, municipal park and recreation departments, and park district golf courses are among those setting the pace in demonstrating a commitment to preserving and enhancing wildlife habitat, protecting natural resources, and educating others about the environmental benefits of golf courses.

According to Dr. Kimberly Erusha, director of education for the United States Golf Association (USGA), Illinois is among the top states taking action to ensure golf course maintenance practices have the best possible effects on the environment.

Through encouragement and direction from professional organizations such as the USGA, Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA), and Audubon International, Erusha says Illinois' superintendents are helping the U.S. golf industry deliver its environmental message that golf courses can provide valuable open spaces and contribute to a community's quality of life.

Audubon Internationals introduction in 1991 of the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program, a national program that provides information and guidance to golf courses on how to conduct proactive environmental projects, bolstered the golf industry's efforts to answer environmental concerns about loss of natural areas and potential pollution brought on by the golf course construction boom of the 1980s and 1990s.

Today, nearly 2,400 golf courses in the United States are participating in the Audubon program. Illinois membership is strong with 127 members, second only to Florida's 203. Of the 93 courses nationwide now fully certified as Audubon sanctuaries, 8 are located in Illinois.

A stalwart commitment to environmental quality is the trademark of the three Illinois agencies profiled in this article.

LAKE COUNTY COUNTRY IS VERY GREEN

Countryside Golf Course in Mundelein—a 470- acre, 36-hole course owned by the Lake County Forest Preserve District and winner of the 1996 Illinois Park and Recreation Association Conservation Program Award—is the third public golf course in

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the state and fourteenth in the nation to become a fully certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary. The environmental efforts of golf course superintendent Tom Morgensen, an Illinois native with an associate's degree in Horticulture from the College of Lake County, can be measured through a variety of environmental projects. Among them are no-mow vegetative buffers between turfgrass and areas that protect water resources and provide cover for a variety of wildlife and waterfowl; 33 nesting boxes for bluebirds, wood ducks, purple martins, and bats; supplemental planting of trees and shrubs each year; the introduction of native grasses and wildflowers; water conservation through limited use of an automated irrigation system; and water quality management of seven ponds and adjacent wetlands. At the heart of Morgensen's operation is a strict environmental management plan for insect, weed, and disease damage that keeps control measures to a minimum. An innovative Nature Tee Sign Program complements Countryside's Audubon projects by educating golfers about the environmental benefits of golf courses. All-weather aluminum signs depict course information and provide descriptions and artwork of the wildlife that inhabit the natural areas of the course. In particular, they focus on the kinds of habitat wildlife need to survive and explain how wise stewardship allows all of nature to flourish. Several supplemental materials, including the forest preserves' biannual Golf Stream newsletter, help Countryside reinforce its environmental message.

Below: Lake County's Nature Golf Tee Signs provide course layout information, educate golfers about the environmental benefits of golf ourses, and encourage public involvement in midlife protection. Photograph by Kim Kelly.

Wildlife abounds at the course. More than 60 mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds and native plants and thousands of insects make their home on the course. Bluebirds and wood ducks, whose populations were once threatened, now have the opportunity to thrive. The state- threatened egret also resides near Countryside's unspoiled wetlands.

Regarding Countryside's conservation efforts, Morgensen says, "Everybody wins. The golfer wins because he can enjoy the game of golf in a beautiful setting and learn about nature at the same time. The golf course wins because we're treating the environment in a kinder, more cost-efficient way."

Morgensen is a national merit winner of the 1997 Environmental Steward Award, a national competition sponsored by the GCSAA and golf-related industries, which offers superintendents the opportunity to showcase their overall management plans and innovative practices and be recognized for their high-level environmental stewardship efforts.

The Lake County Forest Preserves' Brae Loch Golf Course in Grayslake is also participating in the Audubon program, and designation will also be sought for the forest preserves' Fort Sheridan Golf Course when a land transfer from the U.S. Army is completed. In addition, ThunderHawk, a new Lake County Forest Preserve 18-hole championship course, will be one of the first golf courses in the state and nation to achieve Audubon Certified "Signature" status. A "Signature" course is designed to create a natural environment that preserves and protects the site's natural resources. ThunderHawk, designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr., is expected to open in the spring of 1999.

GLEN ELLYN GREENS LURE GOLFERS, BLUEBIRDS AND BULLFROGS

An all-out environmental approach and proactive community outreach program make the Village Links of Glen Ellyn another of the state's top models of environmental stewardship. The 240-acre, 27-hole facility located in the western Chicago suburb of Glen Ellyn, is the first public golf course in the nation fully certified as an Audubon wildlife sanctuary.

Superintendent Tim Kelly is a three-time National Public Golf Course winner of the GSCAA'S 1997 Environmental Steward Award. A 22-year veteran of golf course management, Kelly attributes the success of his conservation efforts to a sound land management plan that gives priority to the environment.

"We strive to apply conservation concepts to every aspect of our operation," says Kelly.

"We assess the usefulness, costs, and risks associated with various management tools, including irrigation, pesticides, and fertilizers. We enhance the environment by using lower risk alternatives whenever possible. We identify and remedy situations that could put the environment at risk."

One of Village Links' most innovative environmental features is its 21 interconnected lakes and ponds that double as the city's storm-water detention system. Also, in 1995 the courses 30-year-old maintenance facility was renovated to include separate areas for pesticide storage and a rinsing area for machinery, a move designed to protect course workers and the environment against human error or accident.

Village Links also has a strong recycling program, which includes recycling some unusual items like scrap metal, batteries, antifreeze and cooking oil.

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NATURAL LEADERS IN GOLF

The course's grass clippings are also recycled, in addition to soil plugs from greens aerification and sand from bunker renovations.

Education is also a key component of Kelly's successful conservation programs. He and his staff work with area schools and the community on backyard wildlife programs, give presentations at board meetings and to professional organizations, make occasional television and newspaper appearances, and contribute to a quarterly backyard wildlife newsletter.

Perhaps the best evidence of the Village Links' commitment to conservation is witnessed by taking a walk along the course. Rarely seen birds, such as the bluebird and wood ducks, now live on the property. Bullfrogs were recently discovered along with some nesting red-tailed hawks. Last year, Kelly discovered a black-crowned heron nest that produced three babies.

SUNSET VALLEY'S GREEN PROMOTES BIODIVERSITY

Sunset Valley Golf Course, an 18-hole course in Highland Park, is a park district golf course setting standards for environmental stewardship. Superintendent R. Brian Green, regional winner in the 1997 national Environmental Steward Award competition, has implemented a stream restoration project for the portion of the Skokie River that runs through the course. His use of bioengineering techniques and the introduction of native plants has become a leading example for the overall watershed strategy for the Chicago River.

According to Green, a Highland Park native with twenty years of experience in golf course management, the project was started to reduce erosion and sedimentation and to increase biodiversity and wildlife habitat around the stream. The project is enhanced by education for golfers and the general public through Friends of the Chicago River publications, in-house displays, and course signage. Other environmental projects at Sunset Valley include the restoration of the site's wetlands and savannas and a unique two-acre butterfly garden.

According to Green, taking environmental stewardship one step further and educating the public about its positive impact fuel his enthusiasm for his job.

"You may not know this," says Green, "but most of us golf course superintendents got into the business of golf because of our love of nature."

KIM KELLY
is the revenue facilities marketing coordinator for the lake County Forest Preserves.

What Others Are Saying About the
"Environmentally Friendly" Golf Course

"Concern for the environment is paramount to any development, especially golf courses....They are not just here for our lifetime.

— Jim McNair, golf course superintendent. Orchard Valley Golf Course, Fox Valley Park District

Our plan [for the district's five golf courses] is to let people know that golf courses are out there to enhance the environment with the environmental benefits they give it."

— Rick Anderson, director of golf, Decatur Park District

"I think that [environmental stewardship] is where everyone [in the park and recreation field] wants to go....I have a lot of support in my park district."

— Chuck Anfield, superintendent. Steeple Chase Golf Course, Mundelein Park District

[The Audubon program] puts golf courses in a good light, where I always thought they were in the first place."

— David Beno, superintendent, Bonnie Brook Golf Course, Waukegan Park District

"I think we're all over the lot. Some are the cutting edge of all you can do for the environment, some of the smaller [courses] are doing a decent job, but it's not a real high priority for them. On the whole, park districts are very representative of the industry."

— Randy Russell, division manager. Sports Management, City of Austin, Texas (NRPA Congress presenter on golf and the environment)

"Golf course architect design probably has been historically one of the most environmentally sensitive design disciplines there is. We arc very much seeing a trend in golf course design and management on how you can provide additional habitat. The ultimate experience is to lay out a course to maximize what is there."

— Denis Griffiths, president, American Society of Golf Course Architects

"Anyone involved in the golf course industry has a vested personal interest in the environment. By not speaking up and getting their houses in order, they're really doing themselves a disservice, they're doing the game a disservice, and a disservice to their environment by not helping others become the environmental stewards they can be....You can have a tremendous diversity of wildlife species [on a golf course] just like you have in a more traditional park setting."

— Ron Dodson, president, Audubon International

Resources for Golf Environmental Stewardship American Society of Golf Course Architects 201 N. LaSalle Street Chicago, IL 60601, 312,372.7090 Audubon International 46 Rarick Road Selkirk, NY 12158 518.767,9051

Golf Course Superintendents 1421 Research Park Drive Lawrence, KS 66049 913.841.2240 United States Golf Association Box 708 Far Hills, NJ 07931 908.234.2300 — Resources and quotes complied by Kirn Kelly

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