Natural golf courses redefine green

Controlling pesticide use
Hugh Williams said letting areas such as banks of water hazards and collection spots around greens remain as they might have been before course construction helps maintain costs and save wildlife.

“Those are areas where you don’t need things like fertilizers and pesticides,” he said.

For those areas that do need maintenance, Oldfield picks out individual spots instead of the scatter-gun spray method seen in years past. A computer system allows Williams to control watering time. Sensors tell staffers when watering should stop.

An irrigation system collects runoff water and filters it so it can be used again. The Ocean Course, Pete Dye’s famed layout on Kiawah Island, uses a similar filtering technique to conserve water.

These days, wildlife often makes good business sense, too.

Oldfield’s golfers — the course has a relatively modest 12,000 rounds a year, Williams said — are treated to sights you’re not going to find at the local muni.

“People love to see wildlife on golf courses,” Borman said. “They love to see birds. They love to see trees.”

Tips on golfing, nature
Oldfield goes a step further.

On one side of the course yardage guide are the usual golf tips such as avoiding the live oak on the front side of the sixth green. On the other side, there are notes about natural attractions.

“The wildlife found in this area includes foxes, white-tailed deer, fox squirrels and a diverse population of birds including wild turkeys, wood storks and tricolored herons,” the guide says.

Borman says his organization holds seminars and lectures about the advantages of Audubon’s certification programs. He links interested course owners and superintendents with others who’ve gone through the process.

Oldfield’s Williams is ready to pass on what he knows.

“You can’t play a round of golf out here without seeing something you’ll remember,” he said. “That’s what we want.”

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