Program Seeks to Alter Image of Northwest Golf Courses

A new organization has been formed that intends to reverse the perception of golf courses as polluters. The Northwest Golf Course Environmental Alliance has been formed by several Oregon and Washington golf course superintendents. The group hopes to establish guidelines that show chemicals are used with restraint, that water quality is constantly monitored, and that wildlife is encouraged to flourish on golf courses.

One of the organizers is David Phipps, superintendent for Stone Creek Golf Club in Oregon City. As Phipps told reporter Catherine Trevison of the (Portland) Oregonian, the group wants to �gdispel the belief that golf courses are polluting the environment. We�fre not. We�fre actually beneficial.�h

The alliance recently kicked off its new effort at the annual environmental committee meeting of the Northwest Turfgrass Association in mid-November at the Mountain in Welches, Ore. Owing somewhat to the national Audubon Sanctuary Program, the Northwest Golf Course Environmental Alliance has established three main requirements for certification through its program:

�œ First, courses must follow a set of environmental guidelines developed about five years ago for local courses. They include best practices for fertilization and irrigation, and programs for pest management, water quality and wildlife habitat protection. Right now, 23 courses out of the 400 golf facilities in Oregon and Washington follow these guidelines.

�œ Courses must also apply for certification through the Audubon program and work with the local community. Efforts in these areas could include participation on watershed councils, birding tours and/or schoolchildren education.

�œ Finally, the streams and ponds found on a golf course must be tested twice a year. Though such tests are costly, ranging in price from $2,000 to $3,000 each, they reveal whether fertilizers, herbicides or fungicides are seeping into the water. After applying for certification, Phipps said the course must prove these tests have been made over a three-year period of. Each course�fs application and records will be evaluated by a group that includes environmentalists and toxicologists.

�gWe�fre going to put some teeth in this program,�h Phipps told Trevison. �gSo when someone does achieve certification, it�fs going to mean something.�h