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ADVANCING THE GAME

Water-Saving Strategies That Are Making An Impact

By Brian Whitlark, Regional Director, West Region

| Apr 12, 2023 | Liberty Corner, N.J.

Using turfgrasses that require less water in fairways and roughs has helped courses in the West save significant amounts of water.

Golf courses in western states face immediate challenges with escalating water costs, the risk of water restrictions, and water quality concerns. In many areas, golf course water budgets range from $250,000 to over $1 million per year.

With chronic drought conditions along the Colorado River Basin forcing states to reduce water allocated from the river, golf courses feel the trickle-down effect through use restrictions and higher costs. In response, courses in California, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico are using innovative strategies to reduce water consumption while still providing quality playing surfaces for golfers to enjoy.

California course managers have used various strategies to decrease water use. Some of the biggest successes have been seen when courses convert large playing areas from cool-season grasses – e.g., ryegrass and Kentucky bluegrass – to bermudagrass, which requires less water and is more drought-tolerant. Superintendents report that converting fairways to bermudagrass reduced fairway watering by 25% and allowed for firmer and faster playing conditions.

In areas with high water costs, these projects can pay for themselves in as little as six or seven years. Some courses are also using in-ground moisture sensors to assist with irrigation scheduling. Superintendents find they can apply less water or water less frequently when they know exactly how much moisture is in the soil. 

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In-ground moisture sensors help superintendents use less water by tracking exactly how much water is in the soil.

In southern Nevada and southern Arizona, overseeding bermudagrass with ryegrass is a common practice to provide an actively growing grass during the prime fall and winter golf season. However, overseeding requires a significant amount of water that is increasingly expensive and scarce. To manage this issue, courses are reducing their overseeded area and some have eliminated overseeding altogether.

Superintendents are also experimenting with new grasses that retain winter color better, begin growing earlier in the spring and have improved traffic tolerance – traits that can reduce the need for overseeding in the future. Furthermore, these new grasses perform well when irrigated with 20% less water than standard bermudagrass. Superintendents are also evaluating zoysiagrass as a non-overseeded option. It provides a robust playing surface with excellent traffic tolerance and better dormant conditions than bermudagrass.

In Santa Fe, New Mexico, the Las Campanas Resort courses use subsurface drip irrigation to achieve substantial water savings. Drip lines running approximately 6 inches underground provide water right to the turf roots with no evaporation or off-target watering. Las Campanas is using this strategy on teeing grounds and has also included some rough areas. The water savings have been remarkable – research shows 50% to 80% water savings compared to watering with normal sprinklers.

USGA-funded research is currently studying these and other water-saving strategies that can help courses deliver better playing conditions, save money and use less of this essential resource.