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Golfer expectations play a big role in how courses are managed, especially when it comes to watering. Many golf courses end up watering more than what is necessary to maintain healthy grass because they are trying meet golfer expectations for aesthetics and presentation. Whether it’s keeping playing surfaces lush and green during dry weather or maintaining large expanses of irrigated turf in out-of-play areas, trying to keep golfers happy can come at the expense of efficient water use and optimal playing conditions.

Beyond daily maintenance, golfer expectations also come into play when courses have to address short-term water issues like a drought, or if they are trying to make long-term reductions in water use. Using less water – whether by choice or out of necessity – is going to change how a course looks and plays. That doesn’t mean the course will not look or play as good, but it will be different than what golfers are used to. Understanding what matters most to the golfers at a particular course and taking steps to educate, persuade and build “buy-in” is a critical part of successful water conservation.

Golfer expectations are built around established norms, but expectations can be changed. There are many examples of golf courses that have dramatically decreased water use, established a new set of expectations among their customers, and improved their business in the process. Communication, as always, is key. In the USGA Water Conservation Playbook, we have a chapter that goes into detail about managing golfer expectations to help conserve water. The following is a summary of the key points.

"Golfer expectations are built around established norms, but expectations can be changed."

Common Scenarios

Water-Use Restrictions and Shortages

During drought or water restrictions, proactive communication helps golfers know what to expect. This is important because even short periods of drought or relatively minor watering restrictions can cause sizeable impacts on a golf course depending on the course’s situation and the duration of the water shortage. It may be easy enough to explain some short-term dry spots in peripheral areas of the course, but long-lasting water shortages force difficult choices and it’s important to have open conversations about how to handle irrigation reduction. Obviously, greens, tees and fairways are a priority for watering, but what if a course has to cut water use even further? What if the drought or restrictions may go on indefinitely? It’s important to be transparent about the potential impacts and to be honest about the uncertainty that may exist.

Long-Term Water Conservation Plans

Long-term strategies to decrease overall water use will affect playing conditions and course appearance. Golf courses that are thinking about these changes should have an overall water conservation plan that helps golfers understand the short- and long-term implications of water saving strategies and the costs and benefits of different approaches. Making changes without informing golfers – even if the changes improve course conditions in the long term – can lead to complaints. Being proactive about explaining water-use strategies and asking for feedback where choices exist helps ease some of the pains associated with change. In many cases, golfers must approve the spending for something like a new irrigation system or a turf conversion project, so without their support water conservation simply cannot happen.

Considerations

Droughts or mandates for significant water reductions are very likely to impair playing conditions, turf health and course aesthetics. Golfers may be understanding of some short-term impacts, but they can become increasingly restless if the shortage wears on and course conditions continue to suffer. Recovering from drought or water restrictions also requires patience. Just because rain has returned or water is available again doesn’t mean that the course will go right back to normal. Turf damage from a lack of water may last for months depending on the grass type, time of year and budget for recovery. All of this has to be explained, and golfers might still be unhappy regardless of how well informed they are.

When it comes to making longer-term changes, it’s important to honestly evaluate the expected impacts and explain various trade-offs. Golfers need to understand that it will take time for major changes to settle in and for the full benefits to be realized. It could take several years before water-saving naturalized areas look and play as desired. In the meantime, they may be too dense, too weedy, too thin or anywhere in between. Similar patience is required when converting turf areas to grasses that use less water. The course may eventually play firmer and faster for more of the year, but not until the new grass is fully established and new management practices have been refined, which may take more than a year. Some courses may have no choice but to reduce water in ways that impair playing conditions and presentation. In these situations, it’s important to explain why and talk about how the facility is working to achieve the best experience possible under a new reality.

Implementation

Managing golfer expectations and building support for water conservation strategies is not easy. Making meaningful change never is! Here are a few effective steps courses can take:

  • Prioritize strategies that can potentially improve the golfer experience or keep negative impacts to a minimum. There are many ways to save water, some affect playing conditions and presentation less than others.

  • Have a flexible, readily available drought-emergency plan to prevent surprises when water supply issues arise. Give golfers and facility leadership a chance to weigh in on target areas for watering reduction to help build support for the plan if it ever needs to be put into action.

  • Let golfers know about water conservation goals by providing clearly defined targets. Explain how much water the course is looking to save and why – whether it’s to reduce costs, manage droughts, improve playing conditions, or any other reason – and explain the changes golfers can expect to see on the course as a result.

  • Demonstrate water saving strategies in areas where golfers can see them in action and offer input on various options. Host workshops or informational sessions, provide side-by-side test areas on the course, or visit nearby courses that have implemented similar projects to help stakeholders visualize the changes ahead of time and share their preferences.
     

Tips for Success

Managing and changing expectations is not easy, but it’s necessary for successful water conservation. Communicating early, often, and in a variety of ways helps raise awareness about why a course may want or need to decrease water use. Be proactive and educate golfers about the water issues a course faces today and in the future. Highlight any short- or long-term benefits that come with water conservation – whether that’s firmer and faster conditions or a better chance that the course can stay open for business. Develop baseline metrics for water use and objective conservation goals. That makes talking about how to achieve those goals much easier. Show the impacts of different strategies in a way that allows golfers to experience them firsthand to build support. Don’t let a lack of communication and education derail the important work of water conservation.