Member Clubs
Lightning in a Bottle
How one VSGA member club and a Virginia water company are fighting the good fight on the sustainability front // by CHRIS LANG
INCE ZANGARDI , the director of food and beverage at Williamsburg ’ s Kiskiack Golf Club , had already implemented several changes to the club ’ s inventory with a nod to sustainability in mind . Upon his arrival , he immediately scrapped plastic cutlery and straws . The club replaced plastic bags for serving beverages to golfers at the turn to small reusable coolers .
“ When I first began this program about seven years ago , switching to eco-friendly sustainable options in the food and beverage program was paramount for me ,” he said . “ It was definitely high priority .”
The father-son team of Steve , left , and Nick Brown run Virginia Artesian .
But one major change was tougher to make than others — finding a way to phase out the ubiquitous plastic water bottle .
“ Plastic water bottles are almost the most villainous single-use plastic out there ,” Zangardi said . “ We ’ re doing 35,000 rounds a year . People are drinking multiple bottles of water a round . It was just a ton of plastic .”
Zangardi reached out to contacts at Coca-Cola and Budweiser , looking for a non-plastic option for the club but found little success . Then , “ by a stroke of luck ,” as he
KISKIACK GOLF CLUB ; VIRGINIA ARTESIAN
10 V IRGINIA G OLFER | J ANUARY / F EBRUARY 2023
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