“We can’t operate our business if we’re
polluting, not taking care of our lands or
not looking out for wildlife. Our job is about
being good stewards of our natural resources.”
—David Norman, executive director of the Virginia Golf Course
Superintendents Association
None of these things occur by coin-
cidence. Rather, they are the result of
careful planning and maintenance by golf
course superintendents focused on sound
stewardship practices on the properties
they shepherd.
“Environmental stewardship is where
we start,” said David Norman, executive
director of the Virginia Golf Course Super-
intendents Association. “We can’t operate
our business if we’re polluting, not taking
care of our lands or not looking out for
wildlife. Our job is about being good stew-
ards of our natural resources.”
While golf courses throughout the state
range from the mountains to the Tidewa-
ter region to metro Washington, D.C., one
thing they all have in common is a new
focus that courses can better coexist with
their surrounding environments.
To encourage that effort, the VGCSA,
working alongside other state and national
agencies, has attempted to get all course
superintendents on the same page with
best management practices. One such ini-
tiative came when a nutrient management
26
Getting Audubon
International certification
is the “best thing I’ve
done since I’ve been
in this business,”
said Springfield Golf
and Country Club
superintendent Lentz
Wheeler, shown at left
with Jack Gill and the
course’s two dogs.
plan was established
in July 2017 to help
golf course superin-
tendents prudently
minimize chemical
usage—cutting back
on the use of herbi-
cides, pesticides and fertilizers.
What was the result of that effort? Nor-
man said 99 percent of all Virginia golf
courses are currently using the plan.
Most superintendents at those same
courses are also using a comprehensive
“Environmental Best Management Prac-
V I R G I N I A G O L F E R | S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 19
tices for Virginia’s Golf Courses” manual
that outlines everything from irrigation,
surface water management, water quality
monitoring and nutrient management to
reducing environmental impacts, improv-
ing turf quality and understanding native
wildlife habitat.
vsga.org