Virginia Golfer Sep / Oct 2019 | Page 30

For superintendents, having an environmentally sound property is an important part of the job, equally as important as keeping fairways and greens in great shape. DAYLILY designed to promote monarch butterfly habitats by planting milkweed, on which the insects feed. “There is more wildlife on this golf course now than when I started here 22 years ago,” Wheeler said. Kingsmill has cooperated with the Vir- ginia Bluebird Society to create a Bluebird Trail. By mid-July this year on its three golf courses, a total of 200 bluebird chicks fledged from the bird houses, along with On Kingsmill’s three golf courses, a total of 200 bluebird chicks fledged from the bird houses by mid-July this year. Belle Haven Country Club in Alexandria now has six on-course beehives that produce honey sold in the club’s pro shop. six house wrens and two Carolina wrens. Four resident Kingsmill members mon- itored the bird boxes, performed weekly checks and collected data. “That’s something we’re very proud of and that speaks to how we’re managing these golf courses and how great this prop- erty is for wildlife to flourish,” Doran said. Belle Haven Country Club in Alexandria now has six on-course beehives that produce honey sold in the club’s pro shop. Members delight in the different-colored honeys that result from the different flowering plants used by bees throughout the course. “The hives help with pollination and some of the environmental things we’re doing has created additional excitement with the mem- bership,” said Mike Augustin, Belle Haven’s superintendent and recipient of the VGCSA’s 2018 Environmental Stewardship Award. While Augustin’s course is not yet Audubon-certified, the veteran superin- tendent has worked with his crew to con- stantly reduce managed turf, introduce more native-grass areas, and to create buffer zones using higher grasses around lakes to minimize nutrients seeping into water bodies. His course borders the Potomac River, so Augustin understands the importance of conscientious manage- ment of land and water. “We’re always under the microscope being so close to Washington and the Potomac River and any wrong move we make could be a blemish on the club or our membership,” he said. “We always want to be good environmental stewards while also producing a quality product that our members and their guests can enjoy.” Located adjacent to the James River, Kingsmill also utilizes buffer zones around the creeks, ponds, lakes and wet- land areas on its courses. “We have very minimal [chemical] input to begin with, but these are no-spray and no-fertilizer zones and extra precautions are taken around the buffer zones sur- rounding every body of water, whether it’s a small holding pond or a creek feeding into the James River,” Doran added. Springfield Golf & Country Club Springfield replaced its irrigation system in 2012 and it esti- mates the course is saving nearly 25 percent compared to previous water usage. It also pulls water from a six-acre lake on the property that is replenished by rainwater. WILDFLOWERS 28 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 vsga.org