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
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