H2-woes

I always enjoy my chats with Bruce Williams. The guy is just a wealth of knowledge and insight. In fact, a few weeks back we were talking about his article for this month’s issue (“Water realities,” page 64) and I was explaining to him that we were devoting the bulk of June’s editorial content to water issues.

So Bruce adds a bit of historical perspective. In the game’s four-century journey to become a global phenomena, he explains that those early Scottish golf courses never had to worry about irrigation due to the climate, grass types and overall playing conditions that were just accepted as part of the game. It’s the modern evolution of the game, he adds, that has not only altered the look and feel of today’s courses, but also has dictated golfers’ high expectations. As a result, it’s the quest to meet these expectations that have increased the game’s dependence on water.

Bruce offers an interesting anecdote. Throughout the game’s modern age superintendents have proven themselves to be great stewards of all of their resources, water included. But this hasn’t altered the ever-increasing societal pressure to reduce golf’s access to water. When it comes to water, there’s only one certainty: If you haven’t had to deal with water restriction issues yet, you will and probably sooner than later.

As a result of this water pressure, superintendents have learned to adapt. Not only are they finding new sources to harness available water (“Gray is the new green,” page 18), but they’re initiating innovative methods to get more out of this limited resource (“Improved flexibility,” page 70) by making water more effective. As such, having  opportunity to share some of these stories was the inspiration for devoting an issue’s core contents to water issues.

In addition, each of your favorite GCI columnists offers their take on water issues as they relate to their respective unique segments of the industry.

But it doesn’t stop with just the print issue. Throughout June we’ll be adding more original water-related content to the GCI website and the Fast & Firm enewsletters. Also, if you’re following us on Facebook and Twitter, we’ll give you a heads up each time a new article is posted.

Lastly, in addition to sharing more of these great from-the-field stories with you, hopefully we’ll inspire many of you to share your stories with us. If you’ve been engaged in some innovative water-related practices, or you’d like to provide some feedback or commentary on one of the columns or features you’ve read in this issue or online, be sure to email us at gci@gie.net. We’ll share your stories, thoughts and opinions with all the GCI faithful online and in future issues.

Only by working together as an industry and sharing best-water-usage practices can we become less dependent and constrained by increased water restrictions.