| Chesapeake Bay holds more than 18 trillion gallons of turf-growing, course-maintaining water. Within 100 feet of the water’s edge, Queenstown Harbor Golf Course is in a prime position to take advantage of one of the most important and limited resources for courses nationwide. But when the first phase of a renovation and expansion completed this year, the 36-hole course was more water-lean and the pet example of environmental responsibility for state agencies, says John Anderes III, director of golf and grounds. “When people talk to the state agencies about being responsible, they send them to us now,” says Anderes. “They’re saying ‘This is what golf courses can do.’” Beginning the first phase of a master plan to build Queenstown Harbor into a holiday resort location on the shores of the Bay and Chester River, development was put in motion last August to renovate three holes and put in new cart paths. Along with those plans was a redesign and rebuilding of the remaining bunkers on the River course by McDonald and Sons. The $1.1 million phase started with plans to open up the course to the surrounding environment and draw more players and tourists to the developing resort. More course renovation will come with time, the overall course plan projected to $5 million. But those plans don’t entail just clearing space for a wide-open view of the water without any thought to the surroundings. “Our company has a pretty aggressive environmental position,” says Anderes. “We’ve always had an ownership in the company that’s tried to be proactive on that front. We wanted to make it a resort, but position it in places that would help everything.” Construction places the resort within two miles of water, but the renovated holes come much closer. The second hole on the River Course, a par 3, was able to move to within 100 feet of the water, putting the development right in the middle of the local ecosystem. Queenstown Harbor had their plans for how they wanted the finished course to look, but didn’t know how to design the holes to protect the water resources in the bay and use those available resources best for the turf. Since the Maryland Critical Areas Commission had to approve any project within 1,000 feet of Chesapeake Bay anyway, they decided to ask the experts rather than try it on their own. But they didn’t stop at just the MCAC. They talked to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, The Audubon Society, The Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center, Links to the Bay and Adkins Arboretum for advice on their plans. “We basically got to all of these groups ahead of time and said, ‘Here’s what we want to do. What’s the best thing we can do? What’s the best way we can handle animal habitats, watershed, erosion, everything?’” says Anderes. “Everybody’s got their input in up front. We could’ve just done our project and fixed things later, but we don’t like to operate that way. We wanted to get it right the first time. You’re going to end up with a better project in the end than if you do it on your own and take your best guess.” With so many groups involved, all with different intentions for the environment, the project could’ve been diluted into an environmental showcase but a lackluster course. But Anderes and the company stood strong on the design elements they thought would accentuate their goals for the property as long as they fell within legal guidelines. “We set a pretty clear expectation of what we wanted the end product to be,” says Anderes. “We said, ‘Here’s what we want to accomplish as a company in our strategic plan. We want input as to how to get there. What can we do to accomplish these goals?’ By setting those goals out front, some ideas didn’t get forced on us. We’d let them know that those ideas didn’t reach our goals.” Queenstown developed relationships with the groups and got good design plans that respected the Bay while making the best use of the land for the course: They created a corridor for wildlife, one or two clumps of more densely-planted turf with meadowland in between. They used native grasses where possible and on the Lakes course converted much of the bentgrass to a Patriot Bermuda. The bunkers on the River course were renovated with Sandtrapper II liners and borders with native grasses to keep the sand from washing toward the water. But the biggest way they worked with preserving the resources of the Bay was with the help of Turf Equipment and Suppy, their local Toro distributor. Anderes talked about the project with his contacts at the distributor and how they were maintaining the environment with their cultural practices. Then, between them, a connection sparked. “They decided to use this project as an opportunity,” says Anderes. “They came to us and said, ‘We’ll come in and we’ll supply everything you need for irrigation and make it an environmental showcase. We’ll trick it out to show our products.’” A partnership was born, and the Toro Company placed 177 heads on the par 3 hole, showing everything from their new heads to syringe loops. And though the number of heads seems high, the course has actually seen a big savings in water usage since installation. “The amount of heads out there actually means we’re using less water, not more,” says Anderes. “Instead of five heads just spraying everywhere, with less water you’re delivering to a much more specific area. It’s a pretty neat setup.” Even with all of the information he had already gotten from the earlier groups, Anderes saw the new irrigation system’s influence seep into the rest of the course, installing some of his own on other holes. “It’s been a good education for myself and my staff on using less water, with what can be done and seeing technology we can use around the course,” says Anderes. “We’ve already incorporated some of the new heads and syringe loops. Right now there are no water restrictions. I think we’d be foolish to think that’s going to continue.” Anderes adds the more efficient water usage levels to the other benefits he’s already gotten from the conscientious planning behind the start of the course renovations, as the course reopened mid-April. “I think everything we’ve done has all paid off,” he says. “Part of being a good business is good business. I’ve seen good response, good PR, big cost savings – I have yet to see a negative side to any of it. We’ve cut $35,000 in pesticides just by switching over to Bermuda. We use significantly less water and we’ve cut maintenance on some holes pretty close to half. The changes we’ve made on the other holes will save time and labor.” But another part of being responsible with his resources is a true call to the turf for Anderes. “This is why we’re doing what we’re doing,” he says. “It makes sense environmentally, it makes sense for our guests. The main goal of the super is to be a good steward of the land.” |
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