Where the golf benefits are big

The Lone Star Golf Course Superintendents Association has released a new video in collaboration with Radius Sports Group showing the mission of Texas golf course superintendents to provide valuable ecosystem services, quality playing conditions, jobs, and economic impact for the state. The video highlights the benefits of approximately 85,000 acres of greenspace, $7.4 billion of total economic impact, and 100,000 jobs driven by the Texas golf industry.

Texas golf’s green infrastructure includes 57,000 acres of rough, wetlands, and native terrain which supports wildlife and pollinator habitats, cools urban heat islands, mitigates flooding, and filters stormwater runoff. The three-minute video (https://www.texasgolfbmp.org/texas-golf-bmp-video) features water conservation best management practices, including use of drought-tolerant turfgrass species and recycled water for irrigation at 40 percent of Texas golf courses.

 “It is crucial to protect the open space within our great state,” Squaw Valley Golf Course general manager and LSGCSA President Jeff Hansen said. “This video shares how sustaining the health of our golf courses contributes to ecosystem benefits from 85,000 acres of green infrastructure – from cooling our cities to providing wildlife habitat, and so much more.”

Texas Golf BMPs drive sustainable resource management through 13 key areas, including water conservation and management, pollinator and wildlife protection, and energy conservation. A formal Texas Golf Industry BMP Guide was developed in collaboration with Reno-based Radius Sports Group in 2020.

“We're proud that Texas golf facilities are leaders in environmental stewardship,” said High Meadow Ranch Golf Club general manager and LSGCSA BMP committee chair Cody Spivey. “Texas golf course superintendents strive to leave the land better than they found it. Science-based BMPs ensure our golf courses are as healthy as possible now and for generations to come.”

The video and educational content was developed with the support of the Texas Golf Association, PGA North Texas and South Texas Sections, Texas Lone Star Chapter of the Club Management Association, Texas Alliance of Recreational Organizations, and supported in part by a grant from the GCSAA. The Texas Golf BMP Guide contributed to successful attainment of the GCSAA’s nationwide goal of 50 states establishing state specific BMPs by 2020. The initiative is a significant sports industry “first” showing the golf industry’s desire to lead environmental efforts through proactive measures.