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2015 in the golf industry: The good, bad and ugly

By |  January 25, 2016 0 Comments
Joel Jackson

Joel Jackson

I am not naming names, but this column title almost sounds like it could be a slogan for the 2016 presidential nomination race. Or maybe it’s just an evaluation of the whole field. It’s unfortunate that 2015 ended on such a negative note, with terrorism reminding us that we need to stick together to survive and prosper.

Our industry, the sports and recreation industry, creates environmental, economic and social impacts, and we need to focus on doing all the right things to make sure the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people, as well as our natural resources, are protected forever.

Evidence of our overall continuing stewardship was revealed recently when the GCSAA reported that data compiled by the USGA in a survey funded through the Environmental Institute for Golf showed that from 2005 to 2013 courses used 22 percent less water, and that golf used only 1.44 percent of all irrigation water in the U.S. for course maintenance. So much for the “big water waster” claims from some so-called environmental groups.

And here in California, golf clubs, with the expertise of golf course superintendents, have formulated various water conservation measures. These have ranged from the types of water sources used to turf reduction and native plant programs, as well as cultural management programs that include wetting agents and penetrants.

While golf rarely is in the public eye except for high profile USGA and PGA tournaments, the GCSAA took steps in 2015 to make sure our good work gets the attention it deserves. The hiring of Bob Helland, formerly with Washington D.C. lobbying firm Reed Smith for more than 10 years, as the director of congressional and federal affairs, will advance our presence when legislative boondoggles like the Environmental Protection Agency’s Waters of the United States (WOTUS) bill come to the attention of Congress.

I really don’t mean to be snarky, but isn’t the EPA the party responsible for the disastrous polluting of the Animas River with waste from an abandoned gold mine in Colorado, which also affected water use downstream in New Mexico and Arizona? Wasn’t that river part of WOTUS?

I hope that Helland’s presence will also help develop the fledgling GCSAA Grassroots Ambassadors program. This is exactly the type of approach that we have needed to help make that transition from local grassroots issues to federal legislation. I see that the initial startup includes 24 volunteers in 14 states. It’s a start, but supers in all 50 states need to step up. Regulatory issues are only going to expand in this hyper-environmental climate-changing atmosphere we’re quickly entering.

I know the call for volunteers to serve at the local level is like a broken record, but I do have a slightly different spin on this call to arms: Put your mouth where the money is!

The biggest missing piece of the advocacy puzzle is the golfers and club members who enjoy and benefit the most from having healthy, thriving golf clubs. These are the folks who rub elbows with the movers and shakers at all levels of government. We need to enlist them in the cause of advancing sound best management practices to protect golf and the environment.

We don’t need to continuously mount counter-attacks against poorly researched legislation like WOTUS. EPA already keeps cancelling pesticides, which keeps challenging superintendents to come up with new practices to control pests and diseases.

The folks at Pellucid, a golf business solutions and data analysis company, have constantly reported on the slow-but-sure recovery of the golf industry after the recession. Now is the time to raise your hand, step up and volunteer with your local chapter or the GCSAA. Your livelihood might depend on it!

Won’t you be seen in 2016?

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