I have been receiving calls from my fellow club managers around the country asking about the best methods in dealing with an invasion of Canada geese. They are calling me for advice because of a situation at my club (North Ridge Country Club in Raleigh, North Carolina) that received extensive coverage in both the national and local media last year.

It all started in the summer of 2001, when we realized that our Canada geese population had, at last, taken over our golf courses. When our golf courses were built in the late 1960s, we had virtually no Canada geese on the property æ an important observation because it shows that we did not chase the geese from their natural habitat. They invaded ours! In fact, our club has always had a long tradition of protecting and even encouraging the indigenous animal populations to flourish throughout our entire property.

As I am sure most of you are aware, the damage and destruction a large flock of Canada geese can cause on a golf course is unbelievable. Canada geese can not only destroy a green by eating the turf and picking it apart but also by spreading foreign grasses and weeds into the greens through their droppings. These foreign grasses and weeds will eventually take over and destroy a green, and there is not much you can do to isolate the infection. In trying to kill the foreign grasses and weeds, you often damage or kill the grass you are trying to protect.

Of equal significance, a Canada goose can produce as much as three pounds of feces a day. We had approximately 350 geese at any given time (you do the math!). While our greens and fairways were literally being eaten alive, causing tens of thousands of dollars in damages, the tons of feces being generated by the geese each week created a messy and unsanitary environment for our children and adult golfers.

We tried everything from pyrotechnics to chemical sprays to filament wire and metallic stripping around our bodies of water. After all these bizarre attempts, we went one step further and purchased a trained border collie (the popular solution at the time). Although our border collie æ Sidney by name æ was ineffective initially, he did prove to be a key component in our final solution.

Since Canada geese are federally protected, we sought a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to have the geese captured and relocated. Unfortunately, the permit that we ultimately received required that the captured geese be euthanized. This solution was not popular with a number of our members. While we were reviewing our options, word of the permit and its terms leaked out to the press, and it fast became a public relations nightmare.

At this time, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) of Wake County contacted us. The SPCA understood the issues and offered to assist us in developing a plan that would accomplish our goal of relocating the geese without having them destroyed. The SPCA put us in touch with an organization called GeesePeace, a non-profit group from Virginia devoted to peaceful resolution of human/geese conflicts.

I was skeptical to say the least, but we were willing to try almost anything.

We sat down with GeesePeace and the SPCA of Wake County. David Feld represented GeesePeace. My president and president-elect joined me in representing our club. After about a one-hour meeting, we felt we had a plan that was worth a try. The plan was simplistic in its design but proved to be smashingly effective. David and his team showed up the next day with some volunteers from the SPCA of Wake County. They imported a team of border collies from Virginia. We purchased a small boat with an electric motor, and we borrowed another.

We have two golf courses with one lake on each course. The geese had never feared our border collie because they always had safe haven. Our dog would chase them into the water, and they would simply swim to the middle and relax because of the limited swimming range of the dog. Now it was different. The dogs were put into the boats and transported directly to the geese. One boat was placed in each lake, manned with a driver and a life-jacketed border collie. Additionally, teams of dogs and volunteers were positioned around the perimeters of both lakes.

The geese went berserk! When you hear the sounds that they make during this process, you will never forget it! They were confused, mad and disoriented. At first, they swam or flew to another area of the lake only to find a team of volunteers and border collies waiting on shore. The geese were obviously perturbed. If Dr. Doolittle had been present, I am sure he would have heard some real “fowl talk.”

This procedure lasted about one hour. At that time, the geese decided to evacuate this area. They flew away and went directly to the lake on the other golf course. Much to their chagrin, another boat and geese patrol team was waiting. The same routine was put into action. About one hour later, they took off. Some left the property; some flew back to the first lake æ but not for long!

By the end of the day, there were no geese to be found on our property. David informed me that they would most likely be back the next day since geese are persistent. The geese did show up the next day only to find GeesePeace and company waiting for them. They did not stick around for a reenactment.

I remember thinking to myself, “this might actually work.” David stayed around for a couple days and gave our staff a hands-on educational lesson on geese evacuation maintenance. By the time he left us, we were proficient in Canada geese patrol.

It is now almost one year later and I must tell you, this plan works! Sure, we get a few geese back from time to time, but they don’t stay very long after experiencing the wrath of “Sidney the Great.” In the months that followed, the employees of North Ridge Country Club voted Sidney the border collie “Employee of the Month” and he was given a special presidential commendation in the club newsletter.

Also, Sidney made a personal appearance and was honored at the SPCA’s annual charity event, “The Fur Ball.” (Sidney spent that whole day at the beauty parlor.)

Sidney was now a star. I remember lying in bed one night trying to relax and forget about all the newspaper and TV reporters that had been camped out at my club and hounding me day and night. I had my TV on a national, late night talk show, and right there on my screen was a clip of Sidney, riding in a boat with his life jacket on and chasing geese!

If you have a Canada geese problem and you need some help, I would recommend that you call GeesePeace. If you are committed to resolving your problem, GeesePeace will show you the way. Contact GeesePeace at (703) 354-1713.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the fact that I was especially proud when the members of North Ridge Country Club (the greatest membership in the world) took up a collection for both GeesePeace and the SPCA of Wake County in appreciation for their help and guidance through this problem.

Thank you, GeesePeace and the SPCA of Wake County.

James M. Fazzini is the GM/COO of North Ridge CC, in Raleigh, NC.