Page 46 - Las Vegas Golf & Leisure Magazine Winter 2022

GOLF

and industrial areas rather than golf courses. Golf courses management practices throughout the nation, which basi-
make up such a small percentage of that water, but we still cally means we put ‘best management practices guides’ into
do everything we can to minimize waste including imple- place in all 50 states, and Nevada was one of the early lead-
menting state-of-the-art technology and also constantly ers in doing that,” he says. “The guide includes 14 chapters
monitoring our usage.” According to statistics, golf courses of the best management practices. Not only does it cover
make up six percent of total water use in Southern Nevada water, but it covers areas of construction, maintenance,
while residents use more than 60 percent. operations, nutrient management, pesticide management,
dust control, energy management and more. It’s a great
With input from golf course superintendents, academia, template for how to successfully manage a golf course from
environmental consultants, state and local regulatory agen- a maintenance standpoint and from an environmental sus-
cies, and golf industry experts, the Nevada Best Management tainability standpoint. It really emphasizes how to be a
Practices Committee created a guide that addresses sus- good environmental steward of the land. It’s kind of a bible
tainable golf course operations in all areas of the state, for golf course maintenance.”
ranging from the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the north to
the Mojave Desert in the south. Utilizing the latest and best irrigation technology is a huge
part of any golf course best-practice initiative. Installing
Southern Nevada superintendents, along with the Sierra the correct system and proper usage of it can lead to dra-
Nevada superintendent’s chapter participated in the crea- matic water savings and enhanced playing conditions. Not
tion of the expansive “Best Management Practices Guide.” only do superintendents desire to conserve water to help
About 33-percent of the 167-page guide is dedicated to water the environment, but for the most part, the dryer a course,
management and conservation and the commitment of golf the better the playing conditions.
course superintendents to this issue. Other locales are turn-
ing to Nevada’s experts as they create their own water use “For water monitoring, we use hand-held moisture meters,
and conservation plans. and we go around the golf course with them, and once the
measurement gets below a certain percentage, we know the
“Collaboration and Conservation Potable water supplies plant needs water,” Neindorf says. “There are also in-ground,
in Nevada are limited, and demand continues to grow,” soil moisture sensors that not only read the moisture con-
reads an entry in the guide. “Our challenge is to find solu- tent, but the salinity and salt content temperature. All of
tions to maintain the quality of golf while using less water. the information is relayed to a web-based monitoring sys-
Collaboration with partners such as the Desert Research tem. We also have a central irrigation system computer and
Institute (DRI) can help with this aspect of the BMP. For most courses have a weather station that will communicate
example, reducing irrigation water use by improving irriga- with that central system. Those communications provide
tion scheduling.” an evapotranspiration rate called ETD, which is basically

The Guide also includes statistics about the overall eco- how much moisture the plant is using or losing on a daily
nomic impact of golf in Nevada. The state is home to 88 golf basis. Based off all of those calculations, the irrigation is
facilities that generate $1.981 billion in total economic out- programmed for that day or a certain time period. We know
put, produce over 17,500 direct, indirect and induced jobs, if you lose a 10th of an inch of water a day due to evapora-
and contribute more than $138 million in state and local tax tion, we will put only a 10th of an inch of irrigation back
revenue. They also serve as a significant driver of tourism down that night. The technology allows us to use as small
to the Silver State, with traveling golfers spending an esti- amount of water as possible.”
mated $744.3 million on golf-related activities. It’s clear that golf courses are in the cross hairs for some in

Jeff Jensen, a Southwest Region field staff agent for the the community when it comes to water use, but Jensen says
Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, people need to understand that golf courses offer a wide
was involved in the project and meets with local, regional range of benefits in a community, especially a hot, arid area.
and national superintendents on a regular basis. He wit- “Golf courses are very good for the environment in a vari-
nesses first hand how their efforts are making a difference. ety of ways,” Jensen says. “They create the opportunity for a
“We’ve just completed our 50 by 50 initiative for our best great wildlife habitat, and you can go on almost any course

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