Wildlife Habitat

For a property to achieve Sanctuary status in the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses they must be able to demonstrate that they are providing habitat for wildlife in at least 50% of all minimally used portions of the golf course.

This one should be a no-brainer as it only makes sense that minimally used portions of the property should receive little to no maintenance. Areas such as buffer zones around water bodies, forested areas and sections of the property between the greens and tees do not need to be maintained. As an industry we must give back to nature and allow habitats to be re-created so the wildlife that once inhabited the property can take some of their land back.

A great deal of time and money is spent on a lot of golf courses maintaining areas that do no see any golf. Aside from aesthetics there is no good reason to waste valuable resources maintaining these areas.

There are a great many courses out there that are supported by golfers who demand to see wall-to-wall maintenance for the sake of satisfying their own greedy egos. As an industry we must stop this senseless spending of time and money on such frivolous maintenance details.

The time has come to understand that golf is a game that is played within boundaries that are dictated by nature. Encroaching maintenance activities into wildlife habitats is not only selfish and wasteful but it has led to an unsustainable future for our industry.

It is time to change our thinking paradigm when it comes to golf course maintenance. Many people equate golf courses with park like settings which is wonderful, however there are many parks that are nature preserves and this is the direction we should be going.

When assessing maintained areas of the property ask yourself "why is that area being maintained?" If your answer does not involve safety concerns or affecting playability then it is likely that the area should be left to naturalize. If your answer is because it looks good this is probably not good enough cause to maintain it.

The average Audubon certified golf course is able to find 22 acres of property to eliminate from its maintenance schedule. This equates to not only huge cost savings for the club but it also greatly increases the environmental value of the property.

Golf course superintendents need help and support from golfers in allowing the minimally used areas to return to their natural state and start providing habitats for wildlife. It is best for wildlife, the finances of the golf club, the health of the property and the environment.