This is the second article on Climate Change and Oregon Golf Courses. In the first article we reviewed how climate change is affecting golf courses in Oregon (not severely right now, but in a lot of different ways). In this article we will look at golf courses being a contributor of gases that are helping to cause climate change and what, if anything, courses in Oregon can do in response.
Both articles are based on the overwhelming scientific conclusion that there is climate change, which is materially being contributed to by human activity and that such changes will increase unless there is a significant change in the amount of carbon and related gases that are in and are being released into our atmosphere. (If you disagree, please review the first three paragraphs of the first article.)
Do Golf Courses Contribute Carbon to the Environment?
Golf courses reviewed in a study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison produced about 4,000kg of carbon emissions per hectare per year just in turf management. Bekken, M.A.H, & Soldat, D.J. (2021, March 20), Estimated energy use and greenhouse gas emissions associated with golf course turfgrass maintenance in the Northern USA, International Turfgrass Society Research Journal (Madison Report). The average size of an 18-hole golf course is 150 to 200 acres, or about 60.7 hectares. This would mean about 242,800kg of carbon is released on a golf course each year. Using calculations from the EPA carbon converter, this equates to 2,267,117 miles driven by an average gasoline-powered car. There are lots of variables here, but it’s a lot of carbon considering we are only talking about turf operations.
But that’s just one side of the equation. The Royal & Ancient Golf Club is
looking into these questions as part of its Golf Course 2030 Projects. [link] The R&A released several reports on effects on the climate by golf courses, including a report titled “Climate Impact of Golf Courses” (R&A Report). This report describes the “Carbon Balance” of golf courses, where you look at the output of carbon and other gases by activities at the course compared with how much courses store or sequester these gases (keeping them out of the atmosphere).
In determining this balance the R&A Report follows the Madison Report and looks at direct emissions (activities on the course that release gases, like course maintenance and driving gas-powered carts), indirect emissions (emissions from sources of power that are used on the course, such as sources of electricity), and associated emissions (gases related to equipment and supplies used at the course, such as manufacturing and transporting machinery, fertilizer, and pesticides). For carbon sequestration, the R&A looked primarily at grass on the course, which (I was surprised to find) has a good capacity to store carbon and other gases. However, this ability is short-lived as significant sequestration by turf fades after 30 years. (An article from Oregon State University suggests that reduction fades after 50 years. Phillips, C.L., Wang , R., Mattox, C., Trammell, T.L.E., Young, J., Kowalewski, A. (2022), High soil carbon sequestration rates persist several decades in turfgrass systems: A meta-analysis, Science of the Total Environment, Volume 858 Part 3.) Soil disturbances, such as aeration, can reduce the capacity for sequestration by grass (but not so surprising, allowing grass to grow, especially in the rough, increases sequestration capacity).
The R&A found that looking at just these factors, turf operations on courses could be carbon negative through the first 30 years of operation using electric carts and machinery and drawing power from reusable sources. But because carbon output was fairly constant and the ability of turf grass to sequester this output diminished over time, golf course operations became carbon positive after 30 years.
The R&A Report does not account for all of a course’s operations, just turf operations. On the carbon plus side, you have the pro shop/clubhouse and its operations (lots of carbon output for food and drink) and golfers travelling to and from the course using clubs, balls, and bags, all of which produce carbon in manufacturing and transportation. (The Carbon Literacy Project reports that the average annual carbon output for a golf course in the US is 769,577kg based on a study of all activities of a course including the annualization of carbon emitted during construction.) On the carbon sequestration side, golf courses can have a vast amount of additional greenery (think tall trees and marshlands) that is not turf, especially on courses from Central Oregon and west. But the R&A report, and the studies it relies on, are still interesting in determining whether a golf course adds carbon to the atmosphere or can sequester additional gasses. And note – we are not talking about building a new golf course. As noted in the OSU article cited above, building a new golf course would cause a significant release of carbon that would be difficult to sequester.
Golf courses do contribute carbon to the atmosphere, but when considering carbon sequestration, it seems possible that the contribution could be minor and possibly even negative.
What Can Golf Courses, Particularly Golf Courses in Oregon, Do to Reduce Carbon Emissions?
As I noted in the first article, the golf courses I contacted are not specifically doing anything to reduce carbon emissions but are focused on mitigating the effects of climate change.
There are a lot of courses in Oregon that are doing a lot of great things that
reduce the effect that a course and its operations have on the environment. As discussed in a prior article [link], a marker for some of those courses is to be certified through the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program. An ever-growing number of courses and complexes in Oregon are certified under the ACSP including the Bandon courses, Columbia Edgewater Country Club, Crosswater Golf Club, Eastmoreland Golf Course, the Glendoveer courses, the Heron Lakes courses, Illahe Hills Country Club, Juniper Golf Course, the OGA Golf Course, the Pumpkin Ridge courses, Salishan, Shadow Hills Country Club, Stone Creek Golf Club, Tetherow Golf Course (the only ACSP signature sanctuary in the state), The Oregon Golf Club, Tualatin Country Club, and Widgi Creek Golf Club. And there are many other courses in the state that are not ACSP certified but are going the extra distance to be good environmental stewards such as Meadow Lakes Golf Course, Salmon Run Golf Course, Hidden Valley Golf Course, and the Silvies Valley Ranch courses.
The ACSP does not specifically mention carbon reduction as a factor in obtaining a certificate. But, as stated by Frank LaVardera, Director of Environmental Programs for Golf at Audubon International:
Our program encourages our members to reduce managed turf on their courses. The reduction in managed turf has widespread benefits as it results in the reduction of all inputs. Those inputs would include chemical & fertilizer use, water for irrigation, reduction in equipment use (fuel reduction), and reduction in manpower. In addition, the reduction in managed turf leads to an increase in natural areas on the course which benefits wildlife habitat. We also encourage our members to use battery powered equipment and, in general, this has been a trend across the golf industry as battery powered equipment has progressed to the point where the equipment can now be utilized to fully complete tasks without the need for recharging. We are seeing more and more courses using battery operated blowers, trimmers and mowers for greens and tee complexes.
The Oregon Golf Course Superintendents Association’s 2020 Second Edition
Environmental Stewardship Guidelines: Best Management Practices (the OGCSA BPM) [link] also does not specifically discuss carbon footprint reduction. But it is filled with suggestions for reducing a course’s environmental impact and lists many things (such as low chemical use, retaining grass clippings in non-putting areas, and has an entire section on conserving energy and setting and achieving energy efficiency goals) that will reduce a course’s carbon output (and save on operational costs).
The R&A Report has several recommendations on what a golf course can do to reduce emissions as related to turf operations: 1. transition to electric machinery (I am pretty sure there is an assumption that the course is using electric golf carts); 2. use low-carbon alternatives for an energy source; 3. install and use on-site solar panels (this could be a variant of no. 2); 4. reduce volume of topdressing and areas top-dressed (in the report, topdressing added a significant amount of carbon to operations); and 5. use nitrogen fertilization in young turf (to encourage a well-developed turf grass) and reduce nitrogen inputs as the grass ages.
To encourage maximum carbon retention by grasses, the R&A Report recommends: 1. maintain healthy and actively growing perennial turfgrass; 2. eliminate fairway aeration; 3. restrain from tilling and renovating the established turfgrass area; 4. return grass clippings to turfgrass; and 5. increase grass height when possible. (Many of these recommendations are in the OGCSA BPM.)
A fantastic resource on turf grass management is the Oregon State University College of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Horticulture (otherwise known as “Beaver Turf”). Since 2022, Beaver Turf has released at least two studies on carbon sequestration by golf course turf. One, Wang, R., Mattox, C.M., Phillips, C.L., and Kowalewski, A.R.(2022), Carbon Sequestration in Turfgrass–Soil Systems, Plants, suggests that golf courses have the potential to act as carbon sinks (carbon negative) if there is a focus to reduce the carbon caused in turfgrass maintenance practices from diesel and gasoline. This report also looks at optimizing irrigation, fertilization, and mowing practices to optimize carbon sequestration: using evapotranspiration-based irrigation (considering water loss from plant and soil surfaces from evaporation and transpiration) to avoid overwatering but still maintain turf quality for high sequestration; reduction of nitrogen fertilization as the age of the turfgrass increases; and higher mowing height within the optimal mowing height range as well as returning clippings.
Conclusion
When it comes to golf course operations and management, I don’t know what I am talking about (I just repeat what I read). But I do know that the climate is changing, that human activity is contributing to that change, and that magnitude of climate change will increase if action is not taken. I also know that weather changes are causing golf courses to experience maintenance issues that they have not faced in the past, often at great expense.
Oregon has a great collection of excellent golf courses, is fortunate to have organizations like OGCSA supporting Oregon’s golf courses, and has a nationally known center in Beaver Turf providing research on all aspects of turf management. Oregon is well positioned to be a leader in the reduction of carbon and related gas emissions on golf courses.
Golf courses get a bad rap for harming the environment. That may have been true, but with organizations like the R&A, OGCSA, and Audubon International, courses are learning how to operate in a more environmentally friendly way that is also more cost-effective. Another step in this progression would be for courses to look to these resources to learn how to reduce their carbon footprint (by reducing output and increasing sequestration). This would be good for all of us in the long run (and if cap-and-trade were ever enacted in Oregon, golf courses could have an additional source of income).
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