Several years ago, I heard the following story from a pro at an Oregon golf course. His course was having a problem with geese. They tried a few things: coyote statues, lasers, horns. Nothing seemed to work until the course hired a company that used dogs to chase the geese away. This seemed to work. But soon a neighboring course started to have a geese problem. They tried a few things but ended up using the same outfit that the first course used. I understand that in the end, after the geese went back and forth between the two courses, the geese just left the area after being repeatedly chased off from both courses. 
Pretty much every golfer in Western Oregon has experienced geese on a course – either in person or by calling cards left on the course by the geese (aka, goose poop). Historically, this is a somewhat new phenomenon. Geese were almost hunted to extinction by the early 1900s and were then protected under the federal Migratory Bird Act of 1918. I remember in the mid-1980s there were not a lot of geese around in the North Willamette Valley. But now they can be found everywhere.
The population explosion is not true for all geese. There are at least 7 subspecies of Canada Geese that appear in Oregon (Western, Cackling, Dusky, Tavern’s, Lesser, Vancouver, and Aleutian). Oregon hosts additional geese species: Brant, Greater White Fronted, Lesser Snow, and Ross’s (there are also very rare vagrants such as the Bean Goose and Emperor Goose). Many of the geese are only seen in migration. Some are generally seen only near the coast (Brant) or east of the mountains (Lesser Snow and Ross’s). Populations for Dusky, Brant, White Fronted, and Lesser Snow are reported to be declining. But the other populations, particularly of the Western Canada and Cackling, seem to be increasing. There is a sizable population of Western Geese that are here (meaning the Oregon Coast and the Willamette Valley) year-round, and a sizable population of Cackling Geese that winter in the same area. Significant numbers of both types of geese can also occur in Central Oregon (meaning, the Bend area) and even in Eastern Oregon (for example, geese have been a problem at Christmas Valley and Buffalo Peak out in Union).
Geese are particularly prolific in grassy areas near water that have a broad field of view to spot predators (so, a golf course is a perfect spot). Geese are bad for golf courses in several ways. First, goose poop. It is estimated that one goose can produce two pounds of poop per day. Goose poop (which contains both digestive and urinary waste; the latter being the lighter in color) is very rich in nitrogen and phosphorus which can “burn” grass when concentrations are too high. Goose poop carries bacteria harmful to humans such as e coli, giardia, and salmonella (so be very careful picking up your golf ball if contaminated and clean your contaminated shoes promptly). Because of this high mineral content, runoff from goose poop can lead to algal blooms in ponds and lakes causing decreased oxygen levels and harm to aquatic life. Goose poop is slick, and slipping on poop can be a problem (not sure how many slip and fall cases have been caused by goose poop). And finally, goose poop can be an unsightly mess.
Another reason why geese are bad for golf courses is geese eat grass. A single goose reportedly eats an average of four pounds of grass per day. Geese seek out the below-ground grass bulb, which is high in nutrients. So geese tear up the ground as they eat. A good size gaggle of geese could convert a grassy fairway to mud in a short time.
On the other hand, geese are attractive and hearing geese fly overhead provides me with a feeling that I am out in the wilderness. If geese have to be managed, I would hope that it would be in a non-lethal manner.
Oregon Courses have used a wide range of methods to rid themselves (or reduce the number) of geese with varying success. I am happy to report that all but one of these methods are non-lethal. Some of these methods have been: placing silhouettes of predators (coyotes) both as statutes and then on a swivel (so that the silhouettes move) near fairways; spraying grass with agents to make the grass taste bad to geese; having horns or goose distress calls go off automatically when geese were in a certain area; finding nests and removing eggs (I consider this lethal and it may be illegal); stringing wires with reflective pendants over greens; stringing wires around greens; shining laser pointers; and using dogs. (It should be noted that one course on the coast does not try to control the geese but instead lists geese as an aspect of nature that is a reason to play the course.) Often, courses will use a variety of methods at the same time and evolve their methods over time.
For example, Waverley Country Club used to use laser devices with initially positive results. Lasers were effective at dusk and dawn and on cloudy days. When the sun came out, the method was basically useless. Now, Waverley uses a combination of a “course dog” (a dog owned by maintenance staff that chases geese) and greenskeepers “shooing” geese when they are seen on the course (driving the maintenance vehicle right at them). Heron Lakes also used dogs, and then lasers, and then dogs (effective during working hours) plus a person at dusk who would chase the geese away. Now, Heron is controlling geese only with the occasional “dog romp” from a course dog (this decreased effort may be because all the prior efforts taken by Heron lessened the number of geese that kept coming back to the courses).
There have been several companies that have provided dogs for hire to chase away geese. Right now, there appears to be only one company that does this in the Willamette Valley: Geese Guys. Geese Guys was founded in 2011 by James Kuri, a golfer who noticed the issues caused by geese on golf courses. The majority of its clients are schools and parks but about 10 percent of its work is on golf courses (mostly in the Northern Willamette Valley). Depending on the situation, Geese Guys will use remote control boats (for geese in the water) and laser pointers. But the dogs, mostly Border Collies, do most of the work. Geese Guys seems to generally have more well-cared-for-and-happy dogs than human employees.
Based on the nature of the problem and the fact that Geese Guys are using non-lethal methods, its goal is not killing the geese but mitigation through a long-term wildlife (that’s the geese) training process. Geese Guys will look at the site’s physical situation and history of geese presence and develop a multi-month plan. It then brings in the dog (or sometimes dogs) to the course. The dog will then mimic a predator: first giving the geese a hard stare and then slowly stalking the geese. When the geese get skittish (and seemingly ready to fly) the dog will charge chasing the geese away. Geese Guys will then watch the behavior of the geese in flight and may wait to see if the geese come back to the course (and will repeat the process that day) or Geese Guys will return to the course in a few days to start the process again. If the geese come back to a different hole on the golf course, the Geese Guy team will go to that hole and start the process again on that hole.
The process is repeated at various intervals and times (it is a plan to train the geese, not an on-call method) until the geese determine that it is a waste of their energy to try to get food and from that course. The process can take some time, but generally the geese will quickly become cautious when coming to the course and the number of geese will significantly decrease over time.
From my limited phone survey, it appears that the vast majority of courses are presently using non-lethal methods to get rid of their geese problem, and the majority of those courses are using course dogs. (A twist on this method is a course that occasionally invites locals to bring in their hunting dogs to have a run at the geese.) Without a course dog, or if the problem is greater than one dog can address, an outfit like Geese Guys would fit the bill.
As with many things, the balancing act that a golf course must do is weigh the damage to the course and its appearance and playability with the cost of the prevention/mitigation measure. But the key to reducing geese numbers is the constant harassment (or training) of the birds over a period of time. For me, seeing a dog do the work on a course makes me smile, and is much more attractive and friendly than the alternatives.
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