In recognition of their commitment to environmental stewardship, Sunset Valley Golf Course in Highland Park, Ill., and its GCSAA Certified Golf Course Superintendent Brian Green have been named the overall winners of the 2010 Golf Course Superintendents Association of America/Golf Digest Environmental Leaders in Golf Awards (ELGA).
The national winners include:
- National Public & Overall: Brian Green, CGCS, Sunset Valley Golf Course, Highland Park, Ill.
- National Private: Todd Bunte, TPC Jasna Polana, Princeton, N.J.
- National Resort (co-winners): Christopher Flynn, CGCS, Marriott's Grande Vista, Orlando, Fla.; Thomas Vlach, CGCS, TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
- International: David Cole, Loch Lomond Golf Club, Alexandria, Scotland
The ELGA winners will be recognized at the 2011 GCSAA Education Conference during Celebrate GCSAA! presented in partnership with Syngenta and hosted by GCSAA President James R. Fitzroy, CGCS, Feb. 8. The conference (Feb. 7-11) will be held in conjunction with the Golf Industry Show (Feb. 9-10) in Orlando.
"The 2010 ELGA winners highlight superior environmental stewardship on the golf course, as well as the environmental leadership of GCSAA members," Fitzroy said. "Golf courses can be compatible with the environment, and in many cases enhance it, as our winners demonstrate."
Winners of the ELGA program will be featured on GolfDigest.com and in an upcoming issue of GCSAA's Golf Course Management magazine. Presenting partners Syngenta and Rain Bird Corp. - Golf Division, will make donations to The Environmental Institute for Golf (EIFG), the philanthropic organization of the GCSAA, in the names of all national and chapter winners.
Judges selected winners in three national categories (public, private and resort courses), and an international winner, with an overall winner selected from those four. Recognition was given to the top entry from each GCSAA affiliated chapter (tie from Tennessee GCSA), and merit honors were awarded to those who did not earn national or chapter honors but deserved special recognition in the opinion of the judges.
"Golf Digest is proud once again to join with the GCSAA to honor these far-sighted superintendents who are doing the right thing regarding best environmental practices," said Roger Schiffman, managing editor of the magazine. "It is our hope — indeed, our intention — that these superintendents and the courses they manage continue to serve as role models for others to follow in the months and years ahead. I can think of no greater calling in our game than to be a leader in environmental stewardship."
The ELGA winners went above and beyond in their environmental stewardship. They feature management programs using efficient and accurate irrigation systems; extensive recycling programs; composting of grass clippings, leaves and other herbaceous debris; bird houses; energy-saving light; and stringent integrated pest management programs.
Green, a 32-year GCSAA member, is a GCSAA certified golf course superintendent at Sunset Valley Golf Course, an 18-hole municipal course on Chicago's North Shore that serves as a wildlife corridor in an urban setting. The entire property is within the Chicago River watershed and the golf course pumps storm and effluent water from the north branch of the river for irrigation, conserving 7-20 million gallons of potable Lake Michigan water annually. More than 70 percent of Sunset Valley's 100 acres is floodplain and 12 acres of bioswales help collect flood waters and filter the overflow before it returns to the Chicago River. Green has created native vegetation buffers around ponds and he has helped Sunset Valley receive funding from the Illinois EPA for a demonstration of streambank restoration, effectively stopping erosion, filtering debris, and avoiding sedimentation of downstream areas.
Bunte, an 11-year GCSAA member, is the GCSAA Class A superintendent at TPC Jasna Polana, a private course in a rolling, woodland and wetland area outside Princeton, N.J. He subscribes to a satellite weather service to determine timing and amounts of irrigation, uses moisture probes to determine irrigation needs, and employs a full time irrigation foreman to make daily irrigation system inspections and immediate repairs. The irrigation pump station utilizes variable frequency drive technology, a more energy efficient system that only provides the electric motors the amount of power necessary to meet the demand for water. The Stony Brook, which is a state protected trout stream, forms the northern border of the golf course property and two of its tributaries flow through the course. The woodlands and wetlands areas serve as wildlife corridors and understory vegetation is protected for habitat preservation.
Flynn, a 13-year GCSAA member, is a GCSAA certified golf course superintendent at Marriott's Grande Vista, a resort in Orlando featuring towering pines, oaks and cypress trees surrounding the 9-hole, 2,300-yard, par-32 Grande Vista course, a 18-hole Grande Pines course, and a practice facility that is home to the Nick Faldo Golf Institute. Located at the headwaters of the Florida Everglades ecosystem, Grande Vista features 30 acres of native area, 10 acres of wetlands and 40 acres of ponds. Ten-feet-wide buffer strips of native grass along the in-play shorelines of the ponds protect the water, which is also tested twice-a-year to ensure maintenance practices are not negatively impacting water quality.
Vlach, a 20-year GCSAA member, is a GCSAA certified golf course superintendent at TPC Sawgrass, a 36-hole resort in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., that lies on 400 acres of previous forest and swampland. TPC Sawgrass is home of the PGA Tour, the Players Championship, and the Nationwide Tour's Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open Presented by Planters. Both tournaments combine to annually contribute more than $6.7 million to charity. In 2008, Vlach and his staff added a transfer line from the reservoir lakes to the irrigation pond, virtually eliminating the facility's use of well water from the Florida aquifer. The reservoir lakes collect drainage water from surrounding communities that would have previously drained into the Atlantic intercoastal waterway.
Cole, a 12-year GCSAA member, is the superintendent at Loch Lomond Golf Club in Alexandria, Dunbartonshire, Scotland. The home of The Barclays Scottish Open, Loch Lomond is a parkland course located in a national park and guarded on three sides by the legendary banks of Loch Lomond. The club has an abstraction license from the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency to draw a limited amount of irrigation water from Loch Lomond. The maintenance department uses a mechanical recycle wash bay to collect, filter and re-use water from vehicle and equipment washing. Vegetative buffer zones are managed along the shores and Cole is pursuing a grant from the national park authorities for erosion control measures to protect the Loch shore from high water levels. He also works closely with the national park authorities and the Scottish Natural Heritage to effectively manage the estate. In addition to the national winners, 15 chapter winners and five merit winners were selected from GCSAA's 100 affiliated chapters.
2010 ELGA Chapter Winners
Public Facilities (facility; location; chapter)
- Robb Arnold; TPC Louisiana; Avondale, La.; Louisiana-Mississippi GCSA
- Paul Carter, CGCS; Bear Trace at Harrison Bay; Harrison, Tenn.; Tennessee GCSA
- Dustin Green; Mirimichi Golf Course; Millington, Tenn.; Tennessee GCSA
- Paul Grogan, CGCS; TPC Deere Run; East Moline, Ill.; Iowa GCSA
- Gary Ingram, CGCS; Metropolitan Golf Links; Oakland, Calif.; California GCSA
- Tim Powers, CGCS; Crystal Springs Golf Course; Burlingame, Calif.; Northern California GCSA
- Christopher Sorrell; Eagles Ridge Golf Course; Curwensville, Pa.; Mountain & Valley GCSA
- Kim Wood; TPC Las Vegas; Southern Nevada GCSA
Private Facilities (facility; location; chapter)
- Stephen Britton; TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm; Potomac, Md.; Mid-Atlantic Association of GCS
- Michael Crawford, CGCS; TPC Sugarloaf; Duluth, Ga.; Georgia GCSA
- Thomas DeGrandi; TPC River Highlands; Cromwell, Conn.; Connecticut Association of GCS
- Jim Pavonetti, CGCS; Fairview Country Club; Greenwich, Conn.; Metropolitan GCSA
Resort Facilities (facility; location; chapter) - Christopher Condon; Tetherow Resort and Golf Course; Bend, Ore.; Oregon GCSA
- Brad Fry; The Golf Club at Harbor Shores; Benton Harbor, Mich.; Michigan GCSA
- Jeff Plotts; TPC Scottsdale (Ariz.); Cactus and Pine GCSA
2010 ELGA Merit Winners
Public Facilities
- Michael Garvale, CGCS; Callippe Preserve Golf Course; Pleasanton, Calif.
- Scott O'Bryant; Traditions at Braselton; Jefferson, Ga.
Private Facilities - David Davies, CGCS; TPC Stonebrae; Hayward, Calif.
- Dale Hahn, CGCS; TPC Summerlin; Las Vegas, Nev.
- Jim Thomas, CGCS; TPC Southwind; Memphis, Tenn.
