Less spray, more play

Battle Island in Fulton, New York, officially became a state park in 1938. Superintendent Mary Gregg joined the staff full time in 2018. But several years prior to her arrival, she worked as an intern for four years at famed Bethpage State Park. During her time there, she watched Cornell Turfgrass Program’s work develop. She is following the same Integrated Pest Management programs she watched become established — this time, at her own course. 

Golf courses are often criticized for high input usage on their properties, posing potential harm to the environment and wildlife. Cornell University and New York State golf courses have been partnering for 25 years to reverse this stigma and reveal to both golfers and superintendents how little chemical usage is actually needed to maintain healthy turf.

“It is pretty eye-opening,” extension support specialist and state park agronomist Chase Skrubis says. “The golf course doesn’t really need a whole lot.”

Cornell’s role in educating superintendents on minimizing inputs started in 2000 when state turfgrass extension specialist and associate professor of horticulture Dr. Frank Rossi began the project alongside Jennifer Grant, director of the New York state IPM program. The research began on Bethpage’s Green Course, following the state’s new restrictions on pesticide usage on state park land. The Green Course carries a lower profile than Bethpage’s Black and Red courses, making it an ideal location for research. “We were trying to completely eliminate the use of pesticides,” Rossi says.

After 10 years of successfully decreasing water usage and input applications at Bethpage, the project began to expand to other New York State Park golf courses. 

“It started as, How do we reduce pesticide use? But really the entire picture is you can’t just take away pesticides,” urban environmental scientist Carl Schimenti says. “You have to do things with irrigation and cultural practices and fertilizer.”

“We packaged those practices up and began doing some training,” Rossi says. “Got some buy-in from the regional directors, and 15 years later, can talk about how courses have been able to operationalize their environmental stewardship, operationalize improved playability, and then measure the benefits in rounds of golf, less fertilizer, less pesticides being used — and not just saying we were sustainable, but have the data to prove it.”

Through organic matter tests and soil nutrient tests, state park agronomists and Cornell’s staff use the Environmental Impact Quotient to measure pesticide risks and implement plans to best treat each course. The EIQ is used to choose low-risk products that still effectively work in pest prevention. The EIQ is also now used as part of New York’s Best Management Practices.

“We have a lot of ways to measure various things, not only pesticide use, but the risk of pesticides and fertilizer use and irrigation,” Schimenti says.

The team then uses models to predict results and determine optimal plans.

Bethpage, a nationally recognized course that hosted the 2025 Ryder Cup, is fortunate to have a large agronomic budget. Other public state courses operate with much less. 

Part of Skrubis’ and his team’s job is to work with these courses and their respective budgets to meet their goals. New York has 27 state park golf courses at 19 different parks, some more recognized than others. Robert Trent Jones designed Green Lakes, James Baird and Montauk Downs. Other state courses include Soaring Eagles and Saratoga Spa.

“They deal with different budget constraints, and they deal with different regions, and some regions don’t have as strong of a golfing population as others,” Skrubis says.

Skrubis visits each State Park course once a year. He spends adequate time with each course’s superintendent, forming relationships over both golf and life. He discusses any progress or problems the course has been facing and works to set goals. 

The state also allows superintendents funding for new equipment purchases, providing superintendents with an opportunity to try suggestions made by Cornell. 

Cornell gives superintendents a guideline to follow when it comes to input decisions. Instead of using blanket coverage treatments, superintendents work with Cornell to focus only on problem spots. 

“Back in the day, you might have gone out and just sprayed,” Gregg says. “But if you can do some IPM things that are less environmental hazards, you can.” 

Cornell also uses aerial imaging to develop tree management plans and to identify unnecessary, out-of-play areas. Those out-of-play areas are then evaluated and potentially used for pollinator-friendly meadows. 

Through partnership, superintendents can form relationships with Cornell’s staff and have an outlet for advice.

“I’ve known Frank Rossi since I started working at state parks 26 years ago, so it’s a great relationship,” Gregg says. “Even if I have a question, we can text him or call him.”

Since starting the program, Gregg has seen acceptance grow on a larger scale. When the program started, the staff faced some pushback.

When Rossi and the team introduced the EIQ, superintendents had questions. “‘If the EPA says I can use it, shouldn’t I just be able to use it? What is this business?’ And so there was a lot of pushback on that,” Rossi says.

Both superintendents and sales reps questioned procedures. But eventually, after giving Cornell’s recommendations a try, they realized the product usage suggestions worked. 

Now, thanks to solid results and industry relationships, problems are cordially addressed.

“For the first bunch of years, they didn’t do anything that we told them to do,” Rossi says. “It was very difficult to get them to do anything we asked them to do. But now they contact us when they’re thinking about doing something. ‘Hey, I want to try this. What do you think?’ It’s really improved that way.”

 Gregg says her work with the Cornell program has taught her that solutions might not be what the “norm” is. “The norms have changed, and doing stuff Cornell has suggested in regard to either aerating or seed slicing an area will make that grass more durable to the increase in play,” Gregg says. “Golf courses get a lot of scrutiny with the spraying of pesticides, and if you’re being more environmentally aware of what products you’re using, or if there’s other things you can do to an area before just having to spray, that will help the environment.”

Through Cornell’s work, State Park golf courses are continuing to minimize input usage and make smarter environmental decisions. The team’s dedication to research and development of the EIQ is allowing New York courses beyond Bethpage to thrive and reverse the stigma. 

Kelsie Horner is Golf Course Industry’s digital editor.