Rooted in resilience

In September 2024, Asheville Municipal Golf Course in North Carolina was hit by Hurricane Helene. The storms wiped out the historical facilities' front nine holes, leaving superintendent Matt Dierdorff and his team with only the back nine holes open for play. Despite working through devastation, recovery and community hardship, the par-72 course has made conservation a top priority. 

The 98-year-old course sits next to the Swannanoa River, which flooded during the hurricanes, causing devastation across the city. Over $50 billion in damage occurred, and more than 100 lives were lost across the state. The course flooded with water nearly 20 feet deep. The facility is currently planning the recovery for the front nine, and the design is being lead by Ron Forse of Forse Golf Design, Ron Cutlip of Cutlip Golf Design and Biohabitats of North Carolina.

“You kind of feel like you lost everything,” Dierdorff says. “We didn’t know for a while if we were even going to be open.”

The Donald Ross-designed course is in the process of becoming an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary, and as a step toward certification, hosted a BioBlitz event May 15. The course worked with their nonprofit to organize the event that welcomed nearly 80 participants and led to the identification of 198 different plant and animal species. The event helped the course focus on the wildlife and habitat management section for certification, alongside the educational outreach category.

During the event, local Scout Troop 4 of Haw Creek participated by building and helping install 20 bird houses throughout the course. With the boxes, the course is hoping to attract Eastern bluebirds, Carolina wrens, Eastern screech owls and Pileated woodpeckers. They have seen success already, as Dierdorff says he’s seen bluebirds on the property.

On July 19, the course hosted “Family Moth Night.” In partnership with the North Carolina Arboretum and their ecoEXPLORE program, the facility welcomed kids in grades kindergarten through eighth. Four “hot spots” with large sheets and UV lights were placed on the course, and students used the ecoEXPLORE app on their phones or devices to identify moth and bug species attracted to the area. More than 70 kids and community members participated, and 122 species were identified.

Despite the recent tragedies and potential other focuses for the superintendent, Dierdorff says environmentalism is part of his job. “We’re all supposed to be good stewards of the environment,” he says. “If we’re just out there pounding fertilizer and chemicals on top of fertilizer and chemicals when you probably don’t need it anyway, then we’re not doing our job to the best of our ability.” 

Outside of the wildlife events, Dierdorff ensures he and his team work to reduce input usage. The team uses a low intensity approach for weed control under trees and in natural areas. The course contracts Mountain Goatscapes to bring in goats to clear out unwanted and overgrown brush. 

In addition, Asheville Municipal is focusing on water conservation through tools and data collection to ensure water is being used properly.

“We use all the tools,” Dierdorff says. “We use soil sensors, TDRs, everything like that. So we’re not just throwing up heads every single night. We actually know what we need to do for water.”

The course changed management companies in 2022 and is now run by Signet Golf and Commonwealth Golf Partners. Prior to the management change, the course used around 13 million gallons of water per year. In 2024, annual water usage dropped to 6 million gallons. 

Dierdorff and his team have proved that even through devastations and tough times, being environmentally aware and conscious is possible.