When US President Barack Obama teed off at The Vineyard Golf Club on Martha's Vineyard during a holiday this year, he played a round on exquisitely manicured fairways and greens. Nothing too unusual, except that the course had been organically treated. While the concept of 'eco courses' might seem relatively new in the region, there are a number in other parts of the world that have used environmentally-friendly practices for years.
One of these is the Old Collier Golf Club in Florida, a course that was devised with a water and land plan, landscape design, and a selection of turf grass and native plants. It uses a new, salt-tolerant turf grass called seashore paspalum, a native grass that thrives in the coastal environment, and is the first golf course in the continental US to use it from tee to green.
Going organic
From Martha's Vineyard to Sentosa, more golf courses are embracing the concept of eco courses.
