By Design - Fall 2016

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“Personally, as a boomer, I embrace
change and innovation, and we do
all we can to be the tip of the spear
promoting change. But we can’t do
it alone, and I don’t see significant
change coming until the 30-to-35 year
olds of today start being the power
base of our industry.”
Enduring challenges
Some of the biggest drivers for
change, however, are in areas where
the golf industry has been working
hard for some time.
Dana Lonn, managing director
of the Center for Advanced Turf
Technology at The Toro Company,
says that for over ten years they
have been working on innovation
around three primary issues: water
use efficiency, labor productivity
and environment.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that
water is the number one issue,” says
Lonn. “Look at it on a global scale—
there are seven billion people
on earth today, and that figure is
rapidly growing. There is barely
enough water today for the people
that exist on earth. Where’s the high
quality water going to go? It’ll go to
the people, and the production of
food for people. It has to. So there’s
going to be ongoing pressure to
use less, and also to use water that
people can’t use.”
Lonn explains golf’s water issue
through the analogy of a car’s
fuel tank. “There are two pieces of
information you use to decide when
you are going to put fuel in your car:
how close it is to running out, and
how far you are going to go. You may
be close to empty, but if you’re not
going very far you don’t necessarily
worry about it.”
His team’s efforts are therefore
focused around allowing water in
soil—the golf course’s fuel tank—to
deplete more.
But, Lonn explains, if your fuel gauge
is broken, you’ll keep the tank full.
INNOVATION IN PRACTICE
A community links
A municipal golf course
operated by the city of Hobbs,
New Mexico was operating
inefficiently, facing rising expenses
and falling player numbers.
Andy Staples, ASGCA,
introduced the city to the innovative
sustainable design philosophy of
a ‘Community Links,’ whereby the
golf course would be an asset for
all residents, including non-golfers,
and would use resources efficiently,
particularly important in a region
where water is precious.
In collaboration with the community
and project partners, Staples greatly
improved the existing golf course,
while expanding the facility—
Rockwind Community Links—to
attract more kids and families. This
included the integration of walking
trails, picnic areas, expanded
outdoor public-use space, revitalized
beginner golf programs, and a First
Tee junior golf program.
A new nine-hole par-three kids’
course was added, and the
practice facility was expanded.
The new five-acre lake, designed
to retain 14 million gallons of
effluent water, is a feature of
the public-use space near the
clubhouse, benefiting the entire
community, and enticing
residents to take interest
in the game.
For more innovative golf
projects, download
the special edition of
By Design devoted
to the 2016 Design
Excellence Recognition Program
via