Making Golf More AffordableAddressing issues that need to be considered byarchitects, builders, and golf course superintendents.by JAMES E MOORE

Large, highly maintained bunkers are beautiful- and very expensive to build and maintain.To keep construction and maintenance costs down, such bunkers should be kept to a minimum.

M.ANY OF US can rememberStanley Kubrick's tale 2001 --:-A Space Odyssey. Periodically

throughout the movie, a large, darkstone or monolith would appear tomark a critical moment in the history ofmankind. While the movie may havedragged at times, those monolithsalways got my attention.

It's too bad we don't have some sortof monolith to mark important eventsin the history of the game of golf -specifically in the history of golf coursedesign, construction, and maintenance.Most of us can think of numerous timesthe dark, square stones would appear.

One of the first sightings would haveoccurred when science provided turfmanagers with effective tools to combatweeds, insects, and disease organismsthat beforehand pretty much had,their way with golf courses across thecountry.

The monolith would have reappearedwhen in -ground irrigation systemsmade it possible to have good turf inspite of dry spells, especially in parts ofthe country where dry spells extendedfor years rather than months. Othermonolithic events would include theintroduction of mechanically poweredconstruction and mowing equipment

(putting the horse out to pasture), andthe development of improved turfgrassvarieties. And of course, the advent offormalized educational programs forturf managers would also be high-lighted.

The most recent defining moment inthe industry occurred when concernsarose over what impact golf courseshad on the environment. Just like othermajor events in both the movie and ourindustry, there were individuals whowere up for the challenges of changeand those who were not. The mosttalented and professional architects,builders, and superintendents saw the

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Grassy bunkers or hollows require very little labor for proper care.In many cases, they are equally as challenging as sand bunkers.

Extraordinarily large greens are obviously much more expensive to build. Theyare also more expensive to maintain, particularly when hand mowing is practiced.For most courses, greens need not be more than 5,000 square feet in area-assuming most of the area is suitable for hole locations.

Architects and BuildersDesign features and construction

techniques obviously have a tremen-dous impact on how much it costs tobuild a new golf course or renovate theexisting facility. What often is given toolittle consideration is their impact onannual maintenance costs thereafter.Here are just a few of the ways archi-tects and builders impact the cost ofgolf.

• Site Selection: A lack of good top-soil, poor quality water, and poorgrowing conditions as a result oflimited light and air movement allresult in significantly higher mainte-nance costs. Selecting a site or a designthat requires extraordinary earth mov-ing greatly increases the cost of con-struction. Moving 500,000 cubic yardsof soil during construction was con-sidered excessive only a few years ago.Today it is not uncommon to movemore than 1,000,000 cubic yards.

• Features: Although bunkers andmounds are important features on anygolf course, they are expensive to buildand maintain. The costs skyrocketwhen both the number and severity ofthese features increase, and they haveincreased dramatically in modern golfcourse designs. It is not uncommon toinclude in excess of 70 bunkers on newcourses. Thanks to large earth-movingequipment, many of these same coursessport prolific mounding on virtuallyevery hole. Both types of features areoften constructed with such steepslopes that machine maintenance is nolonger practical. As a result, constantshoveling of sand is required to replace

Finally, our senior population, tradi-tionally avid golfers, will grow evenfaster in the future thanks to betterhealth and the impact of the baby boomgeneration. Although there is a realneed for affordable golf now, the needwill grow tremendously in the nearfuture. Those professionals in the golfindustry who recognize this need haveboth the opportunity and responsibilityto help ensure the future of golf. Whatcan architects, builders, and super-intendents do to make golf moreaffordable?

environmental issue as an opportunityto display their skills. This was anopportunity to distinguish themselvesfrom their peers. After all, if the job(whether it is design, construction, ormaintenance) was always easy, anyonecould do it. Such individuals profitedgreatly as a result of their ability to meetthe difficult challenges of the environ-mental issues.

So what is the next industry-shapingevent facing the game and business ofgolf? What is the next big opportunityfor the talented to separate themselvesfrom the pack? In my opinion, the nextmonolith would signify a return toaffordable golf.

The growth in golf over the past tenyears accompanied a favorable growthin our economy. As a result, many ofto day's golfers are willing to pay morethan ever before to enjoy the game. Itis not uncommon for a round of golf tocost more than $100 on an upscale,daily-fee course. While this might beon the high end, fees on all types of .golf courses have increased. These in-creases are a direct result of the increasein the cost of building and maintaininggolf courses - neither of which showany indication of decreasing. Whiletoday's golfers apparently are willing tofoot the bill, what happens when theeconomy is not so robust?

In addition, many of golf's newestplayers are coming from socio-eco-nomic groups that simply cannot affordto spend as much to enjoy the game.

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Golf course superintendents manage increasingly larger numbers of employees and equipment. This, coupled withgolfer demands for near perfection in terms of turf quality, results in rapidly increasing maintenance costs.

the sand that washes off the faces ofthe bunkers, and hand mowing andtrimming are required to maintain theturf on the mounding. Increasing thenecessity for hand labor is the fastestway to increase the cost of golf coursemaintenance.

• Green Construction: Greens areexpensive to build, and every oppor-tunity to reduce costs should be con-sidered when building the affordablegolf course. However, poorly builtgreens are much more expensive tomaintain over the long run.

Well-built greens can be kept afford-able by using some common sense.For example, very few courses are soheavily played that the greens must bein excess of 5,000 square feet to endurethe traffic - assuming the surface con-tours are kept moderate enough toallow most of the surface to be used forhole locations. There is a trend to buildmassive greens of 7,000 square feet, andsome are much larger. Given the costof green construction per square footand the cost of maintenance thereafter,unnecessarily large greens make golfmuch more expensive.

There also is a trend to incorporatevery expensive inorganic amendmentsinto the green rootzone mixture. Al-though these amendments do havesome redeeming qualities, they simplycannot be justified in terms of cost. Byselecting sands that meet scientificallyproven guidelines, amending those sands(when necessary) with inexpensiveorganic matter, and utilizing agro-

nomically sound fertilization practices,there is no need for additional costlyamendments.

SuperintendentsI believe there has never been a time

when golf course superintendents haveplayed a more important role in thegame of golf. The business of main-taining a golf course has become muchmore complex, requiring better-edu-cated and more highly skilled turfmanagers. For the most part, today'ssuperintendents have been up to thetask. However, in my opinion, there arefar too many superintendents who havelost sight of their primary mission -that being to protect the interests oftheir employers (ultimately the golfers).

In a recent Golf Digest article, FrankHannigan quoted survey statistics gath-ered by the Golf Course Superinten-dents Association of America (GCSAA)regarding the increasing cost of golfcourse maintenance. These statisticsindicated the average budget at IS-holeprivate clubs is now $635,930, a 1630/0increase since 1992, while inflation hasbeen 2% to 3% per year (Golf Digest,January 2000).

Such a large increase in the cost ofgolf course care is due to a combinationof factors. First, golfers simply expectmore. In the not-too-distant past, golf-ers were most concerned about thequality of their greens. Today, the mostcommon complaint voiced to theUSGA Green Section agronomists asthey travel the country is that the

bunkers are inconsistent. Maintainingconsistency in a hazard is expensive,particularly when you combine thisneed with the large numbers of bunkerson today's courses.

Secondly, everything costs more. Withfairway mowers costing in excess of$40,000, computerized spraying equip-ment as much as $30,000, and even awalk-behind greens mower runningmore than $3,000, it is no secret whymaintenance budgets have jumped.

Of course the biggest factor is thecost of labor. Maintenance staffs ofteninclude the superintendent, one ormore assistants, a chemical technician,an irrigation technician, a mechanic(who also might have an assistant), ahorticulturist, and perhaps a secretary.Add to this list 15 to 20 laborers andequipment operators, and it is easy tosee why many courses now employ asmany as 30 people on the golf coursemaintenance staff. Labor alone oftenpushes the maintenance budget abovethe $500,000 mark.

Superintendents also have a tre-mendous impact on the cost of golfby virtue of how they make theirpurchasing decisions. Like most tech-nically oriented industries, there isno shortage of miracle products beingtouted to solve almost every problemin golf course maintenance. Invariably,these products have at least four thingsin common. First, they make fabulousclaims which seldom, if ever, can befullyverified through unbiased scientificresearch. Second, in the absence of

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More young people from widely varying backgrounds are beingintroduced to golf than ever before. They are truly the future ofthe game - assuming they have a place to play.

Soil moving is often the most expensive aspect of golf courseconstruction. Deep cuts such as this require the movement oftremendous quantities of soil.

science, they rely on testimonials fromturfgrass managers who have tried theproduct under uncontrolled conditionsand are convinced it "has made thedifference." Third, the products havegreat websites, which are usually full ofeven more fabulous claims and testi-monials.

Finally, the products are usuallyexpensive and, in many cases, onlymarginally effective. Before lending theproduct their name and often thename of the golf course at which theyare employed, professional superinten-dents should keep in mind that theyhave a responsibility not only to theiremployers, but also to other golf coursesuperintendents, to be completelyhonest in their recommendations ofany product. It is worth keeping thefollowing quote in mind: "A wise manmay be duped as well as a fool, butthe fool publishes the triumph ofthe deceiver" (Charles Caleb Colton,Lacon 1825).

There are plenty of opportunities forthe golf course superintendent to helpmake golf more affordable, especially ifhe receives the cooperation and sup-port of the players.

• Concentrate available resources onthose areas that most directly impactthe play of the game. Almost every golfcourse has acres of area that seldomcome into play on which maintenancecan be greatly reduced. Reduce fertili-zation and irrigation, and before longyou will be able to reduce mowing.True, in many cases the area will be lessattractive in some people's eyes, butsignificant savings can be realized inthe process that can be passed on togolfers.

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• Reduce costly hand labor as muchas possible. The frequent mechanicaltrimming around lakes, bunkers, cartpaths, and trees is tremendouslyexpensive. Allowing buffer areas togrow around lakes not only reducestrimming, but it also helps to preventrunoff of chemical products from turfareas into water features.

• Consider a reduction in both thenumber of bunkers and the number oftimes the bunkers are raked. Dailyraking is fine for those who can affordit, but for those golf courses anxious tokeep green fees down, raking two orthree times per week can save dollars.This does not mean the bunkers will bein poor condition - assuming that thegolfers remember how to use a rake.

• Steep bunkers with sand flashedhigh on the faces are unquestionablybeautiful- that is, when the sand is inthe right place. Unfortunately, the sandmoves off the faces in even a modestrain and subsequently must be handshoveled back into place. It is notuncommon to find courses that spendfar more labor hours moving sandaround in bunkers than they do caringfor greens.

• When making purchases for thecourse, superintendents should spendmoney as if it were their own. Many,if not most, of today's professionalsuperintendents already do this. Un-fortunately, there also are those indi-viduals who are willing to experimentwith other people's money. Most prod-ucts have at least some merit. However,they should be critically evaluated interms of efficacy and cost -effective-ness. No one in golf course manage-ment is in a better position to make

such evaluations than the golf coursesuperintendent.

ConclusionI am not suggesting that all golf

courses should be designed, built, andmaintained as outlined above. Therewill always be courses where money issimply not a limiting factor. Likewise,there will always be golfers who arewilling to pay whatever it takes to playa golf course that approaches theiridea of perfection as nearly as possible.However, there are many, many moregolfers for whom the cost of playingthe game may someday be prohibitive,and their numbers are bound to in-crease in the future. The need foraffordable golf represents a tremendousopportunity for architects, builders,and golf course superintendents whoare up for the challenge.

JAMES F. MOORE is Director of theUSGA Green Section Construction Edu-cation Program.