26 ENVIRONMENT The Environmental Excellence Awards program, presented by Ewing Irrigation & Landscape Supply, was introduced by the ASGCA in 2019 to recognize innovative work being done at golf facilities to address their environmental needs. Submissions are reviewed by a panel of golf industry and environmental leaders, including representatives of GEO Foundation, Golf Course Superintendents Association of America and National Golf Course Owners Association. These projects in Alaska, Florida and Michigan were selected in 2021. “It’s great to see the unique projects recognized through the Environmental Excellence program each year,” says ASGCA President Jason Straka. “I congratulate these facilities and the cooperative efforts from operators and golf course architects to improve the environmental landscape. The long-term prospects for each to remain sustainable and profitable is increased by this work.”• By Design looks at the three golf course projects recognized in the 2021 ASGCA Environmental Excellence Awards. Sustainable landscapes Club: Sailfish Sands, Florida Golf course architect: ASGCA Past President John Sandford Florida’s Martin County sought to reduce the 18-hole footprint of its municipal golf facility in the city of Stuart. It wanted to remove golf holes from the adjacent airport’s Runway Protection Zone and reduce inputs required to maintain the course. The solution was a nine-hole reversible course that has 18 unique holes. Native trees and palms were preserved while nuisance vegetation was eradicated. The new reversible nine-hole course reduced overall area requiring maintenance inputs such as fertilizers, chemicals and mowing by 40 percent. Site drainage was improved by raising low areas and removing nuisance vegetation that was preventing runoff from reaching critical outfall points. Twenty acres of unirrigated native areas were preserved to further reduce the actively maintained area.
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