Golf courses can be eco-friendly, scientists say, as wildflower project flourishes

Joe Pinkstone
Sun, 18 February 2024 

The team doing some research at the Colorado golf course - Scott Dressel-Martin/Scott Dressel-Martin

Golf courses can be eco-friendly, scientists have suggested, as they run a project to plant wildflowers between holes and in the rough.

A first of its kind trial at a golf course in Denver, Colorado, is using converted golf equipment to plant and nurture miniature wildflower meadows alongside fairways, next to bunkers and behind greens.

The sport’s penchant for heavily manicured landscapes has often put it at loggerheads with environmentalists, but courses and greenkeepers are now working to be more eco-friendly.

Dr Rebecca Hufft, associate director of applied conservation at Denver Botanic Gardens, is leading a pilot scheme at the CommonGround 18-hole golf course, which covers more than 300 acres and is the largest green space in the metropolis.

The Botanic Gardens was approached by the Colorado Golf Association, which runs the course, to try and make it a more environmentally friendly area.

“I was very sceptical when it first started. I don’t think that golf courses and conservation groups have historically been bedfellows,” she said, but agreed to launch a two-year pilot scheme in December 2022, which she says is already showing promise.

Wildflower seeds are being scattered by hand

Three plots of rough were stripped of invasive plants and a converted green aerator was used to punch hundreds of holes in the ground and wildflower seeds were scattered by hand.

“The highest priority was increasing pollinator habitat,” she told reporters, ahead of the AAAS annual meeting in Denver this week.

“We went out last spring to see if anything had emerged at these plots and it was pretty awesome. We saw a couple species of annuals, species that pop up in the first year. They were growing great and it had all germinated and flowered.”

The team of botanists, which included intern students, also planted perennial species that would bloom every year.

“None of those flowered,” Dr Hufft said. “But, one might not expect them to in just one year and they did come up as little rosettes.

“I saw all the little seedlings pop up, so they survived pretty nicely. My hope is to go out this spring and summer and see if all those perennials pop up. It was successful for year one.”

The ease of the trial and the simple methodology could serve as a blueprint for other greenkeepers if they also want to make their courses better for the environment and local wildlife, she said.

Wildflowers will also be planted around bunkers

“I want golf courses to be able to do this themselves,” Dr Hufft said. “If the goal is to make a model for other golf courses, it is important for it to be something that they can just do themselves with their own equipment and staff.

“I don’t know that this is happening elsewhere, I think it’s possible there’s some other golf courses in the US that are starting to have these conversations, but I think they’re all in the beginning stages.”

The scientists are waiting to see how successful this spring is after the snow melts and temperatures rise and, if successful, more plots will be created as well as the current ones at holes six, 11 and 12.

“We did three rough areas and the vision would be that all the non-managed parts of the course would be improved wildlife habitat,” Dr Hufft said.

“I definitely think that this is a model that can be applied elsewhere. It is only a subtle change.

“Right now, the in-between areas get mowed, they’re unmanicured grassy areas that are not that pretty to begin with, and they’ll actually probably be prettier.

“I don’t think that people who are playing golf are going to notice that much of a difference. They’re still going to be driving their golf cart, going to their next hole and either they’ll think it’s awesome or they might just not notice.”

The British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) says that just one quarter of a golf course is intensely managed for the purpose of the game itself and that British golf courses are embracing a wilder aesthetic for the other 75 per cent of a site.

John Milne, the reigning BIGGA Conservation Greenkeeper of the year, curates the Garmouth and Kingston course in Spey Bay, Scotland, and has been responsible for a transition away from pristine verges to more colourful, natural holes since joining as head greenkeeper in 2021.

The plan is too nurture miniature wildflower meadows alongside fairways, next to bunkers and behind greens - Scott Dressel-Martin/Scott Dressel-Martin

“My initial observation was it was over maintained,” he said, and he left eight acres of land, around the same as 4.5 football pitches, to return to a more natural state. Unlike the Denver course, the Scottish team did not actively plant seeds, but let nature run its course.

“Some areas will be left to grow thick for small mammals, and many areas will be put into a cut and collect regime to thin the sward and promote wildflowers and grasses going to seed for the benefit of pollinating insects,” he said.

“Some areas are naturally extremely sparse of grass growth and rich with wildflowers.”

The site also battles with Japanese knotweed, but has become a haven for wildlife since the switch, Mr Milne said, with red squirrels spotted on site, as well as ospreys, otters and kingfishers.

“It is extremely satisfying when members comment on wildlife found on the course.

“One member made a comment about how much bird song there was and how he had never noticed before, another was extremely disappointed he didn’t get a photo of a common lizard which was trying to take cover under his trolley wheels on the 17th fairway.

“It is fantastic that golfers are noticing these things.”

Karl Hansell, a spokesperson for BIGGA, said: “There’s a general cultural difference between American and British golf courses. Legislation, resources and general construction are all very different, with UK golf courses often more compact and fitting sympathetically into their surrounding landscape.

“On average there is just 12 hectares of intensively managed turf on a 50-hectare site.

“The remainder can be comprised of longer rough, woodland, wetland, heathland, bare earth, wildflower areas, dune systems and countless other types of habitat. Each of these provide diverse habitats where flora and fauna often thrive.”