Imagine for a second your working at a golf course in the 1920's-50's... Currently there are a few farmhouses within site, maybe a nearby village, workers are locals, and resources in general are pretty much plentiful.
Fast forward to 2010 and your once lonely golf course is now in the heart of an urban environment. Besides fulfilling the original function of your golf course (recreation, social club and local employment) it is now expected to do all of that at 2010 standards, be a wildlife sanctuary, sequester carbon from the atmosphere, filter storm water run-off and provide the best possible conditions with no waste by-products released to the environment (pesticides & fertilizer residues, carbon emissions, garbage, golf balls).
Superintendents are expected to guide golf courses to fulfill these functions and become a sustainable entity within the community. This move towards self-sufficiency and conservation of resources is not only new to the industry, but to our urban populations in general.
Tomorrow is World Food Day, meant to bring attention to how we grow, distribute and eat our food. I'll be spot lighting a few golf courses providing food on their menu's that come from their very own soil. This trend is not restricted to high-end clubs, resorts clubs, urban clubs or rural Ma & Pa Public courses, it is a method of providing fresh, healthy food at an effective price point that everyone will enjoy.
Food Inc. may be an unflattering look at the corporate controlled food industry, but it helps frame the reality of where our food comes from and the effect on people and the environment.
3 Comments
I think it is a great idea to cover agriculture at golf courses Scott. We have a small garden at MGC. I will send you photographs from this years harvest.
I hate that movie. The thing they leave out is that Mc Donalds tastes very good. LOL. But seriously though they are killing our planet. I never understand why people say that golf courses are bad mean while everybody supports this kind of agriculture in one way or another. Maybe next years we try strawberry planters as teeblocks and sheep to mow the rough? I would be fired but not hungry LOL.
The problem with growing food on golf courses or any urban business, is the cost of land and labor is far more than imported produce.
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