The management of water and inputs
THE MANAGEMENT OF WATER AND INPUTS
The national charter for “Golf and the Environment” was signed jointly by the Ministry of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and the Sea; the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries; the Ministry of Health and Sports and the French Golf Federation.
Under the charter, golf courses undertake to reduce the water used on courses by 30% and to gradually decrease phytosanitary treatment by 50% by the year 2018.
By ceasing to water all areas “outside play” (rough), Saint-Cloud Golf Club has recorded significant decreases in water consumption and has concentrated its efforts on preserving fragile surfaces (greens and teeing grounds).
The large increase in mechanical operations (aeration, verticutting and spiking, etc.…) encourages air / water exchange, improves the playing surface (planimetry) and reduces the risk of turf illnesses.
Through its greenkeeper, Denis Couture, Saint-Cloud Golf Club is among 50 French golf clubs which are associate referents within the Epidemio-Surveillance network. Devised jointly by the Environmental Commission of the French Golf Federation and Ecoumène (Institute of Research, Investigations and Studies, Communication, Information and Databases on the Creation and Maintenance of Golf Courses in compliance with the environment – set up by the Association of French Greenkeepers), this network, made up of professionals from the sector, makes it possible to establish warning reports as soon as a disease is observed in a region. The greenkeeper is thus warned and can work more on prevention – limiting the amounts of phytosanitary products used on plots of land.
Under the charter, golf courses undertake to reduce the water used on courses by 30% and to gradually decrease phytosanitary treatment by 50% by the year 2018.
By ceasing to water all areas “outside play” (rough), Saint-Cloud Golf Club has recorded significant decreases in water consumption and has concentrated its efforts on preserving fragile surfaces (greens and teeing grounds).
The large increase in mechanical operations (aeration, verticutting and spiking, etc.…) encourages air / water exchange, improves the playing surface (planimetry) and reduces the risk of turf illnesses.
Through its greenkeeper, Denis Couture, Saint-Cloud Golf Club is among 50 French golf clubs which are associate referents within the Epidemio-Surveillance network. Devised jointly by the Environmental Commission of the French Golf Federation and Ecoumène (Institute of Research, Investigations and Studies, Communication, Information and Databases on the Creation and Maintenance of Golf Courses in compliance with the environment – set up by the Association of French Greenkeepers), this network, made up of professionals from the sector, makes it possible to establish warning reports as soon as a disease is observed in a region. The greenkeeper is thus warned and can work more on prevention – limiting the amounts of phytosanitary products used on plots of land.