Monthly Feature Hosted By:
	David Phipps, GCSAA Class A member at Stone Creek Golf Club, Oregon City, Ore.

More and more golf courses are being built in remote locations to give the golfer an experience away from smog and traffic. Doing so within undisturbed ecosystems should increase the scrutiny of the environmentalists and the regulators. I recently read an article from a local paper in Sisters, Oregon about a developer that is building a destination resort, and in his words, is purposefully avoiding building a golf course. The article went on and stated that golf courses are notorious for polluting the environment and this developer was “committed to building a resort that caters to the REI crowd, people that enjoy hiking, biking and climbing in the outdoors.” Personally, I embrace his idea, but I disagree with his golf course example.

The developer has the perception that golf courses are bad for our environment and it is stories like Old Greenwood Golf Course in Truckee, California that can help dispel that belief.

Old Greenwood is located in the Sierra-Nevada Mountains in what many would consider a treasured setting. As you might imagine, there were some pretty stiff regulatory requirements imposed on the development. Adopting Audubon International’s Gold Signature Program was the correct place to start. In addition, the Old Greenwood development adopted the use of “The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System" to guide the design and construction of the buildings at the golf course.

The LEED program focuses on categories within a ranking system which includes: Sustainable Sites- Water Efficiency- Energy and Atmosphere- Materials and Resources- Indoor Environmental Quality- Innovation in Design for New Construction- Innovation in Upgrades, Operations, and Maintenance for Existing Buildings.

This month’s case study will take you through some of the steps that Old Greenwood took to obtain this certification. Many of the achievements Old Greenwood attained would probably never happen at my course mainly due to my budget, but many of the others I found to be inspiring and have been able to implement them with little if any costs.

It is my hope that in the future, environmental advocates will know about more “Old Greenwoods” in our industry before they make blanket statements that golf courses are bad for the environment.

If you have implemented creative ways to conserve resources at your course, GCSAA would love to here from you. Please contact me at dcphipps@bctonline.com or Mark Johnson, GCSAA’s Senior Manager, Environmental Programs. Superintendents who submit a case study are eligible for 0.25 service point.

The Old Greenwood Natural Resource Management Center or NRMC is a unique and one of a kind facility located in the beautiful Sierra Nevada mountains, just outside of Truckee, California.  This Certified Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED™) building received recognition across many elements of the LEED – New Construction category. 

Noteworthy environmental design items include water efficiency, energy performance, green power, and the use of local and regional materials.  Not only did the NRMC achieve 30% water use reduction through the use of waterless urinals and low flow fixtures, the project received an Innovation & Design (ID) Process credit for utilizing a wash water clarifier which recycles the spray wash water during golf cart, truck and equipment washes.  Any unused recycled water flows to the golf course irrigation system.  Additionally, by incorporating a high efficiency condensing furnace, outside air economizer and high SEER air conditioning unit along with great insulation, high efficiency lighting and windows the building is over 30% above The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) 90.1 energy standards.  The project received high marks for the use of green power by purchasing well over 50% of its power from renewable sources for two years.  Due to its location in the mountains, the NRMC building was compelled to reduce light pollution (because the stars really do shine brighter in Truckee), include natural daylighting, and enhance the views of the incredible Carson Range.   

The NRMC project not only received all of the Local/Regional Materials credits, the project gained another two (2) credits for significantly exceeding the requirements.  The project took advantage of local lumber producers and the proximity to building material manufacturing plants in the San Francisco Bay Area and northern Los Angeles Even plants out in the Nevada desert (US Gypsum drywall) pushed this project to extraordinary levels regarding Materials & Resources.  All in all, the NRMC building was a huge success and sets exemplary performance and green building precedence for the Truckee-North Tahoe region.