The USGA Green Section develops and disseminates sustainable management practices that produce better playing conditions for better golf.
This mission is achieved through four primary programs:
Research: The firm and fast conditions on today's golf courses are the result of years of dedicated research. Since 1920, the USGA has funded more than $40 million on research projects conducted at universities across the country. The research program facilitates collaboration with allied associations and government agencies to promote golf course contributions to the environment. The scientific results advance the long-term viability of the game through sustainable resource management and environmental protection.
Course Consulting Service: Through the work of its Green Section, the USGA has emerged as one of the world’s leading agencies devoted to golf course turfgrass, its playing condition and its management. Since 1953, the USGA has offered an on-site course consulting service to golf courses nationwide to meet the diverse needs of golf course owners and managers.
As a not-for-profit agency that is free from commercial connections, the USGA Course Consulting Service is uniquely able to provide the impartial guidance for golf course management to make informed decisions. Each on-site visit from a USGA agronomist with a wide-ranging knowledge of regional issues includes a written report that draws upon our unmatched expertise as a provider of more than 1,400 on-site course consultations annually.
Education and Outreach: The Green Section’s Education and Outreach Program has a well-defined mission to provide education products and real-world solutions on golf course management, environmental responsibility, and economic sustainability to a broad-based audience both within and outside of the golf industry. Our Green Section agronomists combine their formal education with the field experiences gained from working directly with golf course managers, industry experts and university scientists. The result is a wide variety of articles, videos, webcasts, and other multi-media materials shared through such delivery vehicles as the USGA web sites, publications (e.g. the Green Section Record, USGA Insider, and USGA Member’s Clubhouse), social media, webinars, and symposiums. The depth of the information ranges from the very technical needs of professional turfgrass managers to coverage of the same issues in layman’s terms for golfers and impacts on their game.
Championship Agronomy: The Green Section provides active support of on-course preparations at all of the USGA championships. The USGA agronomists work with golf course management staff before, during and after each championship to achieve the desired playing conditions for competition while using best management practices to preserve turfgrass health.