Nearly every day, meteorologists point to weather maps with historically high, often record temperatures contrasted with record-low rainfall in many parts of the U.S., particularly the parched landscape of the Southwest. The current drought, which has been called the worst in 1,200 years, is testing everyone and every industry, along with the scientific community, in the search for mitigating effects and long-term solutions.

In California, this is the third year of a drought now requiring many golf courses to slash water usage by 35 percent of their assigned volumetric budget. In Arizona, the current drought has lasted for about 22 years in a state that is literally watching “bathtub rings” emerge on the reservoir walls of Lake Powell and Lake Mead as stored water steadily declines.

“The drought is very significant, and things are really changing and accelerating at a pace that we didn’t anticipate,” said Natalie Mast, active management area director for the Arizona Department of Water Resources. “The situation is extremely challenging.”

Mast develops her agency’s management plans for Arizona’s largest areas of concern, including the city of Phoenix. And in a state with an annual $5 billion golf business, she has worked with golf’s decision-makers in a precarious balancing act of an industry that needs water but must also meet allocated water usage goals.

 “We’re certainly not looking to put anyone out of business with the requirements, but we also need to be moving toward reduced water use in light of the very serious water situation,” said Mast. “I’m definitely seeing a willingness and a desire to make efforts toward water conservation in the golf industry.”

Brian Whitlark, a USGA senior consulting agronomist who works with golf course decision-makers in Arizona, California, Nevada and New Mexico, provides hands-on advice about how to meet the evolving requirements.

His focus in recent years has been on the necessity of golf course turf reduction, as well as turf conversion to meet water goals. Whitlark also works to redirect thinking about golf’s future.

“We’re looking at ways to solve the current water problem, but we’re really looking ahead,” said Whitlark. “When you talk to golfers who understand the challenges the industry is facing with water, many are willing to accept different playing conditions, knowing they are going to have a more sustainable course for the next 30 to 40 years.”

For now, however, taking action is the only way the most immediate goals will be met as climate scientists parse the numbers. According to information released in June by the National Integrated Drought Information System, the southern tier of the Southwest had received less than 50 percent of its average precipitation alongside above-average temperatures.

’Exceptional’ drought

Affecting the region’s water supply is a lack of winter snowpack in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains and in the Colorado River Basin. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, California alone began spring 2022 at 30 percent below its average snowpack rate, setting up the rest of the year for an “extreme or exceptional drought” as temperatures rose.

Lake Powell and Lake Mead, which supply water to seven lower-basin states, are now at their lowest levels. By mid-June, the reservoirs had dropped to between 25-35 percent capacity with no relief in sight in terms of more rain or lower temperatures.

“The loud and clear message from all our water regulators in all our states is that we need to reduce the amount of irrigated turf on golf courses,” said Jeff Jensen, field staff for the Southwest Region of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA).

Southern Nevada golf courses, for example, have eliminated 900 acres of turf – the equivalent of about nine golf courses – resulting in a savings of more than 2 billion gallons of water over the last two decades, Jensen said. In Arizona, he noted that courses are limited to five acres of irrigated turf per hole, so an 18-hole course is allowed 90 acres of irrigation.

As incentive to reduce the amount of managed turf and conserve water, the Southern Nevada Water Authority is paying courses up to $2 per square foot to remove turf. Some courses have removed up to 60 acres of turf, Jensen said. A state-funded agency in Los Angeles has also funded turf-reduction projects, as well as upgrades to infrastructure that demonstrate water conservation and water savings.

But state laws vary throughout the region, and water-use guidelines may be recalculated annually based on water supply. In Phoenix, for example, the 2022 water conservation allotment for golf courses is 4.9 acre-feet of water per acre of land – a unit of measurement used by water regulators, which converts to 325,851 gallons. The city’s allotment of water will drop to 4.75 acre-feet per acre in 2023. Southern Nevada’s water allotment will drop from a current 6.3 acre-feet per acre to 4 acre-feet per acre. And while golf courses in Phoenix receive a 25 percent discount for using reclaimed or recycled water, there is no credit for the water type in Nevada.

“All water is a commodity, wherever the source is,” said Whitlark. “And courses are paying through the nose for it.”

Recycled or non-potable (non-drinkable) water is more affordable for golf courses. About 40 percent of California’s courses use recycled water. Orange County even has “direct potable reuse” water – meaning their sewage is turned into drinking water.

But recycled water is not always available due to infrastructure limitations. Many courses cannot access recycled water because they are located too far from the plant that produces it. For that reason, more courses are now implementing on-site water recycling.

“It can cost almost $2 million a mile to lay the pipe to transport recycled water,” said Craig Kessler, director of governmental affairs for the Southern California Golf Association. “If you build a small recycling plant on your site, you grab the effluent, recycle it and then use it on your course.”

Kessler said it has cost Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz, Calif., more than $10 million to build its own water-recycling plant. He noted that several other “well-heeled private clubs” in the state have also invested in on-site plants.

“They calculate there will come a day when they simply won’t have access to water, so they are taking steps now,” Kessler added. “There’s a population who will say, ‘Golf had its day in California, but its day is over.’ That’s what these clubs hope to avoid.”

Kessler has worked closely with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to get half of 34 courses in their service area using recycled water, for which demand is increasing. He noted that a few clubs in the LA area are reportedly using “half as much potable water now as they did 15 years ago.”

Surprisingly, California’s Coachella Valley boasts 124 irrigated golf courses that sit atop a deep aquifer. So, while the Palm Springs desert gets far less rain than Tucson or Phoenix, its ample water supply comes from groundwater.

Conversely, San Diego is groundwater-poor with brackish water, forcing the city to pay for a costly desalination plant for its water supply. Beyond the expense, the National Library of Medicine lists numerous environmental risks associated with seawater desalination, including pollutant emissions that change ocean temperature and harm the marine environment. 

Exploring Strategies

Cole Thompson, director of the USGA’s Mike Davis Program for Advancing Golf Course Management, believes golf courses can meet local and state water allocations through guided strategic actions. Courses that have gone from 90 to 60 irrigated turf acres, for example, have continued to offer an enjoyable product to golfers while saving water.

Another timely step many courses are taking: converting their grass types to varieties that have a shorter growing season and require less water. Because of rising temperatures, the northern reaches of California, northern Utah and even Denver have converted to more drought-tolerant turf, saving between 25 and 40 percent in water costs.

Replacing turf costs between $15,000 and $30,000 per acre, but it’s a potential solution for the long-term goal, said Whitlark.

“It’s expensive and there’s no easy answer, but the return on investment could be only six to seven years,” Whitlark said. “Courses in California that have converted from cool-season to warm-season grass are saving 25 percent for water, and for many courses, that could amount to $200,000 to $300,000 per year.”

The elimination of winter overseeding – a maintenance technique that establishes a temporary turf in grasses that go dormant during cooler months – also helps to conserve water and other valuable resources. Overseeding requires considerable water and fertilizer, leading some superintendents to opt only to irrigate tees and greens, leaving fairways dormant.

Thompson also believes course irrigation systems are more important than ever in delivering efficient, cost-effective water use. Coupled with tools such as soil moisture sensors, thermal cameras on drones and satellite imagery to detect early indications of drought stress, even a well-adjusted irrigation system can be further tuned with sensor technologies.

Another practice gaining traction is sub-surface drip irrigation, a technique that places tubing beneath the turf rather than spraying water overhead. An estimated 25 percent of water is lost through evaporation, especially in higher temperatures. One high-desert course, The Club at Las Campanas in Santa Fe, N.M., has reported a 60-80 percent water reduction using this technique on its tees.

“If we put all of these things together and show their impact on the resources required to present a course for play, I think it will be a compelling argument for a resource-efficient golf course,” Thompson said.

Looking Ahead

As golf courses convert turf and test plant resiliency with as little water as possible, it begs the question of what they will look like as the industry seeks to reduce its environmental footprint.

“We’re seen as a large user of water and open space, so even though we want to be good stewards, there’s a public perception when it comes to our industry and the amount of water we’re using,” said Jensen of the GCSAA.

Less water creates firmer, faster conditions. New grasses create new challenges for both golfers and superintendents. And course architects are being asked to create a new look for a game with more stringent requirements.

“What’s new is old, and I have been a longtime advocate of putting the bounce back into the game,” said course architect Steve Smyers, a 45-year veteran of the design business.

Smyers cites “wall-to-wall turf” as the standard when courses were built as an amenity for real estate. Such requirements feel outdated now.

He was hired in 2017 to build Maridoe Golf Club outside Dallas as “a championship venue and model of sustainable golf,” per Smyers. The 7,800-yard course was built on 214 acres with only 46 acres of irrigated turf. The fairways are bermudagrass and the rough is a low-maintenance native buffalograss.

Smyers believes agronomy will play a greater role in cost efficiency and hydrology. When course presentation changes, so do the required maintenance and resources.

“Golf is always evolving, and we have the capability, knowledge and passion to adapt to what’s needed,” Smyers said. “I don’t think we should be worried, but we do need to be aware of how to adapt and how to address this evolution of the game.”