Sustainability

The UGA Golf Course works on many fronts to have a low operational impact on the environment and provides many avenues for soil research and biodiversity. A handful of our initiatives are listed below:

• The Golf Course is a member of Audubon International, which is focused on the implementation of environmental management practices that ensure natural resources are sustainably used and conserved.
• We are currently working toward Audubon International’s Cooperative Sanctuary Certification Program.
• More than 100 species have been identified on the Golf Course through a partnership with Bio-Blitz, a program where community volunteers visited the course to observe and identify wildlife.
• Storm water run-off retention pond and streams are tested for water quality at least twice a year.
• Vegetative buffer zones are maintained around all bodies of water to aid in water quality.
• Wildlife housing for birds and bats are installed and maintained.
• Natural turtle habitats created by fallen trees in multiple water bodies have been undisturbed.
• A concerted effort has been made to select insecticides that do not affect pollinators.
• We have grown and will grow more pollinator plots of wildflowers in the near future.
• Wildlife corridors are maintained. All wildlife is encouraged to move freely on the property.
• A recycle dumpster is kept and used at the Golf Course maintenance facility.
• There are six recycle locations on the course for golfers to use.
• A Minimum Level of Sustained Nutrient (MLSN) strategy is used to apply only what nutrients the plants need in order to prevent any excess. This is determined by soil testing.
• Hand watering and wetting agents are employed in order to reduce the amount of irrigation water is needed.
• Where applicable, Tif-Tuf Bermudagrass is used versus other varieties of grasses because of its drought tolerance ability that shows reductions of irrigation needs up to 50%. Tif-Tuf Bermudagrass was developed by the UGA turfgrass breeding program.