In the 80s and 90s in America, residential developers believed that the best way to make money was to build a golf course community. Premiums of homes on golf courses ranged from 30% to 100% more than the price of a similar home not adjacent to a course. Today, the bottom has fallen out of the golf market leaving over 2,400 courses closed in America. Residential homes bordering a closed golf course experience an 11.7% loss of value. Many owners and potential developers want these large parcels of land to be up-zoned so they can build higher density residential and make a profit. Neighbors do not want to lose their greenspace and public officials do not want to be seen as harming single-family residential. This thesis argues that to retrofit a closed golf course, developers, community members and other stakeholders must first understand the morphological and environmental implications of the different types of golf courses, the context surrounding closed courses and the location of these courses in a greater regional area. By understanding closed golf courses in this way, a framework can be established that results from negotiation among golf course residents, neighbors, developers and public officials.

20 pp.

Thesis, PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / William P. Winslow III / Synthetic turf has been used extensively for football, soccer, and baseball playing surfaces as a substitute for natural turf because of its increased durability, low maintenance costs, and similar characteristics. The popularity, however, has not extended to golf courses, a seemingly appropriate application. Golf courses are prized for their aesthetic beauty, and their maintenance requires regular, detailed upkeep with particular attention to fairways, tees, greens, hazards, and the surrounding landscape. The combination of regular mowing, watering, grooming, and application of chemicals aim to strengthen the overall appearance of the golf course, but have negative effects on the ecologic and economic values of the golf course. Is it possible to use synthetic turf to reduce the ecologic and economic effects of golf course maintenance, while still providing an aesthetically pleasing playing surface and environment? This study develops three methodologies from the primary areas of concern: ecologic, economic, and aesthetic. The ecologic method uses criteria derived from the Sustainable Sites Initiative. Criteria in the economic method assist in understanding the cost efficiency of synthetic turf over time. Finally, the aesthetic method contains criteria that define characteristics that affect the look of the golf course. These methods are then organized into a metric structure with the respective evaluation criteria. Using the two re-designed options of Lakeside Hills Municipal Golf Course in Olathe, Kansas as the site for application, the methodologies are evaluated for three different scenarios, the traditional turf course, a partial replacement with synthetic turf, and a full replacement, and given a score. This score provides a quantitative value to weigh the ecologic, economic, and aesthetic benefits and constraints of synthetic turf in a golf course application, and important initial step in discovering its viability in the golf course design industry.

The golf industry is an important sector of the recreation and tourism economy in Canada. In 2009, the Canadian golf industry generated an estimated total direct economic activity of CND$29.4 billion dollars and created over 300,000 jobs for Canadian residents. Within Canada, Ontario is the dominant province with regards to golf’s gross domestic product (GDP). In 2009, the 848 golf courses in Ontario generated $11.5 billion, which equates to 38.7% of Canada’s golf GDP (Strategic Networks Group, 2009). Due to the economic and employment benefits of the Ontario golf industry and its sizeable land use, it is important to fully understand the environmental impacts of golf courses. While concerns have been raised regarding water consumption by the Ontario golf industry, the golf industry in Ontario has never responded to these criticisms with actual water taking data to support their claims of environmental sustainability. Water withdrawals and water use efficiency among golf courses have yet to be quantified by the Province, the golf industry or its critics. This study uses daily water withdrawal data, self reported by 129 golf courses, to the Ministry of Environment (MOE) from 2007 to 2012. The water taking data is used to examine biophysical golf course characteristics that influence water use, to estimate annual water use by golf courses in Ontario, to identify the potential for water use reductions through best management practices (BMPs) and to explore how climate change may influence future golf course water use in Ontario. This study provides a first approximation of water use by irrigation for golf courses in Ontario. The analyses that examined the biophysical characteristics of golf courses indicated that soil type and golf course type influenced water use. During a dry season, golf courses composed of sand and silt dominated soils were found to require more water than they did during a climatically normal season. With regards to golf course type, premier private and private golf courses were found to use a greater quantity of water during both normal and dry seasons when compared to public and semi-private golf courses. The provincial water use analysis revealed that during a climatically normal season, 50.5 billion L of water is used to irrigate Ontario golf courses. Irrigation increased (58%) to 79.9 billion L during a season that was 1.2°C warmer and 29% dryer than normal. This finding indicates that under anticipated climate change by the 2050s, water use on golf courses in southern Ontario could increase by 151% current levels. The analysis for potential water savings for Ontario golf courses revealed that water use reductions of 35% are possible if golf courses adopt similar maintenance and irrigation practices to more efficient golf courses (80th percentile) in Ontario. Further research regarding maintenance practices on golf courses should be carried out to understand what best management practices result in water efficiency among courses. Also, due to the self-reporting nature of the water taking program with the MOE, it has been recommended that a more strict and automated monitoring system be implemented. Lastly, it is strongly believed that in order for the province wide water savings to be achieved, collaboration between the government and the golf industry will be needed. This study is the first approximate of water use for Ontario golf courses, however, more research is needed to examine the MOE’s water taking data in detail to better understand the determinants of water use among similar golf courses.

Thesis (M.S.)--California State University San Marcos, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-83).

No description available.

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Howard Hahn / Golf landscapes have been cast as selfish land use, only for the recreation of those who are fortunate enough to play (Kiss, 1998). Recently, golf has been used by precedent programs like the Salute Military Golf Association (SMGA) and American Lake Veterans Golf Course (ALVGC) for its perceived therapeutic value, specifically for those who are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The following study presents an academic exploration of the potential therapeutic benefits a therapeutic golf landscape can provide U.S. combat veterans and service members suffering from PTSD. Ownership at a golf course in House Springs, Missouri is inspired to renovate their facilities to incorporate a playing experience of honor and healing for combat veterans. The golf course at Deer Creek USA is used as a model landscape for the purpose of this study. An analysis of the existing literature on the subjects of golf course design, therapeutic landscapes and memorial landscapes provided the foundation for the study. Precedent studies were used to extract specific design principles from each subject which was next interpreted and presented into two design frameworks. The design frameworks informed a series of design consideration for both memorial landscapes and therapeutic landscapes. A detailed analysis of the existing conditions at Deer Creek USA revealed that the golf course needed an intensive renovation in order to meet the report’s goals and objectives. The final Renovation Master Plan is one of many potential applications of the design guidelines to illustrate a vision for Deer Creek USA as a therapeutic landscape for U.S. combat veterans and service members. The following report reveals an innovative approach to the renovation of a golf course specifically designed to foster a complementary form of therapy for PTSD. If built, Deer Creek USA would be a place where U.S. combat veterans and service members suffering from PTSD can go to feel honored while benefiting from the potentially therapeutic sport of golf in a landscape optimized for stress reduction.

Thesis (M.S.)--California State University San Marcos, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-83). Also available online (PDF file) by a subscription to the set or by purchasing the individual file.

Healthy soils are essential for sustaining the world's ecosystems and maintaining human lifestyles. The adoption of biological, chemical, and physical analyses to assess soil health is a relatively new concept with a paucity of scientific work assessing how these metrics are affected by field management in urban systems Soil samples (n = 110) were collected from a diverse range of sports fields and, for comparative purposes, golf courses, farm fields, non-sport urban, undisturbed forest, and non-vegetated sandy soils. The samples were then analyzed using biological, chemical, and physical metrics to determine if there were significant differences between sport/golf venues and non-sport/golf soils. Soil health measurements included total organic carbon (TOC), organic matter (OM), permanganate oxidizable organic carbon (POxC), total inorganic carbon (TIC), potentially mineralizable nitrogen (PMN), carbon respiration (CO2), β-glucosidase (BG), autoclave citrate-extractable (ACE) protein, and aggregate stability (AS). All soils that supported vegetation had higher soil health test values than the non-vegetated sandy soils. In general, differences were either minimal or not detectable between sports field soils and other soils. Notably, golf venues demonstrated higher CO2 and BG than sport venues, while TOC and OM levels in sports fields and golf courses were similar to unmanaged, urban, and farm systems. In addition, ACE protein levels were notably higher in forests. The fertilized venues were generally higher for the less mobile nutrients with poor solubility (P, Zn, Fe, Mn, Cu) and lower in pH than the sand control. Somewhat surprisingly, the non-fertilized forest was generally equivalent to the fertilized venues in nutrients Sports fields had ample soil fertility and reasonable pH and EC, although they had excessively high soil P concentrations. Correlations between soil properties were performed and statistical differences were analyzed using Analysis of Variance and Tukey-Kramer mean separation. Biological and physical soil properties were highly correlated with each other, and overall, biological activity was similar across all land uses, including sports fields. In general, nutrient concentrations and EC were positively correlated, but tended to decline with increasing sand content. The data collected, and comparisons made, will add to scientific and community understanding of soil health as a function of land management.