A Conversation with USGA Agronomist Brian Whitlark

WORDS BY DAVID BATALLER

As the southwestern United States works its way through a 25-year drought, water restrictions have come to the forefront of the golf industry. Most notably, players want to know if, or how, their playing experience will change in the years to come. Golf facilities, meanwhile, are preparing for new methods in agronomy and course maintenance to help mitigate any future cuts in water allotment.

The United States Golf Association (USGA), and more specifically its Green Section, has been developing sustainable management practices with the goal of helping golf courses achieve optimal playing conditions for more than 100 years. USGA West Region Agronomist Brian Whitlark is an Arizona resident and University of Arizona graduate, where he received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from the Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, with an emphasis in turfgrass science. Whitlark makes regular visits to courses across the southwest to help improve the golfer experience through better turf and resource management. He recently sat down with the Arizona Golf Insider to discuss the water challenges the golf industry is set to face in the coming years.

ARIZONA GOLF INSIDER: In your opinion, what does the state of golf look like in relation to environmental challenges the region is facing?

BRIAN WHITLARK: We’re in a period of change. The water discussion is at the top of the priority list due to historically low levels at Lake Mead and Lake Powell. Overdraft of the Colorado River and the low reservoir levels are changing the discussion as far as water availability in Southern Nevada and in in Southern Arizona. In response, the industry is poised to make significant changes in the way golf course superintendents manage turf in Arizona. It will be a slow process, but we already see courses that are converting to new hybrid bermudagrasses, we see numerous courses that are in the process of evaluating different bermudagrasses and even Zoysia grass.

The motivation to evaluate those new grasses is to eliminate overseeding and still provide quality conditioning and aesthetics year-round. Those courses that have made the conversion find that they’re able to provide good playing conditions for more days out of the year for their members and guests compared to an overseeded golf course – they don’t have to close in the fall for three or four weeks. So they’re open at a time of year that is just fantastic for golf in Southern Arizona, and while the aesthetics may not be as awe-inspiring as the striped up ryegrass golf course, the non-overseeded bermudagrass or Zoysia grass can still provide good aesthetic green color and playing quality, I would even argue, could be even better.

The question is, how are we going to position these golf courses to be more sustainable for the next 50 years? I think moving away from overseeding and converting to one of these grasses that has better traffic tolerance ‒ that can still provide good playing conditions during the winter months ‒ can still attract our winter visitors. When you put the non-overseeded bermudagrass up against ryegrass, 99 times out of a hundred people are going choose the ryegrass just because it’s prettier and darker green. But that doesn’t mean that if the industry pivots away from overseeding that facilities won’t be able to provide good playing conditions, provide good aesthetics and continue to drive revenue. Non-overseeded golf courses can be treated with pigments to provide green color during the winter months and I’m optimistic that golfers will be quite happy with that product. We have already seen evidence of that. Golfers are especially happy when they recognize the amount of roll that they get on their drives!

“ I think moving away from overseeding and converting to one of these grasses that has better traffic tolerance ‒ that can still provide good playing conditions during the winter months ‒ can still attract our winter visitors.

AGI: There has been information released in various reports detailing a 35% cut in water allotment for golf courses in Southern Nevada beginning in 2024, and a similar cut for Arizona facilities in 2025. What are some of the ways golf courses can prepare themselves for these significant changes?

BW: Golf courses can save 30-35% of water usage just by not overseeding. Now when upgrading to one of these grasses like TifTuf, there’s the potential to reduce water use even further. I don’t know that number yet – no one does – but research suggests it’s another 10%, maybe even 15% above and beyond the 30% reduction. So potentially, you may be looking at 40% reduction if you change to something like a TifTuf bermudagrass, which has excellent drought tolerance.

The USGA is also doing a really cool project at Paradise Valley Country Club, where we’re planning to install subsurface drip irrigation on an entire hole. This has never been done before to my knowledge, but we have used subsurface drip irrigation in places like bunker surrounds. It’s been really successful for many years. We’ve done some research on this strategy at Las Campanas in Santa Fe, N.M., where we installed subsurface drip in teeing grounds. The research demonstrates that the savings are 50 to 80%! That’s a legitimate savings, not to mention other benefits: less soil compaction, less disease, no off-target watering, which means a lot less weeds in areas outside of the turf. There’s a lot of benefits. I don’t know if we can do it on an entire hole or not, because of slopes and challenges like that but we’re going to find out. It’s an exciting project.

To stay up to date on the USGA’s latest initiatives and reports on agronomical best practices, search for the Green Section Record online at www.usga.org. There, you will find the latest videos and articles on various topics from across the country.

AGI: As you visit golf facilities and research centers throughout the Southwest, has anything stuck out to you that has proven to be a successful new wave of for agronomical or environmental best practices?

BW: There’s some low hanging fruit: Irrigation maintenance like raising and leveling sprinklers, changing nozzles, doing an audit ensuring that all the heads are adjusted properly and the pressure and the flow are optimized. Golf courses want to produce firm and fast conditions. There’s no incentive to over-water, because golfers don’t like to play wet golf courses. So there’s every incentive for revenue to produce a firm and fast and dry golf course. Additionally, when you apply only the amount of water that is needed, you reduce excessive amounts of organic matter and turfgrass growth, which requires additional labor and fuel to manage that growth and organic matter accumulation. Golf course superintendents are really motivated to only apply the minimal amount of water needed to sustain healthy grass.

And then there’s the increase in data collection that’s spreading across the industry. Golf courses are much more active in data collection and using that data to make decisions on the golf course. You may have heard about the USGA GS3 smart ball, which is a Bluetooth ball that we are using to collect greens performance data, speed and firmness and smoothness. We can use this device to collect data, and to make decisions on the golf course. Superintendents are also using in-ground soil moisture meters and handheld soil moisture sensors to make site-specific irrigation management decisions.

There’s new technology that can be equipped on a utility cart or mower that measures soil moisture, delivering thousands of data points on every fairway, or rough area. This type of technology has potential to change the way courses make irrigation management decisions. The overarching data collection topic, and making data-driven decisions, are the new ways in which golf course superintendents are managing their courses to be more sustainable and to produce better playing conditions using less resource inputs.