Golf Course Environmental Profile Measures Nutrient Use and Management and Fertilizer Restrictions, Storage, and Equipment Calibration

The golf industry lacks comprehensive national data on the property features, management practices, and inputs associated with golf courses. To develop a national golf course environmental profile, a survey was sent to 16,386 superintendents at US golf facilities to determine their nutrient use, trends in nutrient use, nitrogen sources used, soil amendment and turfgrass supplement use, and fertilizer restrictions, storage, and equipment calibration. Of these surveys, 15.6% were returned. Analysis of data indicated a representative sample of golf facilities in the US was received with the exception of facility type. Data were weighted for facility type. Summed over all golf course components and all golf facilities, a total of 101,096 tons nitrogen were applied to 1,311,000 acres; 36,810 tons phosphate were applied to 1,131,000 acres; and 99,005 tons potash were applied to 1,260,000 acres in 2006. Only 9% of 18‐hole golf facilities reported restrictions on fertilizer use required by a government or tribal authority, and 18‐hole facilities calibrated their fertilizer application equipment before application 67% of the time. These results provide an accurate portrayal of golf course nutrient use and establishes a baseline for comparison with results from future surveys to monitor industry change over time.