Golf Course Environmental Profile Measures Energy Use and Energy Management Practices

To develop a national golf course environmental profile, a survey was sent to 16,285 superintendents at golf facilities in the United States to determine their electricity use, fuel used for heating and other purposes, fuel used for equipment and vehicles, and conservation practices at golf facilities and its agronomic regions. The response rate was 9.6%. Summed over all golf facility types and agronomic regions, estimated electricity use in 2008 was 6,714,000,000 kWh; propane use was 17,000,000 gallons; natural gas use was 17,500,000 Mcf; heating oil use was 4,400,000 gallons; gasoline use was 77,000,000 gallons; and diesel use was 50,400,000 gallons. For 18-hole golf facilities, 77% have incorporated one or more behavioral changes to their standard practices, and 71% have incorporated one or more design, physical, or mechanical changes as part of their energy conservation measures. Golf industry programs are needed to raise awareness of energy use and the opportunities for conservation at golf facilities. These results provide an accurate portrayal of golf facility energy use and establish a reference point for comparison with results from future surveys to monitor industry change over time. Data could be useful in estimating carbon use within carbon footprinting equations for the golf industry.