Golf or Trees?

Yesterday on the ADN front page:

Twenty-three acres of forest would be cleared under current plans to upgrade the nine-hole golf course and surrounding areas at Russian Jack, a 320-acre park that is the largest oasis of green in East Anchorage and one of the oldest parks in the city.

Today in the ADN Community Datebook:

Plant trees for clean water, 5:45- 7:30 p.m., Russian Jack Springs Park chalet. Tammie Wilson with the Municipal Watershed Management Division will describe how to make attractive gardens that capture and filter runoff before it reaches storm water drains. Hear about Habitat for Humanity's innovative housing project where plants and new construction materials and techniques eliminate runoff. Sponsored by Anchorage TREErific. Free.(343-4288)

Does an expanded golf course at Russian Jack at the expense of 23 acres of trees make sense?

Cable Starlings, a former state amateur golf champion and president of the Anchorage chapter of First Tee," thinks it does. He's pushing golf as a way to "reach [low-income] kids how to play golf, [and also teach] social skills..." I think it is great when someone takes his sport or hobby and uses it to help others in his community. But one also has to consider what the community has to pay for this and who in the community loses from the effort.

The problem I see here is that Cable has started out with 'golf' rather than starting out with kids. If we are really trying to help kids, especially low-income kids, to develop life skills, we would start with a study of programs that have been successful doing that.

We should also consider, given that developers constantly tell us that Anchorage is 'land scarce', how many kids can we serve per square foot? If we use that measure, I bet there are a lot of other projects that would serve a lot more kids with a lot less land with equal or better outcomes. We should also consider serving these kids for as many months per year as possible. Golf is certainly not a year round activity in Anchorage.

If one were suspicious, one might wonder whether the kids are an excuse to get the city to upgrade Russian Jack so it can be accredited by the US Golf Association. (The article says "One of the requirements [of First Tee] is a course accredited by the U.S. Golf Association, which Russian Jack is not.) The Alaska Railroad used commuter service to Matsu and Girdwood by 2005 as part of their justification for the Bill Sheffield Railroad Depot whose trains still only serves cruise passengers. I have no reason to believe Cable isn't truly interested in programs for kids. And he likes golf. But is this plan the best way to help those kids?

And, then there are the environmental issues that they are talking about at Russian Jack tonight.


The United States Golf Association does ongoing studies on the effect of pesticides and fertilizers on surface runoff and groundwater contamination:

Environmental Impact of Golf In response to public concerns about the effects of golf courses on the environment, the USGA has funded research examining the fate of turfgrass pesticides and fertilizers since 1991. The USGA continues to support scientifically based investigations on the environmental impact of golf courses. The focus remains on research to understand the effects of turfgrass pest management and fertilization on water quality and the environment. Research on best management practices evaluates pesticide and fertilizer programs for golf courses in order to make turfgrass management recommendations that protect environmental quality. The research is conducted on university experiment stations and participating golf courses. Projects evaluate pesticides or nutrients that pose an environmental risk, and identify cultural practice systems that minimize volatilization, surface runoff, and groundwater contamination.

The US Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment Golf is optimistic about golf and the environment:

"Golf has come nearly full circle in its relationship with the environment. The game began as an ecologically benign pursuit. In the second half of this century, golf ran roughshod over the landscape. Lately a more balanced and subtle approach has emerged with anew generation of course designers: moving less earth, preserving wetlands and shifting from the obsession of lush lawns." With the many societal responsibilities prominent in today's world, we cannot avoid the fact that we must respond to them. Conservation of water, energy, and maintenance man-hours have taken on as much importance as playability and aesthetics."

Compared to even a decade ago, today's superintendents use less water, fertilizer, pesticides, and fossil fuel than their predecessors, but without a reduction in turf quality." Good environmental management and design is the result of a multitude of factors including a thorough understanding of how these factors interrelate on a specific site in a specific locale.

"In general, golf can become part of any environment and materially affect it, and if proper planning, construction, and maintenance are done it can enhance the site." "The golf industry conveys a more cooperative sensibility towards environmentalism than it did a decade or two ago."

Other sites that discuss the impacts of golf courses:


America's 18,000 Golf Courses Are Devastating the Environment
Japan Golfcourses and Deforestation (JPGOLF Case)
United Nations Environmental Programme

Environmental Institute for Golf discusses the Golf Course Superintendent Association of America’s Golf Course Environmental Profile Project