California’s desert golf courses work to cut water usage

In charge of 500 acres of irrigated turf at Sun City Palm Desert, including two 18-hole golf courses, parks and softball fields for the 50-and-over community of 5,000 homes, Tyler Truman is no stranger to concerns about how much water the courses and the surrounding areas are using.

“I can see where (the critics) are coming from,” said Truman, director of agronomy at Sun City, which includes the two golf courses at the Mountain Vista Golf Club. “And you listen to them. And then you try to educate them. This is how we are trying to use the water. This is how we are using the water.”

As the drought in the southwest deepens, with a first-ever Level 2a Shortage Condition declared for the Colorado River—a major source of water for the desert and all of Southern California—golf courses in the Coachella Valley are aware that golf is always a target for those looking at water usage.

With golf courses using between 750,000 and 1 million gallons of water a day in the desert, and with 120 golf courses in the Coachella Valley alone, golf industry officials know they need to both reduce water usage and reinforce the benefits of the usage.

Mike Whan, executive director of the U.S. Golf Association, said earlier this year he’d like to see a 45-percent reduction in golf course water usage in the next 15 years. Other USGA officials are now trying to figure out how to meet such an aggressive goal.

“I was part of a meeting to discuss if that number is realistic or not, and I think it probably is,” said Brian Whitlark, agronomist for the West Region Greens Section for the USGA based in Arizona, whose region includes the Coachella Valley. “Will a golf course in Los Angeles reduce its water by 45 percent? Probably not. But nationwide, I think that is possible.”

From taking out irrigated turf to upgrading irrigation systems and computer technology, golf courses are constantly focused on water, said Craig Kessler, director of government affairs for the Southern California Golf Association.

At the recent Southern California Golf and Water Summit in Chino Hills, Kessler was one of the speakers to a crowd of more than 200 golf professionals, general managers and course superintendents looking to share ideas and learn new strategies on water reduction.

“We want to continue to bring this great game to Californians,” said Kessler, who is also the chairman of the Coachella Valley Golf and Water Task Force. “And we understand that we live in a land…