How green are our fairways?

Ireland is currently ranked the number one golf destination in the world for 2004, generating substantial revenue for the country in terms of visitors. The construction of new courses continues apace but has in some places generated friction between, on the one hand environmentalists and, on the other hand, developers. In the interest of debate we asked Ian Lumley, press officer of An Taisce, and Gavan Kelly of Turfgrass Consultancy to offer their views on the impact of golf courses on the environment.

An Taisce, "The Store House" or "Treasury", is the national trust fund for Ireland. Established in 1948 it is a prescribed body under the planning acts but is independent of the State. It is based in the Tailor's Hall, Dublin, and has a professional staff of 17 and a claimed membership of 5,000.

Press officer Ian Lumley says: "Golf is a very desirable outdoor activity and Ireland is renowned for the quality of its links courses. There are interesting arguments that in many cases a well-designed and ecologically-managed links course can enhance the protection of the coastal environment. It's certainly preferable to overgrazing.

"A lot of golf-course development is led by the need to have a high-profile, prestige site which is new to attract exclusive new hotel and residential-unit development. It's really a form of investment. We are all used to the idea of developers building housing estates, office blocks and selling off for a profit. It's not different to those categories of development. It's simply a form of commercial investment.

"The problem that arises is very often not the golf course but the insertion of a hotel, which has to be a large block with a critical mass, function rooms and an amount of housing units in locations which are ecologically, historically or scenically sensitive.

"I'll mention some of the locations which have been controversial - Doonbeg and the Old Head of Kinsale - and then the other tendency of golf-course development is to be attracted to country-house estates.

"The history in Ireland was the dereliction and abandonment of country-house estates for much of the 20th century. They now have prestige value as golf centres: such as Adare Manor, Dromoland, Mount Juliet and the more recent development proposals are Carton, and Lough Rinn in County Leitrim.

"There is a difficulty when you insert a golf course into a country-house estate. Not only did you have an architecturally important house designed by an architect but the landscape was also designed.

"The argument in the Old Head of Kinsale was that comparable property in Britain would have been taken into trusteeship.

"It is a Government issue. I don't believe the Old Head of Kinsale would have been granted on a comparable site in Britain. So the land owner would not have had the development expectation.

"Doonbeg I believe under current planning controls in Britain would not have been granted either. The argument would be that there are other links courses that are adjoining villages, many of which are nine hole that could be expanded and developed and be given accommodation in less-sensitive locations.

"The whole argument behind Doonbeg is exclusivity - to create something new and high-profile and windswept and dramatic and isolated from other places. It is primarily the cumulative impact of development.

"We already have an Irish coast that has a very heavy level of dispersed development. We have very, very heavy levels of ribbon developments like holiday homes on the coast. We already have a lot of golf courses in dune areas, some of which are very well managed and preferable to the alternatives of overgrazing or illegal sand-extraction.

"But Doonbeg was unrelated to any existing coastal development and it opened up one of our few areas of undeveloped coastline.

"I have been round most of the Irish coast. We have surprisingly few areas that haven't been affected by ribbon development.

"The problem with the Irish planning system is that it is developer-led rather than planning-led.

"The most recent decision by the planning authority that affected a golf course was Whitfield outside Waterford. We said we had no objection to a golf course subject to some extra buffering between that and the main house. An Bord Pleanála granted the golf course.

"Moy Valley: no difficulty with that. It was an industrial farm run by Bewley's that had a very bleak outlook.

"Another one was the development the New Forest in County Westmeath. We had no problem with the golf course. They ran into difficulties because of building a hotel right on top of the main house. They came up with the more satisfactory solution.

"It's the ancillary development. Everyone wants the dramatic shot with the castle in the background. There is also the herbicide and pesticide issue.

"There should be more certainty in the planning system. Certain of the more coastal areas should be protected as national heritage and recreational amenities because of their scenic significance and wildlife sensitivity."

Ireland is currently ranked the number one golf destination in the world for 2004, generating substantial revenue for the country in terms of visitors.

The construction of new courses continues apace but has in some places generated friction between, on the one hand, environmentalists and, on the other hand, developers.

In the interest of debate we asked Ian Lumley, press officer of An Taisce, and Gavin Kelly of Turfgrass Consultancy to offer their views on the impact of golf courses on the environment.

Turfgrass Consultancy are an Irish company specialising in course-project management and consultancy on over 50 golf courses throughout Europe. Their agronomists are John Clarkin and Julian Mooney (tournament agronomist for the Ladies European Tour).

Gavin Kelly (project management and business development) says: "There is a great deal of misconception within certain parts of society that labels all golf courses as detrimental to the environment. Nothing could be further from the truth.

"Over the past seven years we have worked with leading environmentalists, Dúchas, An Taisce, ecologists and hydrologists in the planning applications for a number of Irish golf courses.

"We would share their concerns for the landscape and the environment. In the past, stand-alone golf-course developments would not have required an Environmental Impact Statement but we would have taken a pro-active stance and got one done anyway.

"Thankfully, we have been able to demonstrate to the concerned groups that environmentally-sound golf courses do provide rich and diverse habitats for numerous species of flora and fauna and if the correct Environmental Management Plan is in place, the golf course not only sustains existing wildlife but significantly enhances it also.

"The most common misconception out there is that golf courses use excessive amounts of fertiliser and herbicides resulting in leaching and run-off. The typical total area for a golf course is 80 hectares (ha): greens 1 ha; tees 1 ha; fairways 12 ha; rough 15 ha; lakes and wetlands 2 ha.

"The balance can be used for out-of-play areas and wildlife sanctuaries.

"Virtually all fertilisers used on golf courses now are organic fertilisers of a slow-release, controlled nature. These fertilisers break down slowly, releasing nutrients on a gradual basis dependent on temperature, moisture levels, etc.

"Traditional farmland uses quick-release fertilisers that are prone to leaching quickly after rainfall. In a recent news article in The Irish Times, our Environmental Protection Agency estimated that over 35 per cent of river pollution was for this very reason. A typical golf course would use less than one-sixth the amount of nitrogen fertiliser a standard farm would use.

"In the case of herbicides they are used only once a year on the fairways, covering a typical area of 15 hectares. Due to our climate little or no insecticides are used. Fungicides will be used four times a year on the greens. The greens cover an approximate area of one hectare.

"Maintaining good water quality is a prominent environmental concern for golf courses. The creation of a vegetated buffer around water bodies on site will trap sediments, reduce erosion and slow down water as it moves from the land into a pond, lake or stream.

"A vegetated buffer is an areaaround the edge of a water body specifically maintained with plants that reduce storm-water flow and potential pollution from runoff. A buffer may be primarily made up of turfgrass, or include a combination of grasses, herbaceous plants and shrubs.

"One type of vegetated buffer, often referred to as a vegetated filter strip, is turfgrass mown at a height of three inches. In research trials, such filter strips, maintained at widths between 15 and 30 feet, reduced nutrient run-off from adjacent areas by 90 per cent to 99 per cent.

"The Committed to Green Programme and Audubon International are two excellent examples of environmental bodies that are working pro-actively with the golf industry to create these environmentally sound practices.

"Components of an environmental management plan for golf courses would include wildlife sanctuaries, corridors, buffer zones, wetlands and nest boxes.

"On golf courses in old country estates there have been a number of recent developments where the landowner has sought an 18-hole golf course with residential and commercial developments such as a hotel.

"We understand that this has caused concern with a number of the heritage bodies but the reality is that the planning, construction and establishment of a high-class golf product is big business and the landowner takes a substantial financial risk when embarking on this decision.

"We have seen cases where if the development did not go ahead, the estate or country house would have gone into ruin and all cultural heritage associated with the estate could have been lost for good. The debate is a sensitive one, and one we can influence by creating an environmentally-sound golf product.