As the Ryder Cup Matches take center stage in golf this weekend in New York, the event is a reminder that research that began more than two decades ago on the same site has helped reshape the way golf courses are managed today.
The matches are to be contested Sept. 26-28 on the Black Course at Bethpage State Park on Long Island. The park's Green Course became a living laboratory beginning in 2000 as researchers in New York began exploring ways to manage golf courses with few inputs.
The impetus for the research was a confluence of events that could have had significant consequences for superintendents. As Bethpage was preparing the Black Course for the 2002 U.S. Open, several counties in New York implemented some level of pesticide bans, said Jennifer Grant, Ph.D., (right) a retired Cornell University professor and the former director of the New York State Integrated Pest Management program.
"Nobody knew if you could actually manage a golf course without pesticides," said Grant, now a scientific liaison with Global Organic Partners. "We saw some changes happening in New York that often affected golf courses.
"The question we had was what would you do if you didn't have pesticides. In my role as IPM specialist, that was a question I wanted to answer.
"Grass on putting greens is under so much stress, anything we can do to reduce that stress is going to pay off."
The question we had was what would you do if you didn't have pesticides. In my role as IPM specialist, that was a question I wanted to answer.
To find answers to those questions, launching a research project on one of the five golf courses at Bethpage State Park made perfect sense. Suffolk County on Long Island, where Bethpage is located, was among those implementing rules governing pesticide use. Likewise, the state also was considering pesticide bans on the 27 golf courses across New York's 19 state parks.
The study included six separate treatments, each of which was replicated three times:
Standard Culture (ball roll > 9 feet)
- Unrestricted Chemical Usage (Greens 1,6, 17)
- Integrated Pest Management (Greens 3, 5, 12)
- No Chemical Usage (Greens 2,4, 16)
Alternative Culture (ball roll > 8 feet)
- Unrestricted Chemical Usage (Greens 8,9, 13)
- Integrated Pest Management (Greens 11, 14, 18)
- No Chemical Usage (Greens 7, 10, 15)
The standard treatment included height of cut from 0.110 to 0.140 inches (mowed four times weekly), light applications of topdression every three weeks, rolling to maintain green speed and verticutting as needed.
The alternative program comprised height of cut from 0.170 to 0.185 inches (double cut five days per week), light applications of topdressing weekly, rolling three times weekly and verticutting every two weeks.
Conducting such trials at a public multi-course property made sense economically, as well, so as not to adversely affect revenue for the host site.
The Green Course remained open throughout the duration of the research, getting up to 50,000 rounds annually.
According to a statement from Cornell: "In 2000, when communities on Long Island, New York, restricted pesticide use and the state later tightened chemical regulations, a debate erupted over the environmental impact on lawns and golf courses. Encouraged by the legislation, state park golf courses were eager to demonstrate environmental stewardship or risk turf decline and lost revenue under stricter regulations."
Project success depended heavily on getting buy-in. Getting Cornell colleague Frank Rossi, Ph.D., (right) on board gave the project that needed credibility.
"Probably my biggest accomplishment was getting Frank on board," Grant said. "I asked him: 'What would you do if you were managing a golf course and couldn't use pesticides?' " Grant said. "Probably my biggest accomplishment was getting Frank on board."
The project showed that it was possible — at Bethpage — to produce results very similar to a traditional turf management program with 30 to 60 percent fewer inputs.
During the research phase of the project, there were plenty of doubters.
"People have to want to make it work to make this program work," Grant said.
Grass on putting greens is under so much stress, anything we can do to reduce that stress is going to pay off.
Throughout the duration of the project, Cornell researchers hosted an annual open house for golf course superintendents as well as lawmakers and other public officials from throughout New York.
"We invited not only superintendents who wanted to learn management strategies, but we also wanted people who set policy to come and see what a golf course might look like under these types of practices and what the cost might be."
There is no cut-and-past management program that will work everywhere all the time. But the work conducted at Bethpage has produced results and helped lead the way to subsequent projects that have opened many doors to researchers as well as superintendents.
"I wish there were 100 Bethpage projects going on around the country, because every site is different. Climate is different. There are different things that impact what will work and what won't," Grant said. "Really good integrated pest management is never cookbook. People tend to underestimate cultural practices and go to their chemical bases first.
"There were things 25 years ago that were not normal practices then, but are now. Rolling greens for disease management: People know they can do that now. Light, frequent topdressing: Any superintendent now will say that's a no-brainer. But 20 years ago, people weren't talking that way."