As important as it is to keep golf courses looking beautiful and inviting during the season, the management at these facilities are not just focused on the esthetic appeal of their courses - at least, not anymore.

These days just as much importance is placed on wildlife preservation as on other aspects of course maintenance. In fact, many courses are attempting to turn their spaces into wildlife habitats, as it has become apparent the facilities can provide homes for many species such as fish, birds, insects, small mammals and amphibians.

“Golf courses can be a sort of middle ground,” said Peter Stangel, director of science for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, a private conservation group. “They can fit in somewhere between national refuges completely devoted to wildlife and people's backyards. In some places, they can play a critical role in preserving some species. Obviously, they're not going to benefit every kind of wildlife. You're not going to see pronghorn antelope on greens. But a golf course can look a lot like a prairie to a burrowing owl if you provide some suitable nesting habitat.”

Drew Scott, a field biologist at the San Diego Natural History Museum, put it more succinctly: “A golf course isn't as good as nature, but it's better than a Wal-Mart parking lot.”

Consider this: Last summer it was estimated that there are approximately 17,000 golf courses in the U.S, and only 30 per cent of the land devoted to these courses is in place. That means 80 per cent of all golf course property - an estimated 1,665 square miles - is devoted to scenery.

According to the Golf Course Superintendents Association of American (GCSAA), the breakdown of the typical course goes like this:
Course total: 150 acres
Turf Grass: Approximately two-thirds of the course
The rest: 24 acres are usually undisturbed forest, while 16 acres are covered by water such as lakes, ponds and steams; six acres are home to buildings, 4.5 acres are sand bunkers and another 4.5 acres are devoted to parking.

According to a senior environmental biology lecturer from the University of London, the sections of golf courses not devoted to turf need to be large enough and close together to support wildlife populations, such as their shelter and food.

So what can a course do to become more wildlife friendly?

☆ Change irrigation such as draining ponds or using them for irrigation water at certain times of the year could benefit wildlife such as amphibians, as it would more closely mirror the cycle of natural wetlands.

☆ Do away with raised walls set around ponds so that smaller species have access to the water.

☆ Avoid mowing grass right down to the water's edge, to allow a buffer zone of plants to block chemicals that otherwise make their way into the water. Taller grass and shrubs also provide a home and food for many creatures.

☆ Avoid mowing altogether where it is not necessary to do so, for the above-mentioned reasons.

☆ Build nesting boxes for native birds and bats

☆ Plant vegetation that will attract local pollinators.

» Environmental Institute for Golf