Courses are:

• Community greenspaces that provide recreational opportunities and also offer and enhance wildlife habitats.

• "Air Conditioners" that produce vast amounts of oxygen while cleansing the air of pollution and cooling the atmosphere.

• Water treatment systems: healthy turfgrass is an excellent filter that traps and holds pollutants in place; courses actually serve as catch basins for residential and industrial runoff; many courses are effective disposal sites for effluent wastewater.

          • Among the best ways to reclaim and restore environmentally damaged sites, such as landfills.

Businesses that contribute substantially to communities through employment, taxes,

property value improvement and enormous charitable support.

• Independent university research supports the fact that well-managed golf courses do not pose significant risks to environmental quality, wildlife or human health.

• The modern pesticides and fertilizers used to maintain healthy golf course turf have been thoroughly tested and are considered safe when used according to label directions.

• A pesticide product today has typically undergone more than 120 studies at a cost of $50 million before it is registered by the Environmental Protection Agency.

3. Today's golf course superintendents are educated professionals who care about environmental quality.

Most of today's superintendents have college degrees and substantial continuing education. Superintendents are the nation's leading practitioners of Integrated Pest Management, a philosophy that reduces the potential environmental risks of pesticide usage. Virtually all golf courses employ at least one state licensed pesticide applicator who is trained in environmentally sound pesticide use.

No. There is no scientific evidence that golfers face any chronic health risks from the pesticides used to maintain courses.

• Once a liquid pesticide product is applied and the turf is dry or the product has been watered in, there is very little chance of exposure to golfers or others who enter the area.

• Golfers with possible chemical allergies are always encouraged to contact superintendents to find out what products might be in use.

5. The entire golf community is committed to being a model environmental industry for the 21st Century.

The United States Golf Association is pouring millions of dollars into independent research to study issues such as water quality and wildlife habitat. The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America has made environmental education a major focus of all of its education and information programs. The nation's golf course architects now design courses that reduce the need for pesticides, water and costly maintenance practices while preserving habitat and environmental quality. The Allied Associations in Golf are currently finalizing a set of "Environmental Principles" that will offer guidance for responsible development, design, maintenance and facility operation for the future.

The use of pesticides, the impact on water and soil quality, and irrigation water usage are often cited as public concerns about the golf industry. The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) is leading the golf community in working to correct this public misconception through a comprehensive effort combining research, education and communication. These inaccuracies, if not corrected, could pose a serious threat to the vitality and integrity of the game of golf.

• University and government studies indicate that, when properly applied, pesticides and fertilizers do not leach into groundwater in any appreciable amounts.

• Modern turlgrass management practices greatly reduce the potential for leaching or runoff into water supplies.

• Pesticides and fertilizers are used only on certain portions of the golf course. The rest of the property often consists of natural areas not maintained with turf care products. These areas can provide a home for wildlife, and include a diverse variety of native plants and trees.

• Golf course superintendents are among the best-educated and most conscientious users of chemical management tools. Today, most superintendents have two or four year university degrees in agronomy, horticulture or other related fields.

• Many superintendents enter the profession because of a love of nature and the outdoors and are strongly committed to conservation. A recent survey shows superintendents give extremely high priority to maintenance practices that do not have a negative impact on the environment.

• Most golf courses compost grass clippings and leaves, which reduces the amount of waste in landfills. Composting is a growing and recommended practice for golf course operations.

The water used on golf courses can be an excellent investment in both economic and environmental terms. Irrigated golf courses generate millions of tourist and property tax dollars for state economies. Many courses now use recycled water as part of their irrigation practices. When effectively irrigated, healthy turf provides numerous environmental benefits. Properly maintained turfgrass:

• produces oxygen (carbon dioxide exchange) and cools the atmosphere

• prevents soil erosion

• filters natural and synthetic contaminants from rainfall and irrigation

• recharges critical groundwater supplies

• provides crucial "greenspace" in urban settings

As a result of computerized irrigation systems and improved turfgrass varieties, courses can now use less water more efficiently to achieve the same level of conditioning. Continuing research will provide even more "low-water" turfgrass varieties in the future.

In addition to turf-related benefits, courses provide other important ecological and community assets. Golf courses are:

• key sanctuaries for birds and other wildlife

• disposal and treatment sites for (effluent) wastewater

• attractive and environmentally sound "covers" for closed landfills and other ecologically damaged sites

• recreational places for non-golf activities, such as jogging, walking and bird-watching

• businesses that provide hundreds of thousands of skilled and semi-skilled jobs

• places for social interaction and community events

• civic'benefactors that give major contributions to charities

• community improvements that add value to land, thus increasing local tax bases

• wetlands preservation areas

On golf s behalf, GCSAA has built strong and cooperative relationships with the U.S. Environmental Protection agency and other major regulatory groups. Through governmental affairs, professional education and public information, the association strives to make environmental responsibility a basic precept for its members.

The golf community has the willingness, the resources and the motivation to address the environmental issues that exist on the golf courses of today. It is hoped that through these efforts golf will be perceived as a model environmental industry for the 1990s.