2001 Environmental Leaders

Golf Digest, March, 2002 by Mike Stachura

Starting fires next to multimillion-dollar homes doesn't usually get an award, but sometimes a prescribed burn is the best thing to do to protect the environment. That's one reason Bill Davidson (below) at Collier's Reserve Country Club in Naples, Fla., was named by Golf Digest and the Golf Course Superin-tendents Associa-tion of America as the overall winner in the 2001 Environmental Leaders in Golf Awards. Davidson used the burns to eliminate unwanted vegetation and encourage natural regrowth. "Normally there'd be a good burn every couple of years," he says. "It's nature's way."

Through the efforts at Collier's Reserve, there are now 200 identified species of birds on site and a growing population of rare gopher tortoises. The golf course also serves as a "foster parent" for a local animal rescue shelter. (In fact, a fox recently injured on a nearby highway was treated at the shelter and then continued his rehabilitation at Collier's Reserve.) Through careful maintenance, ground-water quality on the golf course is almost at the level of drinking water. Davidson says the environmental emphasis is not merely the right thing to do, it's the most efficient. "It pays to do it the right way first," he says.

The annual award is sponsored by Syngenta Professional Products; Rain Bird Corp., Golf Division; Textron Golf Turf and Specialty Products; and Pursell Technologies Inc. This is the first year the award has been co-presented by the superintendents' association and Golf Digest. Golf Digest created its environmental award in 1995, while the superintendents had previously named their own Environ-mental Steward Award winners. Judging was conducted by an indepen-dent panel of experts from the environ-mental community, turfgrass business, academia and the golf industry.

Winners were selected based on their facility's commitment to resource conservation, education, water quality and wildlife preservation. They were judged in four categories: sustainabil-ity, criticality, originality and technol-ogy implementation.

For more information, including a complete list of all the GCSAA chapter and merit award winners, visit www.golfdigest.com/environment.

RELATED ARTICLE: The Winners

Golf Digest/GCSAA Environmental Leaders in Golf Award 2001 National and International Winners:

* National Public: Kevin Hutchins, Presidio Golf Course, San Francisco

* National Private: Bill Davidson, Collier's Reserve Country Club, Naples, Fla.

* National Resort: Anne Hickman, Barton Creek Country Club, Austin

* International: James Sua, National Service Resort and Country Club, Singapore