ENVIRONMENTAL MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT: GOLF COURSES

Abstract

The maintenance and management of golf courses have changed drastically in the last 10 years. The old-fashioned means of maintaining a golf course without regard to the environment is no longer acceptable now. This is largely due to the increasing awareness of the public to environmental issues and the effects golf courses have on the environment. The standards demanded now are higher, and the golf course management team must correspondingly respond to such changing demands. However, the golf course management team often have to strike a balance between the twin pressures of having to be cost effective and responding to the increasing public concern over the environmental effect of golf courses. This can be met by implementing environmental friendly maintenance practices. This satisfies both the minimization of cost as well as decreasing the adverse effects of golf courses on the environment. In view of this increasingly popular strategy, this study seeks to explore the environmental practices Singapore golf course management engage in and the problems faced by the golf course management teams. Very often though, golf course management teams may only practice the basic environmental maintenance strategies. More can be achieved however, in terms of costand time-savings, reputation and member satisfaction, if the golf course management team was to do beyond the basic strategies.