GODZILLA!!!!!
Well…. No not really. But this guy is massive and its not hard to see why he’s earned the nickname “Godzilla”. He caught the attention of many local golfers and residents of the Valencia Country Club in Naples, Florida when he was out for a nice Sunday stroll. This has been a very common occurrence for golfers since the creation of the sport in 15th century Scotland. Golf courses are built on large areas of land that are typically a perfect habitat for wildlife. When those areas are built over, you’re still able to find strips and patches of land that are perfect environments for different species that would thrive in those areas, like this monster alligator. Over the years, golf courses have worked harder and have hired more professionals to help advise them on the best ways to help promote the wildlife of these areas, this hasn’t always been the case though so courses are also letting people know about there major strides to help wildlife, as well as inform those who visit these areas, allowing them to be better informed visitors, giving insight on how they too can do their part to help.
Country clubs and golf courses have gone so far in their attempts to help promote, protect and conserve that a program has been started called the “Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf” or ACSP for Golf. This program is set up as an open membership, as long as specific requirements are met by inspections done by Audubon International. Having a membership to one of these programs will not only provide an added prestige to a course, but it’ll also provide proof that these places are willing to take measures to promote and protect the wildlife. In 2002, Bethpage Black at the Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale New York, hosted arguably the most legendary tournament in the world, one of the 4 Majors in golf, the U.S. Open. And for that years tournament, golfers and fans around the world were treated to a certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary golf course. Bethpage State Park and their courses have since helped to lead the way in pushing for more course to obtain this honor and membership, as they have now currently certified all 5 of their illustrious 18 hole championship courses as certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary golf course. And since then they have hosted 2 more U.S. Opens (2009), the PGA championship (2019), the second round of the FedEx Cup Playoffs called the Barclays (2016), as well as the Barclays future host in 2021 and 2027, which means eyes from all over the world, tens of millions of viewers, guest from all around the world see how golf courses can make efforts to help preserve and protect the nature that golfers experience every time they’re on the course.
The initiative to really make an impact on courses natural habits is really growing in popularity among golfers in all regions. One of the best signs of this comes from the state of Delaware and the Delaware State Golf Association (DSGA). In the year of 2002, all courses within the DSGA became certified Audubon Sanctuary Program members. 100% of courses achieving this level of environmentally conscious efforts is really an incredibly gesture to the rest of the golf community that it takes a everyone to make the biggest impact possible.
Golfers interact with the wildlife, its part of the game that they love. Without it, there would almost be a feel of disdain, looking around with fewer signs of life that would ordinarily be expected, would clearly be an indicator of land and its nature being misused and distorted. Some golfers really feel that deep connection with nature when they’re on the course, so any disrespecting of nature to them would be an outright insult or sign of disrespect. In this area, it’s quite common to see a deer or fox run across the fairway; or see turtles, fish, amphibians of all sorts interacting in the way they were intended to. Keeping the true nature of these areas within a golf course is truly an important aspect that makes the game that much better for those that visit. A recent study published by Landscape and Urban Planning suggests that the golf course wetlands, that often
become signatures of the golf course, provide the same type of environment witnessed on protected and preserved lands, which means these areas are perfect habitats for a large majority of species that inhabit natural wetlands. This gives more protected land to these species without ever having to pass a piece of legislature or have the hassle of having to travel through bureaucratic channels, as long as the course make the necessary efforts. In addition, these courses tend to be tucked away pieces of land, which occur further away from roads, especially wetlands you see in urban areas. Even more protection and natural environment. Continuing to further efforts to make courses more environmentally conscious and involved will not only do incredible good for the world and those species that will inhabit the areas, but will set the import precedents of how sports can lead the way in making the most important environmental efforts, in a time when making these decisions becomes more and more vital to everyone and everything that call our planet home.
References:
Audubon International. (2020) https://auduboninternational.org/
Golfweek Staff. Bethpage Black to Host The Barclays in 2021, 2027. Rees Jones, Inc. (2020) https://www.reesjonesinc.com/bethpage-black/bethpage-barclays-2021-2027.php
Mackay, J et al. (2002). “The Water Imperative” Stewardship New: A publication of Audubon International, Volume 5 (3). https://auduboninternational.wildapricot.org/Resources/Documents/Stewardship%20News/2002%20SN%20MayJune%20.pdf
Winchell, M., Gibbs, J. (2016). “Golf courses as habitat for aquatic turtles in urbanized landscapes” Landscape and Urban Planning, Science Direct, Volume 147: 59–70. https://www-sciencedirect-com.pitt.idm.oclc.org/science/article/pii/S016920461500225X?via%3Dihub#bib0150
