Will the Water Cutbacks impact Your Trip to the Desert? Unfortunately, more than likely. With 120 golf courses in Coachella Valley using 750,000 to 1M gallons of water PER DAY, the courses know they need to change their water usage.
“From taking out irrigated turf to upgrading irrigation systems and computer technology, golf courses are constantly focused on water, said Craig Kessler, director of government affairs for the Southern California Golf Association.” (Desert Sun)
Some of the Changes to Conserve Water
To save water, the Santa Rosa and San Gorgonio golf courses use moisture detectors showing where turf is overwatered or underwatered.
Some are introducing a Bermuda hybrid grass for existing Bermuda turf grass, reducing the need for overseeding and that stays green in the summer and winter.
According to the Desert Sun, “Thirty-six Coachella Valley courses use strictly Colorado River water for irrigation, while another 17.5 courses (a course is considered to be 18 holes) use a blend of river water and recycled water from CVWD. Other courses use groundwater from the aquifer beneath the Desert, with Burritt saying CVWD replenishes more than 40,000 acre-feet of water to the aquifer each year.
Plans for switching another 40.5 courses to non-potable water are underway, though many of those courses need pipes extended from the two CVWD recycling plants to reach the courses before switching over. Burritt said current street work on Hovley Lane in Palm Desert is designed to take more recycled water to big landscape customers like golf courses.”
A reduction in turf could also be implemented. As in the residential properties removing the turf and replacing it with more desert/drought-friendly plants, golf courses are also encouraged to reduce the turf.
According to the CVWD, 160 acres of golf turf have been removed, but at a high cost and may not be acceptable to everyone who plays on that course.
Will Drier Conditions Change Your Plans?
“What I am seeing is that the newer people that we have, the younger generations that are moving into our facilities, a lot of them are okay with the desertscape popping up in (golf) areas,” Truman said. “You are getting people who are understanding hey, we need to do this. The older generation likes that parkland setting where everything is green and lush. So I think just like everything, the younger generation is more open to it.” (Desert Sun)
Golfers coming here in the following months may need to alter their expectations of what the courses they play on will look like because of the water cutback and the drought.
Courses will play differently than when they water lavishly and lush. The drier and browner the courses are, the “faster” the course plays. However, will brown courses impact golfing in the Desert?