What makes New York golf courses sustainable?

All state park golf courses implement risk-reduction strategies outlined in New York's golf best management practices (BMP). These practices guide everything from chemical use to habitat management, ensuring that courses meet high environmental and safety standards.

“Using fewer inputs does not mean lower quality. When we use less water or less nitrogen, we actually get better playing surfaces that are firmer and faster,” said Carl Schimenti, Cornell’s urban environmental scientist.

Year-round, golf course superintendents rely on soil moisture or evapotranspiration data to schedule irrigation instead of using fixed schedules. They avoid applying nitrogen late in the fall, especially after turf growth slows. Superintendent use spot treatments rather than blanket spraying. It is common to maintain buffer zones along wetlands and streams. In addition, regularly checking and calibrating irrigation systems prevents leaks. All of these strategies are outlined in the best managment practices. 

Image below: Cornell researcher, Carl Schimenti, evaluates grass and weed development.

Fairways and greens are built around the ecological landscapes they originated from. Natural landscaping not only enhances the aesthetics of golf courses but also creates habitats for pollinators and wildlife.

Pollinators are critical to the nation’s food supply, but they are also vital for maintaining plant diversity of flowering of forests, ornamentals and grasslands. Native pollinator gardens can be found across the property on all five courses of Bethpage State Park Golf Course. “We have an elementary school that we are neighbors with, and we built a little pollinator garden and a birding trail,” said Andrew Wilson, director of agronomy at the park.

With its five courses and 1,368 acres of public greenspace, Bethpage is both a golfing destination and an ecological haven. The park supports tree swallows, bluebirds, warblers, red-tailed hawks and great horned owls, tracked by park ecologist Yael Weiss and naturalist Jim Jones. Golfers are even encouraged to share their wildlife sightings.

“Since we are a state park…there are 1,500 acres of permanent residents, wildlife. They don't have a voice, so we have to be their voice,” Wilson explained. “Not all the decisions on a golf course…are 100 percent golf conditions focused.”

Image below: A native pollinator sign sits on Bethpage’s Black course.

Turfgrass may be a playing surface rather than a food crop, but the principle is the same—growing plants that need to be fed, maintained and kept healthy. As turf is a perennial crop, the challenge is balancing plant health with environmental responsibility during year round care.

Integrated pest management (IPM) offers that balance. It is a flexible, site-specific approach guided by scientific thresholds and principles, yet tailored to each turf system. “We are trying to reduce inputs, reduce harmful impacts, and promote plant health,” said Jennifer Grant, former director of Cornell’s IPM program.

The process begins with reducing turf stress—choosing practices that make grass naturally resilient to pests. Decisions are based on close monitoring of pest biology, weather conditions, turf value and customer expectations. Record keeping is central for managers to track pest incidence, interventions and the costs to refine strategies over time. The IPM model calls for the least disruptive, most effective control first, with chemicals used only as a last resort.

Rather than a rigid recipe, IPM is a proactive, step-by-step framework that helps turf managers keep grass healthy while minimizing risks to people and the environment. Cornell State Park agronomists help all state parks develop yearly IPM plans. At Chenango Valley State Park, it is making an impact. “One of the main things that they help us with is lower pesticide usage. So they come up with an IPM program for us, and we follow their guidelines as far as our pesticide usage and spraying,” said Michael Stubbins, assistant superintendent at Chenango Valley State Park.

Image below: Michael Stubbins, assistant superintendent, stands on the back course at Chenango Valley State Park, where he will soon take over as course superintendent.

Water stewardship is a top priority for regions like Long Island, New York. Its dense population is heavily reliant on a unique, vulnerable underground aquifer system for its entire drinking water supply.

According to the Long Island Golf Superintendent Association, 90 percent of Long Island golf courses implement water-quality BMPs, including nutrient management planning, soil testing and buffer zones. More than 85 percent use advanced irrigation scheduling, drought-tolerant turf seed and stormwater capture systems. The island's sandy soils and environmental limitations require unique irrigation strategies.

With less turf actively managed than almost anywhere else in the state, Robert Moses State Park’s Pitch and Putt Course is the least irrigated state park in New York. Similarly, at Sunken Meadow State Park Golf Course, the driving range receives very limited irrigation and fertilizer. The management team identified the section of the course as a lower-value playing surface, allocating fewer resources, which saves water, labor and inputs.

Image below: Sunken Meadow prioritizes its resources across various parts of the course. The driving range receives the least irrigation and inputs.

Research and surface mapping help identify low-traffic areas that are still actively managed but do not need to be. Converting these zones to native grassland, or low mow areas, reduces inputs and creates valuable wildlife habitat.

“We've taken almost 500 acres out of regular mowing across the state parks and reduced emissions,” said Frank Rossi, associate professor of horticulture and the state's turfgrass extension specialist.

The changes protect water systems, provide flood buffers and improve pollinator habitat. Beaver Island State Park converted nearly two acres within a single cluster of holes, a small shift with a large ecological payoff. 

Image below: Around one of its ponds, Beaver Island State Park has converted managed greens into low-mow, native grasslands around four holes.

Maintenance practices are increasingly site-specific. Even though golf courses have distinct segments of the golf course—greens, fairways, tees, rough, bunkers and long grass areas, Carl Schimenti explains, “within those areas a lot of those areas should probably be treated differently and can use different amounts of nitrogen." 

The golf industry calls that spot treatment or site-specific care. That also extends to water, irrigation, or even cultural practices. The most common cultral practices include verticut, topdress and cultivation.

Site-specific care means having equipment ready for all types of daily work. At Battle Island State Park, a well-organized shop with staffed mechanics keeps mowers and rollers in peak condition for stress periods. Greens are rolled to reduce weed pressure, while equipment is carefully matched to the needs of each area—triplex mowers for greens, rough mowers for higher cuts.

It is also the window for equipment maintenance before the peak fall season begins.

Image below: A triplex and rough mower work together on a course.

Regular soil testing ensures precision nutrient management. “We really focus on the cultural practices…thinking of creating good, healthy turf from the ground up,” said Kevin Carroll, superintendent at Green Lakes State Park Golf Course. “The results of soil testing play a big part in what you might do differently with your nutrient management.”

Carroll also conducts foliar testing every few weeks. Other practices, like aeration, grooming, and topdressing, are informed by this testing and supported by Cornell’s State Park agronomists. “We are getting a nice clean cut on the turf at all times,” he added.

Image below: Frank Rossi examines a soil sample collected from trial plots.

Other management systems that are dense in vegetation require hole-by-hole management, like at Saratoga Spa State Park. “We hand water a lot—bunkers and bunker banks, green spots—to try to make it so that we're not using as much water on the course,” said Chad Murphy, the superintendent at Saratoga Spa. 

Other state park courses, including James Baird, Chenango Valley, Soaring Eagles and Rockland have invested in major irrigation upgrades, further improving efficiency. 

Images below: Data powers a newly installed irrigation system, enabling easy hourly planning through an app. Assistant superintendent Brian Bischoff demonstrates how he uses the app to activate individual sprinkler heads when drought stress is detected.

Public access is an important dimension of sustainability in turfgrass management. Seventy-two percent of New York golf courses are open to the public, including 153 municipal facilities. In total, the state has 833 courses, making sustainable management a significant driver of environmental stewardship statewide.

“We know when people go into urban green spaces, they have less stress, less anxiety and have improved emotional states," Carl Schimenti said. “Walking around in nature for four hours is an immense benefit, physically, emotionally and socially.”

Image below: The State Park logo, featuring its iconic maple leaf, is displayed at James Baird State Park.

Sustainable golf course management in New York goes beyond maintaining greens, encompassing ecosystem preservation, community support and continuous improvement to recreational experiences for future generations.