Golf and the Environment

  • Course and Effects

    In 1991 I got interested in the subject of how golf courses interact with the environment, and with the support of Al Barkow, the editor of Golf Illustrated, started a column. I didn't much care that both golfers and the golf industry tend to be extremely conservative -- I wanted to do what I could to feel good about golf courses, and raise the level of awareness about chemicals and water usage.

  • Organic GC

    Peter Luff was one of the most fascinating, impassioned people I ever knew. He worked hard to maintain the Sagamore Golf Club in New Hampshire according to responsible environmental practices -- his son Richard has done a wonderful job of building upon his dad's work -- delighted in working outdoors in nature, enjoyed keeping his intellect engaged. There was nothing you could pigeonhole about him: his opinions were cranky and idiosyncratic, and borne of a passionate and relentless curiosity, and a visionary striving for truth and a life he could live with. Peter died in 1998. He and Richard have created a great example of what golf courses should and can be.