Golf courses can be sustainable and diverse
Game doesn't deserve condemnation it receives, Linda McCollum writes.
As a relative newcomer to Edmonton — I've lived here since May 2001 — I continue to be surprised and sometimes dismayed by proposals regarding land use or building preservation in this fair city. I've read the remarks about city golf courses and take seriously the points raised concerning diversity, land usage and environmental concerns.
What is now known as Victoria Park, originally known as Hudson's Bay Flats, was the birthplace of Canada's first municipal golf course. At its beginning in 1896, it was a five-hole field which resembled a cow pasture. Men and women played the course. In 1906, planning began for an expanded 18-hole course which opened in September of that year.
In 1914, the Victoria Municipal Golf Course officially opened. Women of the era, concerned there were few Edmonton landmarks with women's names, lobbied successfully to have the course named after Queen Victoria.
The Edmonton Ladies' Golf Association (ELGA) was formed in 1934 with five clubs: The Edmonton Country Club, The Municipal ( Victoria), the Highlands
Golf Club, the Mayfair Golf and Country Club and the Prince Rupert Golf Club.
Much of the available golf demographics information is from the U.S.; however, if we use those figures as a baseline, we can estimate that currently approximately 70 per cent of golfers are men, leaving the remaining 30 per cent of players to be women.
The rise of women playing golf is phenomenal, proof of which can be seen in the increase in prize purses and televised Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) events. In the U.S., younger players are rapidly gaining representation within the sport. There is a program called Drive, Pitch and Putt for 7-15-year-old girls and boys, which taps into the creative and competitive spirit of young people. It is a chance for all kids to play together, develop a skill which they can use throughout their lives, and make friends.
Available golfers' ethnicity demographics indicate that, although dominated by Caucasian women and men, the number of African-American, Hispanic, Latino and Asian players is rapidly increasing. Public golf courses are open to everyone.
Edmonton's 7,400-acre river valley is the largest urban park in Canada. It consists of 22 parks and over 160 kilometres of maintained pathways and trails. There are four golf courses — Victoria (1909), Mayfair (1923), Highlands (1929), and Riverside (1953) — which occupy 600 acres or eight per cent of the total river valley area.
Another issue that has been raised concerns animal movement in the river valley. I golfed at Victoria and stood quietly while coyotes and other wildlife made their uninterrupted way across the fairway. These animals live on golf courses and raise their young on the golf courses. Many golfers in Edmonton and throughout Canada are used to sharing space with various forms of wildlife, including coyotes, deer, wolves and hares and, in some locations, not including Edmonton, bears.
What can public golf facilities do to contribute to a better and more sustainable environment? Good golf course management efforts include improved biodiversity by reduced pesticide and fertilizer use, optimized watering, minimized mowing, using energy-efficient equipment, improved waste management and using solar power — especially in sunny Edmonton.
Rather than condemn golf courses as lacking diversity, inappropriate land use and being environmentally suspect, I think we should seek to increase a diverse representation of players through introductory programs and events, respect those who choose to golf as a reasonable use of their time and money, and use the opportunity to find creative new ways to address environmental concerns that could benefit not only golf courses but other landscapes.