Sustainability Spotlight: California Community Golf Summit
The California Community Golf Summit was held on July 8th at Lakewood Country Club Golf Course, in Lakewood, CA.
Summarizing the California Community Golf Summit
The challenges that face municipal golf are many, and if you are a regular Driving the Green reader, this is not news to you. Those challenges include rising operational costs, diminishing natural resources, and conflicts over land use, just to name a few. As the Director of Sustainability for National Links Trust (NLT) in Washington, DC., it is my role to think about how municipal golf courses can showcase the value they add to their communities through social, economic, and environmental programs that seek to mitigate harms (stormwater runoff, waste production, etc.) while accentuating the many benefits affordable and accessible golf can provide for communities (access to urban and suburban green space, mental and physical exercise, STEM field trips, biodiversity conservation, etc).
One way I’ve been able to showcase the value of municipal golf courses for NLT has been through the production and management of national and regional golf conferences. These municipal golf-specific conferences are so valuable because they provide the rare opportunity for representatives from across the wide swath of municipal golf stakeholders to get together under one roof.
Disclaimer: this graphic was generated with ChatGPT, but cites accurate data.
Earlier this month, I attended and served as a panelist at the ‘California Community Golf Summit’ at Lakewood Country Club Golf Course in Long Beach, CA. The California Community Golf Summit (CCGS) was the second regional municipal golf specific conference that National Links Trust has had a role in organizing (in October, 2024, NLT partnered with Mass Golf to host the ‘New England Public Golf Forum’). The CCGS was hosted by the California Golf Course Owners Association, with collaborative efforts from, NLT, Southern California Golf Association, Southern California Professional Golfers Association, American Society of Golf Course Architects, California Alliance for Golf, American Golf (golf course management company), and the Latina Golfers Association.
Andrew Szunyog, (first from right), served as a panelist for the Existential Threats to the Game panel and was joined by Craig Kessler of the California Association for Golf (first from left), Kevin Fitzgerald of the So. California Golf Association (second from left), and Vincent Johnson, Director of Golf for LA County Parks (second from right).
The conference’s theme centered around a major problem for municipal golf in the state of California: conflicts over land use. With the average municipal golf course encompassing roughly 150 acres of land, many of golf’s opponents are doing everything in their power to reallocate the land to offset other urban and suburban issues like affordable housing, access to health care, green space for other recreational sports, and commercial shopping centers, just to name a few.
What was quickly reiterated throughout the six panel discussions was this - there is no silver bullet when it comes to solving this fundamental municipal golf issue in California, or any other state for that matter. But in a world where context is key to any problem or solution, what does exist is an incredible opportunity for the vast community of municipal golf stakeholders in California and beyond, to unite and share their best practices with each other, to build empathy and create collaborations and partnerships that invite golf’s naysayers to see what we all see - a game and business that has the power to positively impact communities, rebuild native ecosystems, and create spaces where people are free to be themselves while exploring the world’s greatest game.
Collaboration across golf industry associations and stakeholders is vital for the continued protection and preservation of municipal golf facilities.
As mentioned earlier, the conference featured six panel discussions that were presented to well over 130 municipal golf stakeholders representing an eclectic mix of industry professionals, including state and regional association leadership, golf course architects, PGA professionals, golf course superintendents, municipal government staff, industry consultants, and golf course managers and owners.
Existential Threats to the Game
Are You a Welcoming Golf Course?
Maximizing Efficiency in Golf Course Agronomy
Community Programming Success Stories
Enhancing Community Golf Through Design
Emerging Markets
Lakewood Country Club Golf Course is one of Los Angeles County’s 20 golf courses located across 18 facilities and served as the perfect host for the California Community Golf Summit. Lakewood CC averages close to 100,000 rounds of golf per year!
To reiterate a key theme, there is no silver bullet when it comes to overcoming challenges as complex as the ones discussed at the California Community Golf Summit. But there is the opportunity for all of us to work together towards a common goal that creates a sustainable future for golf while supporting the needs of others in the community.
Read along for a few of the key takeaways from a thought-provoking and inspirational day of panels and discussions!
While participation and interest are at all time highs, the future of golf in southern California is not as bright. With over 460 current member facilities, Kevin Fitzgerald, Director of Public Affairs for the Southern California Golf Association, is preparing for a very near future with fewer than 400 golf courses in the region serving the one of the country’s largest population of new and existing golfers.
In addition to rising operational costs and the increasing regularity of natural disasters, municipal golf in California faces extreme pressure from city and state government officials, other sports and recreation representatives, and community stakeholders that feel the land golf uses should be allocated to serve other needs of the community.
Using the economic benefits of municipal golf courses as an argument against the industry’s naysayers is not a strong point and should rarely, if ever, be used. In California, the value of the land where the golf courses reside is astronomical and the tax revenue that would be made from the development of the land is significantly more than what the golf course can provide in terms of jobs for residents or operational revenue for municipal governments. You must instead focus on the social and environmental value municipal golf courses provide to community stakeholders.
Sustainability programs, like the one I run for NLT in Washington, DC, can show the ecological and environmental benefits of municipal golf.
For instance, caddy and internship programs can be developed to introduce new populations to the game and provide safe spaces for youth to develop valuable life skills while earning a wage and potentially qualifying for college scholarships.
Stormwater management programs can be designed to limit flooding and erosion and sediment loss while helping to solve one of the region's largest resource issues - the availability of water for irrigation.
Biodiversity conservation can provide much needed habitat for pollinators, birds, and other endangered wildlife while volunteer programs that help restore habitat or remove litter and trash from streets and waterways invite new community stakeholders to access golf course green space in a new and nontraditional fashion.
Digital communication strategies designed to build awareness of golf’s benefits builds trust among community members that the operation is responsible and accountable for its actions, provides context to the community regarding operational constraints and opportunities, and helps to shift the perceptions towards an understanding that these municipal spaces are indeed accessible, inclusive, and affordable.
The use of non-playable areas for alternative activities provide outlets for non-golf stakeholders to enjoy the acres of urban and sub-urban green space.
Ideas for additional land uses at golf courses include creating equestrian and hiking trails, organizing bird walks or bio-blitzes, hosting pet adoptions, voter registration events, pop-up nature centers, and art and car shows, and planning movie nights or outdoor concerts.
One LA municipal course even partnered with the California Highway Patrol to host a community awareness day so local police officials could meet with community stakeholders and answer their questions. They even handed out good driving certificates on the first tee for golfers who hit their ball into the fairway.
Don’t be afraid to invite all your local officials to your facilities, especially the ones that aren’t your biggest fan.
An ideal visit should occur while the facility is hosting a youth or women’s golf event.
Recruit your biggest supporters and have them engage with the official and tell them why this space is valuable to them and their golf community.
Show them your ‘trophy case’ - it’s important the officials see historical markers or signage highlighting environmental programs or legacy figures that shaped the history and direction of the facility.
