Respect and care for the environment are integral to the game of golf. Not only is golf played outdoors, but playing a round of 18 holes implies walking 6 kilometres for about 4 and half hours in the countryside. As a result, it is both an interest and an obligation for the world of golf to preserve and improve the natural resources at its disposal. Montecchia Golf Club has been committed to this issue for years. It has been one of the first Italian golf clubs to pursue such an important program, in order to establish its function as a buffer area between the Euganean Hills Regional Park and the nearby urban settlements. A brief history of the work undertaken by the club follows.
1997
The Club offered to participate in the first survey on Italian golf courses. Gli effetti ambientali delle attività ricreative sul territorio - Il caso del golf in Italia (The Effects of Leisure Activities on the Environment: the Case of Golf in Italy) was the research undertaken by C.N.R. – National Research Centre - in association with the University of Bologna and the Italian Golf Federation. This study provided the milestone for research on the relationship between golf and environment in Italy for the following years.
2000
Montecchia Golf Club joined the European Environmental Certification Programme Committed to Green. The project started in 1999 with the Valderrama Declaration, an official document signed and approved by the most important international golf associations (U.S.G.A., E.G.A., R&A) as well as environmental associations (The Environmental Commission for I.O.C. - International Olympic Committee -W.W.F International, the management team of the United Nations Environment Programme and the European Commission General Directorate for the Environment). The main objective for Committed to Green is to highlight the positive function that golf may have for the environment and the community, especially when the environment sustainability guidelines are followed. On the basis of this commitment to safeguard the environment Montecchia Golf Club formulated its management policy.
Initial actions taken by Montecchia Golf Club:
- Computer programming of the irrigation system to save water (more uniform water distribution) energy (increase in pump station efficiency) in addition to reducing the use of chemical products (healthier turf grass growing environment);
- As a member of the Energy and Environment Association, the golf club has had immediate energy use savings (by 10%) and reduced electricity costs;
- Installation of a timer to ensure that lighting is turned off automatically at a certain time at night;
- Ongoing installation of energy saving lights;
- Recycling of waste in the clubhouse, in the maintenance facility and also on the course;
- Creation of a wash pad for cleaning machinery;
- Creation of the first wild areas in the more out-of-play areas on the course with benefits for the flora and fauna.
2003
The golf club joined the first ornithological research program to have been carried out on golf courses in Italy. In particular: Importanza dei campi da golf per la conservazione delle specie ornitiche in Italia (The Importance of Golf Courses for the Preservation of Ornithic Species in Italy) and Avian diversity on golf courses and surrounding landscapes in Italy
2004
The club began to work together with University of Pisa Certes (Centre for Research on Turfgrass for Environment and Sports) and the Italian Golf Federation Turfgrass Department in order to reduce considerably the use of water and chemical products in turf management and to improve the quality of the golf course. This partnership resulted in the creation of the first experimental turf nursery to be built at this latitude in Europe. It also helped to launch research on warm season turfgrass species. These species require less water (reductions up to 50% compared to traditional turfgrass species) and reduced chemical use. Important scientific papers were presented at the Fifth World Scientific Congress of Golf in Phoenix, Arizona Warm Season Turfgrass Adaptation in Europe North of the 45° Parallel and at the First European Turfgrass Society Conference in Pisa Warm Season Turfgrass Adaptation in Northern Italy
2007
The club was awarded a Certificate of Merit by the "Impegnati nel Verde" (Committed to Green) Programme Technical and Scientific Commission.
In addition to being the first official acknowledgement, the certificate was also recognition for achieving its first environmental objective. It also gave the club a major encouragement to follow on with its environmental policy:
- Further increase of wild areas, thus making the course more natural with an increase of plant and animal species in particular (foxes, hares, coots, herons, egrets and wild ducks);
- The increase of wild areas came as a result of the elimination of cutting and maintenance practices in out-of-play rough areas. It also allowed for a reduction in fuel consumption of maintenance machinery.
- Upgrading of the air conditioning system in the clubhouse with considerable water and electricity savings;
- Installation of a flow meter in the pump station in order to monitor actual water consumption.
2010
On the basis of the data obtained by the experimental test on warm season turfgrass species, the club started a turfgrass conversion plan of fairways and tees from cool season to warm season turfgrass species. Work started by inserting Bermudagrass on the white course fairways with the intention to continue in 2011 and 2012 on both the red and yellow course. Please see also "BERMUDAGRASS AT MONTECCHIA GOLF CLUB"
In collaborazione con l'Università di Roma - La Sapienza e con la Società Cooperativa Darwin, La Montecchia prende parte ad una ricerca ornitologica su scala nazionale, mirata ad individuare il ruolo dei percorsi di golf nella difesa delle specie a rischio di estinzione.
2011
This is certainly a most important year for Montecchia Golf club:
- In May the club joined G.E.O. – Golf Environment Organisation -http://www.golfenvironment.org/, an international no-profit and independent organization, with a view to getting a certificate of environmental quality.
- The club obtains the "Impegnati nel Verde" Environmental Award in the water class.
- A first assessment of the white course fairways confirms the benefits of Bermudagrass, not only for visual or playing quality, but also for the environment. Water consumption has been reduced by 50% and the use of chemical products has dropped considerably.
- The club’s environmental policy has also benefited from environment-friendly investments, such as: ongoing renewal of maintenance equipment, selecting more fuel efficient machines, replacement of electric golf car fleet with newer more efficient golf cars, purchase of new course furniture made of recycled materials.
- The communication on environmental issues has been improved by creating a Golf and Environment section on the website and a golf environmental notice board in the clubhouse.
Nel mese di settembre, in occasione del XVI° Convegno Italiano di Ornitologia, vengono presentati i risultati della ricerca "Specie a priorità di conservazione presenti in alcuni campi da golf italiani" iniziata l'anno precedente dall'Università di Roma La Sapienza e dalla Società Cooperatica Darwin in collaborazione con 15 circoli di golf, tra cui il Golf Club della Montecchia.
Future plans
- Begin a tree management plan together with the Landscape Horticulture Department of the University of Bologna;
- Research the possible installation of photovoltaic panels to produce electricity;
- Research the possible installation of solar panels to heat water;
- Begin the first ornithological research on the effects of Bermudagrass on golf courses.
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