The golf industry does not have comprehensive national data on property features, management practices, and inputs associated with golf courses. As part of the effort to develop a national golf course environmental profile, The Environmental Institute for Golf sent a survey to superintendents at 16,797 golf facilities in the United States to determine their number of irrigated turfgrass acres, water use, water cost, water sources, recycled water use, water quality, irrigation system characteristics, and water management and conservation strategies. Of these surveys, 15% were returned. Golf course data were stratified by agronomic region, course type, and number of holes. The analysis indicated proportional representation of all types of golf facilities in the results. Golf courses comprise an estimated 1,198,381 acres of irrigated turfgrass in the United States, and their total annual water use averaged over 2003, 2004, and 2005 is estimated at 2,312,701 acre‐feet. Water cost and water source vary by agronomic region. Recycled water is one of the water sources for 12% of golf facilities. Nearly all 18‐hole golf facilities use one or more techniques for irrigation scheduling, and they use multiple management practices such as hand‐watering to conserve water. These data provide an accurate portrayal of golf course water use that establishes a baseline for comparison with data from future surveys to monitor industry change, and the data can serve as a guide for industry agronomic and environmental initiatives.

The golf industry lacks comprehensive national data on the property features, management practices, and inputs associated with golf courses. To develop a national golf course environmental profile, a survey was sent to 16,386 superintendents at US golf facilities to determine their nutrient use, trends in nutrient use, nitrogen sources used, soil amendment and turfgrass supplement use, and fertilizer restrictions, storage, and equipment calibration. Of these surveys, 15.6% were returned. Analysis of data indicated a representative sample of golf facilities in the US was received with the exception of facility type. Data were weighted for facility type. Summed over all golf course components and all golf facilities, a total of 101,096 tons nitrogen were applied to 1,311,000 acres; 36,810 tons phosphate were applied to 1,131,000 acres; and 99,005 tons potash were applied to 1,260,000 acres in 2006. Only 9% of 18‐hole golf facilities reported restrictions on fertilizer use required by a government or tribal authority, and 18‐hole facilities calibrated their fertilizer application equipment before application 67% of the time. These results provide an accurate portrayal of golf course nutrient use and establishes a baseline for comparison with results from future surveys to monitor industry change over time.