Golf Courses Cutting Back On Water Use

In his 30 years of golfing, Steve Amaro says he’s never seen courses this brown.

"This is the driest I’ve seen it in years," Amaro said.

Golfers of all levels feeling the effects of the drought and the impact it’s having on their game.

"I figure the ball is going to roll a lot further because it’s so dry," Amaro said.

"When you’re hitting your shorter irons, it’s a little harder to get it up in the air," Golfer Matt Valdez said.

But golfers say it comes with the territory. Courses all over the Central Valley have been cutting back on their water use.

"We’re trying to get more from less. So we’re not watering as much and we’re trying to get more absorption into the soil and into the plants," Dragonfly Golf Club General Manager Kurt Krause said.

Krause says they’ve starting using an organic soil conditioner to better absorb the water, and they’ve stopped filling one of their lakes.

"Completely let it go dry, so essentially saving that water from refilling that lake over and over," Krause said.

And just down the road, other courses are doing the same.

"We have 2000 heads in the system and we’ve closed 500 of them," Sunnyside Country Club Board President Michael Der Manouel said.

Der Manouel says they began their water conservation two years ago when they replaced their entire irrigation system. But starting in January, they cut their watering 25 percent, cutting out those areas not used by golfers.

"On a lot of levels, it doesn’t make sense to maintain that grass," Der Manouel said.

And Nancy Bochini with Hank’s Swank Par 3 Golf Course says they’ve cut their watering 30 percent.

"There’s a few dry spots on the golf course we’re not watering, and also around the park, in the front yard," Bochini said.

And the city says their own course, Riverside, is cutting back as well, watering from three days a week to now two.

"The whole thing is to make sure each one of the individual water stations only irrigates twice a week." Fresno Communications Director Mark Standriff said.

But golfers say no matter how dry it gets, it won’t keep them off the greens.

"It can be brown whatever. I’m going to golf. So it doesn’t matter," Valdez said.