ABSTRACT
The public demands high-quality turfgrass on golf courses, parks and urban greenways, sports fields, residential and institutional lawns, and conservation systems. In contrast to potential negative effects on the environment, golf courses and turfgrass systems have considerable environmental benefits. The major environmental concerns from the 1930s through the 1950s involved soil and water conservation on agricultural land. The need to protect surface water quality, soil resources and productivity, and groundwater resources remains a serious environmental issue. Integrated systems approaches are the latest and most complete attempt to solve the adverse environmental effects of agricultural, silvicultural, and turfgrass systems. The extent of golf courses and the number of golfers using these facilities are concentrated in the major urban centers in the United States. The controversy concerning the environmental and water quality impacts of intensively managed turfgrass has emotional, philosophical, and technical elements.
