Golf for the greater good

The golfing community is often under fire from environmental groups because of the supposedly misappropriate use of property, water and other natural resources. Some environmental groups look upon the sport as a social sin, in view of water shortage, poverty, lack of living space, etc.

But one golf course is actually making a dent in that area: TAT Filipinas Golf Club in San Pedro, Laguna.

“Golf has the reputation of being elitist and uncaring. We’re doing what we can to change that,” says its president, Atty. Edna Pana, who has made it Filipinas Golf Club’s advocacy to help the environment.

“We’re dramatically cutting down our water usage, using the natural dams and topography for maximum benefit, and creating opportunities for our caddies to sustain themselves.”

Construction began on Filipinas Golf Club in 1962. Seiichi Inoue, who designed 11 of Japan’s top 50 golf courses according to a 2002 Rating Golf Classic, created the design fusing some Japanese nuances with the natural topography of the land. In 1968, the club hosted the Philippine Open. In 1990, TAT International entered into an agreement to manage and rehabilitate the course. In 1991, Yasumaza Koga re-designed the course to emphasize what Inoue wanted.

In 2008, TAT Filipinas Golf Club, which is 60 percent Filipino-owned, opened to the public, and started its transformation into a fighting force for the environment.

“We ask some basic questions about what a golf course should be,” recalls Jose Dagdagan, Filipinas Golf Club operations manager. “Do the greens have to be fast and receptive to the golf ball? Does the course have to be evenly covered with hybrid grasses? Does it have to be lush and green? We aim to strike a balance.”

The balance they’re talking about is between playing quality, environmental stewardship and financial responsibility.

Among other moves, Filipinas Golf Club uses drought-resistant plants on the course to lessen the water usage, and allows areas not directly in the line of play to turn brown to save water. In addition, they have reduced chemical fertilizer usage to negligible quantities.

“We focus on the greens and fairways,“ Dagdagan continues.

“Anything not immediately in the line of play does not really need so much water.”

The club also minimizes the use of groundwater and instead uses more surface water by taking advantage of the natural dams in the lakes around the area to store rainwater. They also improve vegetation along the banks of the river system to retain more water, and recycle used water from the golf course and other tributaries.

TAT Filipinas Golf Club is actually a case study of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews – the birthplace of golf – and may be an example for sustainability and environment consciousness around the world.

The club has done a biodiversity assessment, and now lists 90 different species of flora and fauna among its inhabitants, including indigenous birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles. Filipinas Golf Club has also linked with international environmental organizations, has protected its lakes and ponds, and has designated “no go” areas where players cannot intrude. All this to maintain the ecological equilibrium of the area they share with other forms of life.

On the lighter side, the 107 employees and 341 caddies also receive food benefits from the club. The employees cafeteria only uses deadwood from the course for cooking, and even create handicrafts from leaves, twigs and seed pods that fall along the fairways.

The new spa along one of the small lakes is also starting to draw clientele, some of whom aren’t even golfers.