NK Golf Going Green Behind the Scenes

Nearly all the snow from this trying winter has melted away as spring quickly approaches. Crocuses are punctuating through the dirt, bees buzzing around...and golfers are hitting the green.

Last weekend, the opened, welcoming local golfers to its greens. Over the past few months, the Golf Course Sub-Committee has been making some changes to the course greener...in more ways than one.

According to Jay O’Brien, the chairman of the sub-committee, the course is in excellent condition thanks to the efforts of Gary Carlson and his grounds crew. Although golf carts weren’t allowed during the opening weekend, the carts are now available thanks to the improved dry conditions.

Beyond the short-term care of the course these days, the sub-committee has been focused on going green.

Last year, the course rehabilitated an abandoned well on-site and fed it into the new irrigation system. The project allowed the course to rely on its own ground water supply instead of using drinking water from the Hunt River aquifer. The new system has also lowered the overall use of water. Prior to the upgrade, entire areas of the course were watered when only spot watering was needed. Now, individual sprinkler heads can be controlled by hand remote or from the shop.

First on the list of new "green" projects is the installation of solar panels that are planned to sit atop of the course clubhouse and pump house. The sub-committee is in the final stages of selecting vendors to supply and install the panels. Other future projects under consideration are residential-sized turbines and solar powered golf carts. O’Brien views the solar panel project as a necessary improvement justified by the anticipated long-term future of the course.

“If I looked at solar for my house it probably wouldn’t work because I’ll probably only be there for another twenty years," he said. "With the golf course, we’re talking about generations to come so we have to get the solar energy investment in place.”

O’Brien acknowledges that the green energy projects make sense from a bottom-line driven standpoint but he also sees the projects as consistent with the course’s mission to be a good community partner.

“Our groups, the Leisure Services Advisory Committee and the Golf Course Sub-Committee, this is what we volunteer for," he added. "We try to leave North Kingstown a better place.”

As for improving the operations of the golf course from the revenue side of things, the sub-committee has reached out to Quonset Development Corporation to ensure guests of the are actively courted to play on the nearby course. The 103-room TownePlace Suites by Marriott is set to open next month.

The course is also concentrating on its beginner clinics – aimed especially at women – to establish long-term players.

“With the clinics, we’re targeting women and giving them an idea of how to go through a golf game because sometimes for a new golfer, it can be intimidating," he said. "The clinics show new golfers how to handle themselves around the green and what the rules are. When women attend these clinics, they meet other women who want to play in twosomes, foursomes and those groups often turn into leagues.”

Above all else, O’Brien feels confident that the course itself is its best advertisement. As such, a continuous effort is made to keep the course looking top-notch.

“We want to make it more colorful,” he said. “We’re going to work on the sand traps better. We’re going to work on the driving range. We just have to keep improving because this is a business and we have a lot of competitors, both high end and lower end. We think it’s the best public course in Rhode Island and we just keep pushing to improve it.”