golf course
Eco Friendly Golf Course? Justin Timberlake’s Mirimichi
Goes to show that there are varying degrees of sustainability. The worlds first ‘Eco-Friendly Golf Course’ is opening tomorrow (July 25th, 2009) in Memphis, Tennessee. A brainchild of singer and green celeb Justin Timberlake, the Mirimichi Golf Course is the first golf course in the US to receive the Audubon International’s Classic Sanctuary certification and hopes to gain Platinum LEED certification by opening day.
The former Woodstock Hills Golf Course was purchased by the Justin Timberlake, an avid golfer, in hopes of saving it from development. Feeling that it was “such a landmark for the community” and being the first place he had ever hit a golf ball, he was able to “scoop it and save it.”
Long considered a blight on nature and wilderness due to the intense water use, fertilization, and runoff, golf courses have also been criticized for their lack of native habitat. Mirimichi seeks to change all of that with rainwater irrigation, native landscaping, and a new Natural Resource Management Center featuring state-of-the-art biodegradable treatment of rinse water. It even features native grass areas which frame the holes and reduce the mowable acreage of the course.
“Creating an eco-friendly course was a priority throughout the renovations,” said Greg King, director of golf, Mirimichi. “We wanted to create a world-class golf experience that protected and enhanced nature’s canvas.”
