Systems Thinking: The Golf Course as a Living Bio-Filter
Playability Meets Prestige, Meets Preservation at North Shore Country Club
“There is no silver bullet – biology is way too complicated for that.”
– Dan Dinelli, Superintendent of North Shore Country Club
Know thyself and be thyself. That is the essential philosophy of Dan Dinelli, forward-thinking, third-generation superintendent of North Shore Country Club in Glenview, Illinois (a suburb 20 miles North of Chicago).
Signature looks and popular designs may detract from what most often draws golfers to a specific course: the unique character of that layout. North Shore Country Club remains true to the character of its land, and beyond being a championship golf course that once hosted the 1933 US Open (and more recently, the 2023 Western Amateur), this community asset serves many more purposes:
Habitat for plants and wildlife
Bio-filter of storm water and air
Stormwater detention to reduce flooding and groundwater recharge
Laboratory for innovation in sustainable golf course management
For Dan Dinelli, “multi-functionality” simply means understanding the land of a golf course and the many ways that it can provide value. Such an approach allows the facility to create value in multiple areas: economics, agronomy, ecology, and community – creating a “win, win, win, win”.
North Shore Country Club aims to be what Dan Dinelli calls a “living bio-filter”. Dan casually noted in our first phone conversation that he was applying “biosolids/compost blend” to North Shore’s snow-covered fairways. Do snow-covered fairways present a problem for the economics of a golf course, or do they represent an opportunity to divert municipal waste streams while reducing inputs and improving soil function and fertility?
The Why: Circular, Systems-Oriented Design
North Shore Country Club answers with a holistic, systems-oriented approach that permeates the facility’s operations. Its circular approach mimics the processes of nature, wherein “waste” has no practical meaning, as by-products, inputs, and outputs meet one another in perpetual harmony.
Among other examples, what is unused in consumption is not destined for waste. Instead, food waste from the clubhouse goes into a vermicomposting operation. The process uses red wiggler worms to convert what would have been waste into a nutrient-rich bio-fertilizer, creating a healthier golf course that requires fewer external inputs.
Such a design methodology aims to optimize the golf course’s phytobiome – an interconnected ecosystem of plants and the macro and microorganisms surrounding them. Common approaches in agriculture and agronomy feed plants the nutrients they need through external inputs. A holistic approach aims instead to optimize symbiotic relationships between plants and their environment such that the phytobiome can sustain its own nutrient needs and ultimately require fewer external resources – including dollars.
The How: Optimizing the Phytobiome
Enter one possible solution of biochar. Biochar is the product of anaerobic pyrolysis of biomass. In simpler terms, if organic materials like wood (or even food waste) burn at a hot temperature in anaerobic conditions, the result is a carbon-rich, charcoal-like substance that makes for an ideal soil amendment. Rather than adding inputs to the phytobiome, biochar facilitates nutrient retention, reduces nutrient runoff, offers habitat for microbes and ultimately produces a healthier, more resilient and robust system.
Dan Dinelli experiments with biochar as a carbon-rich sand amendment in green mixes, and with quite remarkable results [see photo below]. Due to biochar’s porous structure (and Dan notes that not all biochar is created equal), the substance provides a better living space for microorganisms that aid in nutrient uptake and possibly disease suppression. Dan was one of the first people I ever spoke to in golf about biochar, and on our recent call, he reminded me of its many nuances. For optimization, biochar is best combined with nutrients and favorable microbes or quality compost in the right quantities to enhance plant resiliency .
“There is no silver bullet – biology is way too complicated for that.”
– Dan Dinelli
The plant microbiome functions somewhat like the human microbiome. Principles in the soil act much like the gut does for humans. Cycling of nutrients, nutrient availability, hormones and immunity to pathogens that affect function occur in the soil just like our gut. There is value in a robust and diverse community, while applying beneficial “prebiotic” and “probiotic” organic matter. That said, results have shown the benefits of biochar to a golf course ecosystem are many.
While biochar could almost sound “new age”, Dan points out that charred soils are found in the most fertile lands on earth, which were produced by natural wildfires and grazing animals. Such regions include the Amazon (where is to be found “terra preta” or “black soil”) in addition to the “corn belt” of the Great Plains.
Like the game of golf at its core, biochar thus represents both innovation and the preservation of tradition. While there is much more to explore, biochar holds promise as a new (yet old) method for improving the health of a golf course ecosystem along multiple fronts.
The Bottom Line
Sustainability shares a paradox in common with the game of golf: It is both the acceptance of limitation and a constant striving for improvement.
I asked Dan:
“What are you most optimistic and most pessimistic about with respect to golf’s future?”
Dan’s optimism prevails due to his noble responsibility for a 170-acre plot of land that provides green space for Glenview, among many other vital functions. Nevertheless, he expressed skepticism as to whether or not enough American golfers care about playing in a more natural environment. Our data have shown that golfers indeed care about their golf course leading sustainable community development, though one must admit that the quality of the product (or the playing experience) comes first for the golfing customer.
Regardless, North Shore Country Club demonstrates that for a golf course, preservation need not detract from playability, prestige, and profitability. A fully conscious approach may even enhance all of the above.
For more information on the innovative practices of North Shore Country Club, follow Dan Dinelli through these links: