As spring begins, Colorado golf courses are preparing for another season of stunning landscapes, carefully managed with sustainability in mind. While the fairways and greens take center stage in playability, the non-play areas play a critical role in enhancing course aesthetics, providing wildlife habitat, and supporting envification; they promote water conservation, protect wildlife, and ensure long-term environmental stewardship. Whether you’re enjoying a round of golf or simply taking in the scenery, know that every well-maintained landscape is the result of careful planning and responsible management. As the new season begins, Colorado courses stand ready to offer a perfect blend of playability and natural harmony.
During a rainstorm, water flows across roads, rooftops, and lawns, picking up pollutants like oil and debris. Golf courses, with their wide swaths of managed turf and strategically placed ponds and wetlands, slow this runoff. Turfgrass filters out contaminants and allows water to soak into the soil. Stormwater detention areas - carefully engineered low points in the landscape - temporarily hold runoff, giving sediments and pollutants a chance to settle before the water flows downstream.
This process is called “detention,” and it’s a powerful part of golf’s environmental contribution. It reduces flooding, improves irrigation water supply, and helps ensure cleaner water leaves the property than when it entered.
Colorado golf courses are designed to manage water with precision. Whether handling a two-year or a 100-year storm event, their drainage systems are engineered to keep surfaces playable, protect buildings, and enhance surrounding ecosystems. Many courses use “treatment trains,” a design strategy that moves water through a series of features - grassy swales, ponds, wetlands - each improving water quality step-by-step.
Many golf facilities also collect stormwater in ponds or lakes, which can be reused for irrigation if permitted by Colorado’s water rights regulations. In dry months, this stored water becomes essential, reducing reliance on municipal or well systems.
Golf courses in Colorado are required to follow state regulations regarding stormwater capture, especially when using that water for irrigation. Superintendents work closely with water agencies to maintain compliance and protect natural aquatic systems. They also keep detailed records of watershed boundaries, drainage paths, and the health of lakes and wetlands on their properties.
That peaceful water feature you pass on hole 12? It’s not just there for looks. It might be part of a carefully planned water management system filtering runoff, supporting biodiversity, and supplying water for tomorrow’s irrigation. Colorado golf courses are committed to sustainability, using BMPs to manage surface water responsibly - today, tomorrow, and beyond.