As one of the leading public universities in the world, the University of Michigan, owns
two 18-hole golf courses: Radrick Farms Golf Course (RFGC) and the University of Michigan
Golf Course, also known as the Blue Course. The land on which RFGC is situated has a long and
diverse history. Over 18,000 years ago, the area was covered by the Wisconsin glacier, the
recession of which left a unique till mix and geological features, including Fleming Creek and
deposits of sand and gravel. The presence of these resources led to the transformation of the
landscape into a gravel mine, which functioned through the 1920s. In the early 1930s, University
of Michigan alumnus Fredrick C. Matthaei, Sr., purchased the land from Cadillac Sand and Gravel,
along with additional acreage surrounding the mine, and began the process of restoring the gravel
pit by re-grading the area, planting alfalfa and red clover, and converting portions of the area to
farmland. Following its donation to the University in 1957, the land was converted into a
championship 18-hole golf course designed by world-renowned golf course architect Pete Dye.
From its beginning, environmental considerations have been a priority at the RFGC. In
2001, the management of RFGC committed to the Michigan Turfgrass Environmental Stewardship
Program (MTESP), initiating a series of strong sustainability objectives. Since 2001, RFGC has
received special recognition from the Washtenaw County Pollution Prevention Program, in
addition to becoming “one of only four courses in the state [of Michigan] with both MTESP and
Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary certifications.”1 Radrick Farms Golf Course is also the only club
in the state to become a Groundwater Guardian Green Site; in 2012, Washtenaw County presented
RFGC with the 2012 Washtenaw County Environmental Excellence Award for Water Quality
Protection, and in 2014, RFGC was recognized by the Department of Environmental Quality of
the State of Michigan as a Clean Corporate Citizen (C3), the first golf course in the state to receive
this recognition.
The Blue Course, is located near the iconic Michigan football stadium, south of Central
Campus. Prior to becoming a golf course, the area was used for farmland. In 1929, the Blue Course
was designed by Dr. Alister Mackenzie, now revered as one of the greatest golf architects. The
course officially opened in the spring of 1931 and immediately drew praise as one of the finest in
America. At the time of its opening, the Blue Course was only the fourth course to be located on
a college campus. In the mid-1990s, a multi-million dollar renovation was completed to restore
the prestige of the Blue Course to the ranks of Mackenzie's other classics. A new practice range
was added to assist Michigan's golf squads, as well as a number of practice greens and bunkers.
The popularity of golf carts necessitated large stretches of cart paths that partition landscaped
medians around the course.
The unique combination of such a highly regarded and historic golf campus with a strong
research university presented an opportunity to conduct a holistic exploration into the benefits that
golf courses offer to the ecological, social, economic, and cultural health of the communities that
contain them, as well as the opportunity to identify potential recommendations to enhance these
benefits. The project team utilized an exploration of current trends in the golf industry, specifically
the growing movement for integration of sustainability management techniques, in conjunction
with a broader multi-disciplinary focus to inform a working definition of sustainable golf. This
definition correlated with the three tenets of permaculture: care for the land, care for the people,
and the concept of fair share. The project team assessed the current state of the Blue Course and
RFGC in research designed around these three tenets. Specific research included an ecological
inventory and site analysis, community perception survey and a study of pre- and post-test cognitive function in golfers, and a high-level, qualitative analysis of economic implications.
Using the findings and results from this research, the project team provided recommendations
informed by the tenets of sustainable golf. The recommendations presented by the Greener Golf
Master’s Project Team highlight three approaches to pushing the boundaries of what it means to
be a sustainable golf course. The Greener Golf Master’s Project Team has broadly labeled these
three recommendations as engagement, accessibility, and innovation.
In addition to the recommendations provided, the Greener Golf Master’s Project Team
provided the design for a golf course and event space at RFGC that would provide multiple
beneficial functions; one of them being the creation of a “living laboratory” where innovations in
sustainable golf course management can be tested prior to implementation on the 18-hole golf
courses. The team has preliminarily recommended the site be named the Gateway Course due its
proximity to the entrance to RFGC as well as its mission to open a new door to how golf courses
can play a role in society in the future.
Appendix I is a project summary that includes further discussion of the team’s
recommendations. This summary is intended for those who wish to learn more about the project,
but cannot read the full report below. In addition, the project summary can be used in public
distribution for press and other media opportunities.