Overview

Organic Golf Research

The Cliffs Center for Environmental Golf Research

Golf is going even greener at The Cliffs Communities. The Cliffs teamed up with Clemson University and a slate of industry-leaders in turf management to create The Cliffs Center for Environmental Golf Research. This facility will be a laboratory for first-of-its-kind, industry-leading turfgrass research. Through this effort, The Cliffs and its partners aim to create and champion environmentally-enhancing, ecologically-complementary golf course and green space management and maintenance practices.

Jim Anthony, President and Founder of The Cliffs Communities

“We are excited about teaming up with Clemson University on a project that we expect will blaze trails in research and positively impact not only our communities but the business of golf course development and management. The Cliffs decided to undertake this project because it’s the right thing to do. ‘Going green’ is beneficial for all of us –as individuals and families, for our businesses, and ultimately, for our economy as a whole. It’s a better way of living, and that’s what we seek to provide here at The Cliffs: the best place to work, live, and play in America.” – Jim Anthony, President and Founder of The Cliffs Communities.

James F. Barker, Clemson University President

"The relationship between Clemson University and The Cliffs Communities is a model for the way a public university can partner with a private company to achieve far-reaching, multi-dimensional benefits for students, faculty and the business community by focusing together on the wise use and stewardship of our precious environmental resources.” -- James F. Barker, Clemson University President

The Center will be situated in The Cliffs at Mountain Park, one of The Cliffs’ eight private, residential communities, located in Travelers Rest, SC. Co-managed by The Cliffs Communities and professors affiliated with the Turfgrass Program in Clemson University’s Department of Horticulture, the 5.6-acre site will include research laboratories, experimental Par 3 organic golf holes grown with both warm- and cool-season grasses, 40,000 square feet of turfgrass plots, and office, meeting, and living space for administrators and students.

At The Cliffs Center for Environmental Research, turf plots will be maintained to study the attributes and benefits of different grasses. A golf course management program will be applied to the turf with measured “inputs” (cultural additions to turf such as watering, mowing, aerifying, and fertilizing) and “outputs” (the effects of turf quality on the surrounding environment, including ground water, run-off, and erosion control), with a focus of minimizing negative and maximizing positive impacts.

“In five years, I’d like this Center’s findings to prove that, with a team of highly-trained professionals, a golf course can be managed in a way that actually serves to enhance the environment. It’s our hope to share the knowledge that we uncover along the way to those who are interested in using these new techniques to improve their property management practices, whether they be golf courses, athletic fields, green spaces, or private lawns.” -- Daniel Brazinski, Vice President of Golf Maintenance at The Cliffs Communities.

Industry Leaders Sign On

The turfgrass industry contributes over $1.5 billion to South Carolina’s economy each year. With The Cliffs and Clemson University poised to conduct research that could very well change the landscape of golf course operations in the future, many forward-thinking private-sector companies –spanning international, regional, and local markets– have already expressed interest or commitment to lending their support through access to previously conducted studies and scientific data to serve as benchmarks, as well as other products and resources:

Syngenta	Bayer	Toro Company	Genesis Golf
Agri-Business	Corbin Turf	Golf Agronomics	Turf Mountain Sod
Profile Products	Harrell’s	New Life Turf	Nature Safe
Precision	The Andersons	Steve Ninemire	Scott’s Seed