Feature: Where Eagles Dare
March 1, 2008
Rainmakers, New Mexico
There are plenty of environmentally friendly measures being
implemented at this golf course community just north of Ruidoso, N.M., but
partner and general manager Mike O’Brien is clearly passionate about one
specific initiative: the polymers.
"It blows your socks off," says O’Brien, referring to the process of using natural polymer crystals that look like garlic salt. "All you do is add water to the polymers and they expand to about 500 times their original size, trap-ping the water and cooling it down by 10 to 12 degrees in the process."
O’Brien is applying this science throughout Rainmakers’ Robert Trent Jones Jr.–designed golf course scheduled to open this year, resulting in a brand-new course that not only requires less water because it maintains cooler temperatures, but it is also healthier because the turfgrass gets established more quickly. In the drought-laden Southwest, it’s a discovery that’s putting Rainmakers on the leading edge of water conservation.
"Grass roots like it when its cool, and bacteria doesn’t," says O’Brien, who estimates that the polymers cost his course $100,000 to $125,000. "When the bacteria is gone, there are more carbohydrates for the grass to thrive on. By amending the soil’s temperature, it stays cool and there are rarely brown spots. Plus water tends to set and less water goes into the ground. So we use less water from the aquifer as a result."
O’Brien estimates that the polymers conserve as much as 30 percent of typical water consumption on his 1,023-acre development.
The polymers may be Rainmakers’ most interesting water conservation plan in effect, but it’s not the only one. Additionally, all the Pueblo-style town homes in the development are required to use a rain catchment system that stores rainwater in nonevaporation basins. According to O’Brien, this system alone, when working at full capacity, could collect as much as 1.5 million gallons of water per year.
O’Brien notes that Rainmakers’ green-friendly approach adds up-front cost to the homes, but he is experiencing no sales resistance from consumers. "Buyers want to do their part in protecting the environment," he says. "These advances are so great, I think all of this should be mandated for all new developments and subdivisions. We’ve got to protect our resources and this is a great way to do it."
Rainmakers, 866.700.8439, www.rainmakersusa.com
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