Bourke 1

Finn Bourke

Professor Garcia

English 134, Section 8

24 February 2024

Annotated Bibliography

Petrosillo, Irene, et al. “Can a Golf Course Support Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services? The

Landscape Context Matter.” Landscape Ecology, vol. 34, no. 10, 2019, pp. 2213–28,

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-019-00885-w.

Irene Petrosillo discusses the benefits and consequences of adding a golf course to

specific yet different city settings in “Can a Golf Course Support Biodiversity and Ecosystem

Services? The Landscape Context Matter.” Petrosillo breaks down the benefits and consequences

of golf courses into different possible environmental effects: water, soil, biodiversity, and social

benefits. Golf courses are a major water suck and use about the same about of water as 12,000

people annually. They can also cause chemical changes in the soil, changing macro and

micronutrient levels. Biodiversity can flourish on a golf course in the context of an urban area

yet in rural areas the golf course can lead to a loss in animal species. As well socially, golf

courses can attract tourism and economic opportunities for communities. Regarding all this

information, golf courses can have benefits in certain societies. Within urban societies, golf

courses can promote a lot of good by providing a natural space for species to dwell in and

creating a space for humans to experience some parts of nature in contrast to city buildings. Yet

in a rural space, golf courses have fewer benefits as they use up groundwater, cause chemical
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changes in the land, and can cause events such as eutrophication to occur because of the increase

in fertilizer usage.

Petrosillo effectively conveys the information she wishes to share regarding how golf

courses would play a role in different settings. Her article does a good job of explaining how a

golf course can fit into a society providing many viewpoints and giving a sort of blueprint for a

city planner on how they could use a golf course. She does not have a set viewpoint within her

article rather she logically explains the effects of a golf course. Her article is framed in a

scientific manner using a majority of logos yet she uses pathos and ethos as well. She uses pathos

to suck readers in at the start of the article when providing context for the article describing that

no other sport than golf occupies and manages so much green space. She also has strong ethos

backing her article because it has been reviewed 239 papers from academic library databases.

Her logos is employed consistently throughout the article with a variety of information about

golf courses' effects on the environment. It would be helpful if Petrosillo provided more

information on the effect that certain chemical changes promoted by golf courses would have on

the environment. She also could have added more information on how golf courses affect rural

societies and societies near the ocean. Overall, her article was strong and discussed many points

on how a golf course affects the area around it.

Straw, C., Bolton, C., Young, J., Hejl, R., Friell, J., & Watkins, E. (2022). Soil moisture

variability on golf course fairways across the United States: an opportunity for water

conservation with precision irrigation. Agrosystems, Geosciences & Environment, 5,

e20323. https://doi-org.calpoly.idm.oclc.org/10.1002/agg2.20323
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In “​​Soil moisture variability on golf course fairways across the United States: An

opportunity for water conservation with precision irrigation,” Chase Straw explains how soil

moisture on golf courses can vary heavily in different environments yet with proper data

collection irrigation can be optimized to avoid water loss. As of now, most golf courses monitor

irrigation by visually checking to see if the grass is healthy. Yet when that is done lots of water

can be lost because just looking at grass is not always a clear indicator of how much water it

needs. With more advanced technology factors such as reference evapotranspiration and soil

moisture can help monitor more deeply how much water a green will need. Doing this can help

avoid watering areas that do not need water when some areas may need more water than others.

This could also benefit golf courses by saving energy and helping create the most “playable”

grasses throughout the course.

Straw successfully conveys his message of increasing the variables monitored on golf

courses to save water and energy and create better and more efficient golf courses in his article.

He uses strong photos and graphs to back up his point. This also provides the reader with visuals

to see how water is used on a course and to apply the information shared in the article. Straw has

a strong argument as the point he is backing up would be hard to argue against. He uses a lot of

logos in his argument by providing many facts and fully explaining each device that could be

used to monitor golf courses. He uses pathos by connecting with the reader by trying to reach a

common goal of more sustainable golf courses through specific changes with the advanced

technology that we have access to. His ethos is shown through his elaborate explanation of his

materials and methods used within the study. This all comes together to create a well structured

article that argues a key point and also conveys a lot of information that allows readers to learn

and create their own viewpoints.