Beehives On The Golf Course

I recently discovered two beehives on my home course.

The hives are well-hidden among trees and tall grasses and in a spot where no ball is likely to land — no matter how bad the slice. I encountered them only because I realized that I had left my Martini Tee on a previous hole and decided to return via a short cut.

Beehives on the golf course seem to me to be a good idea. At Green Oaks, at least, there is lots of open space, and plenty of wildflowers and fruit trees to keep them happy.

There is increasing concern about the decline of the bee population — not the least because it threatens food production.

A phenomenon called Colony Collapse Disorder has been blamed for much of the losses. They syndrome has been blamed on a variety of things, such as inadvertent poisoning of colony food stores, pesticides and parasites. A course that intends to keep bees probably should take a look at the EPA’s best practices documents.

The Audubon Society has a program and award for turning golf courses into bird sanctuaries. Perhaps the American Beekeeping Federation could do the same thing for bees.