Leaving Tapanui this afternoon I noticed the local golf course on the edge of town was being maintained by willing greenkeepers. This is no surprise to me as it’s quite normal in rural New Zealand but I’m not sure if overseas people are used to a golf course being maintained this way? On our return I stopped to get pics.
Click on any photo if you want to view a slightly larger image.
The electric fence only had a couple of strands and one sheep was grazing inside on the protected green, easily hopping back over the fence as I got a bit close.
These three photos were the last I took, from the side closest to town. I’ve got a few more pics that I might post tomorrow if there’s any interest — Liz.
Text and photos by Liz; Exploring Colour (2020)
Exploring Colour 
I think this makes perfect sense, Liz. The sheep not only keep the grass trim, they also fertilize it. Though I wonder what that does to the golf balls that land in those ovine droppings. 😊
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In the photo where the sheep turned away from me I noticed their bums are clean. They’re probably healthy and doing fairly dry droppings – I’m guessing it mightn’t be too bad – luckily for the golfers!
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Yes, otherwise golf balls might not be the only round objects flying across the course. 🙂
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Hahaha… very funny!
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Trim and feed in one operation. I wonder if they are trained to recognize “FORE” when they hear it.
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Maybe! Specially trained golf-course sheep 🙂
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Oh, and re the operation you mentioned, as Nigel just said to me… “And fertilize as they go!”
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Yes. I should have said “weed and feed”. 🙂
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I absolutely love the idea of maintaining the landscape with the natural grazing of sheep 🐑. So much wiser and more earth conscious than the usual alternatives.
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I’ve never seen such a thing, either, Liz. You sure made me laugh with the sheep that escaped into the green, the one place there would be little to eat and management would least like them to go!
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These are fascinating photos, Liz. I have no idea if any golf courses in the US use grazing livestock for maintenance, but it makes sense to me. I wonder if there are special rules for this course to cover situations when a ball hits or is stolen by a sheep.
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That is a really good way to stay on top of your lawn 🙂
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Some residential lawns are maintained this way in NZ 🙂
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