New bunkers, like this greenside monster on the 15th hole at Barton Hills Country Club, are part of the club's renovations this fall.

Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com

Recently completed, environmentally friendly renovations at the Barton Hills Country Club were the first steps toward making the golf course completely energy independent, its general manager said. At the same time, the club is adding bunkers and improving greens and drainage to bring the course closer to the vision of the original designer.

General Manager Corey Gerhart said the club's recently completed installation of a geothermal heating system and LED lighting -- a project that garnered the 2009 Commercial Project of the Year award from the Engineering Society of Detroit and DTE Energy -- is the first step in an energy efficiency program that will also include wind turbines, solar energy and fuel cells.

"We're investing in additional alternative energy services to go off the grid completely," Gerhart said.

Like many energy efficiency projects, the initial costs won't be recouped for a number of years. Gerhart said the club expects a return-on-investment period of seven years. But the new systems have a lifespan of 25 years, he added.

He said the long-term spending reductions on utilities were obviously a big motivator for the project.

"We're seeing huge cost savings, and at the same time trying to do what's right," he said.

David Graham, executive director of the Golf Association of Michigan, said environmental awareness has been growing in the golfing community, although he sees no great trend toward the type of improvements Barton Hills has done.

"In today's economy, many courses are staying focused on membership and member services," he said. "But we are all much more sensitive to and pursuing more environmental approaches."

Graham praised the Barton Hills club as "a very forward-thinking organization."

He said other eco-friendly practices on golf courses around the state include improved buffers between courses and adjoining waterways to better clean drainage water, and efforts to use less pesticides and fertilizers on grass.

An entirely organic golf course in Massachusetts has seen President Obama tee off there, having played the course twice last year.

Gerhart said doing environmental improvements at Barton Hills was not a tough sell for members.

"We did our due diligence, and we didn't have to pull any teeth" to convince members it was a good idea, he said. "Being in Ann Arbor obviously helps. People here are more conscious of the green trends."

Barton Hills is also improving some of its greens and bunkers with the goal of bringing the course closer to the original vision of designer Donald Ross. That work, being done over several years, is nearly half done, Gerhart said. It involves putting some bunkers back in where they were removed, and improving greens and drainage. Ross is a renowned designer who has designed such courses as Pinehurst in North Carolina and Oakland Hills in Bloomfield Hills.

Dan Meisler is a freelance reporter.