CRAIGHURST, ONT.—Whipper and Snipper aren’t your traditional golf groundskeepers.

For one, the pair have no qualms about digging into a bountiful serving of poison ivy, vetch weeds or clover. They also don’t seem to mind the looks and smiles from inquisitive duffers or sleeping in a barn at day’s end.

But the two friendly goats that have taken up residence at a golf course north of Barrie could become part of a growing trend as golf courses look for ways to lessen their environmental impact all while saving some cash.

“We’ve had some calls from other golf courses to see how it works,” says Chris Gulliver, golf superintendent at Settlers’ Ghost Golf Club.

Settlers’ Ghost is believed to be the first golf course in Canada to employ goats, although there are several U.S. courses that started using four-legged groundskeepers in recent years. At San Francisco’s Presidio Golf Course, for example, a herd of 300 goats arrived earlier this month to keep weeds at bay throughout the course.

Gulliver decided on the innovative concept while researching ways to lower costs and use fewer pesticides.

“I found a few courses in the States that were using goats,” he says, pointing out employing goats and sheep to trim courses was likely how fairways were originally created in Scotland.

“The only weed they haven’t eaten so far is ragweed. Hopefully, they’ll get to that in the fall when supplies of their favourites run out. But now, they have a choice.”

The goats seem to fit right into the course’s pastoral setting, which is located along Horseshoe Valley Road. The course reflects well its past life with plenty of antique farming implements found throughout and a large grey barn that doubles as the goats’ home.

The pair, who are now 7 months old and arrived at the course in late spring, cost $100 each to buy from a farm in New Lowell.

“I haven’t used a single pesticide since the first week of May,” says Gulliver, who would normally use four or five cases of weed killer at a cost of $325 each per season. “Now, we’re just using fertilizer and the goats.”

General manager Lana Stoddart says she and other staff were initially taken aback by the idea, but decided to try it.

“I didn’t think he was serious at first,” Stoddart says, noting Gulliver was insistent his plan would work.

“We figured there was no harm in trying it. At first, it was a novelty, but our members have totally embraced the idea. The reception’s been very positive. Any sort of way to help go green is well received.”

The goats are kept on nine-metre tethers and out of harm’s way from errant golf balls. They will stay at one location on the course to eat as many weeds and other undesirables for two to three days before being moved to another area.

“They always eat the flowers first from the plants, which is good, because they contain the seeds that start more plants,” explains Gulliver, who wants to add more goats to the course’s menagerie next year.

Canadian Golf Superintendents Association executive director Ken Cousineau says pesticides used to control weeds generally make up a small percentage of products employed by golf courses.

“The vast majority are used to treat fungal diseases,” Cousineau says, noting he can’t speak specifically to the Settlers’ Ghost situation. “Very few insecticides and herbicides are used in the golf industry.”

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National Golf Course Owners Association president Don MacKay says courses continually look for ways to improve their bottom lines and lessen their environmental impact.

“We are all looking to reduce the very expensive products we have to use to control the quality of our playing surfaces,” says MacKay, who owns Muskoka Highlands Golf Links in Bracebridge.

“We recently planted 10 acres of new fescue to reduce the gobbling of golf balls around our fairways. And we have sheep on the farm next to us. No plan yet to get them onto the property, but it is a possibility.”

Gulliver, who grew up part-time on a farm and is a horticulturist and arbourist by training, says goats are likely better suited to golf courses since they are more selective, preferring broadleaf plants and “will pick the best stuff.” Sheep, he added, “are grazers, who will eat right down to the grass.”

Stoddart laughs when she recalls just how popular the goats have become, recounting a story of a Vancouver woman who was in the area to visit family.

“The first words out of her mouth weren’t about how the children were, but whether the goats had names yet.”

A naming contest produced a list of more than 100 potential names with the monikers Whipper and Snipper just scraping in for the win.

As for Gulliver, he just might have to redo his business cards next year to reflect his new status.

“I’ll see people at the bank and other places and they’ll say, ‘Hey, you’re the goat keeper’ or ‘How are Whipper and Snipper?’”

Gulliver says the labour involved with taking care of the goats is a wash when compared to the work involved with using pesticides.

“Time-wise, it’s about the same,” says Gulliver, whose sons Griffin, 8, and Noah, 5, have also gotten into the act.

“They’re always asking if they can come out and put the goats away. They’re goat fanatics. It’s like having a pet.”