The ways that golf courses are handling this problem varies. Some are planting buffer areas with native plants to act as a filter to catch the runoff before it reaches the water. Others are establishing no spray zones near water bodies. Some are building retention ponds or catch basins to collect the runoff and prevent it from entering a water body. There are many ways to reduce the threat from golf courses runoff.
Fertilizer is also a main culprit in the use of the other chemicals.
When the grass is over fertilized to produce that dark green, lush look that everyone has come to expect, the physiology of the plant is changed. The grass is growing faster than it is supposed to, being mowed lower that it occurs naturally, and is stomped on, and driven on. These stresses weaken the plant, and make it susceptible, or even desirable to insects and disease. When the disease or insect attacks this grass, it cleans its clock, sometimes destroying it within hours. So when the golf superintendent sees a disease outbreak, or damaging insects on the golf course, he gets out the spray rig and applies chemicals to control the problem.