Pleasure and pain, how water is a wonder and worry for club managers and caretakers?
At Faunapoolen AB, we understand that properly managing water isn’t just about aesthetics—it’s about playability, sustainability, and long-term financial security. With years of experience designing and maintaining eco-friendly water features, Aquascape and Faunapoolen bring ecological expertise to golf courses that rely on water features for both beauty and function.
Why golf clubs need help with water management.
Water is both an asset and a liability on golf courses. A well-designed pond can frame a fairway, create strategic challenges, and provide irrigation storage. But without professional management, the same pond can quickly turn into a source of problems: algae blooms, foul odors, unstable banks, and clogged irrigation systems.
Golf clubs are in the business of providing premium experiences for members and guests. Yet when a water feature is neglected, the course suffers in playability, reputation, and long-term value. A murky pond near the 9th green or a flooded bunker after heavy rain doesn’t just look bad—it reflects poorly on the club’s ability to deliver consistency and quality.
This is where Faunapoolen steps in. Our philosophy is rooted in ecological balance. We don’t just maintain water; we work with nature to enhance it. By combining design expertise, professional maintenance practices, and chemical-free solutions, we ensure that every pond, lake, and stream contributes positively to a golf course.
The consequences of neglected water features.
A poorly managed water body is more than an eyesore—it’s a liability. Across Europe, golf courses that neglect pond and stream care often face recurring issues that grow more expensive over time.
Unmanaged ponds often experience algal blooms, which not only ruin the appearance of the course but can also create health risks for wildlife and visitors. Streams clogged with sediment or debris can flood after heavy rainfall, damaging fairways and pathways. Even lakes, if not monitored, can silt up and lose capacity, reducing their usefulness for irrigation during dry spells.
Once these problems set in, solutions become more complex and costly. Emergency dredging, regrading, or drainage work can cause months of disruption to play and often require significant capital investment. Worse still, clubs that allow recurring water damage risk repetitional harm, as players expect pristine conditions.
The hidden costs: insurance and liability.
One of the most overlooked aspects of water mismanagement is the financial strain it creates through insurance claims. Repeated flooding of fairways, erosion of greens, or damage to infrastructure like bridges and pathways often forces clubs to submit claims.
In the short term, this might seem like a safety net. But over time, repeated claims drive up premiums and in some cases make coverage more difficult to secure. This hidden cost quietly eats into club budgets year after year.
By contrast, investing in preventive water management with Faunapoolen reduces these risks dramatically. A well-maintained pond or properly engineered stream is less likely to cause damage during seasonal weather swings, saving clubs not just money but peace of mind.
Seasonal challenges in Scandinavia.
Golf courses in Scandinavia face unique pressures due to extreme seasonal variation.
- Winter Freezing and Ice Expansion place stress on ponds and lake banks, often causing cracking, bank collapse, or liner damage.
- Spring Snowmelt and Runoff create sudden surges in streams, overwhelming courses that lack proper flow control.
- Summer Droughts highlight the importance of irrigation ponds, where stored water becomes the lifeline of the course.
- Autumn Storms bring heavy rainfall that tests drainage systems and stream stability.
In this environment, golf clubs need more than just routine maintenance. They need a partner who understands seasonal water dynamics and can design systems that adapt year-round. This is the expertise that Faunapoolen brings, blending eco-friendly Aquascape-inspired methods with Scandinavian-specific knowledge.
Faunapoolen’s expertise: A team built for golf course water management.
At Faunapoolen, our services go far beyond simple pond cleaning. We provide a comprehensive approach to water management:
- Designing and enhancing ponds and lakes for both beauty and irrigation function.
- Engineering streams that handle seasonal flows without erosion.
- Using chemical-free filtration systems to ensure healthy, clear water.
- Offering long-term maintenance plans tailored to each course’s needs.
Our Pond Maintenance Team Lead, Max, brings over six years of hands-on experience maintaining, enhancing, and redesigning municipality-owned ponds within Malmö Stad. His background gives golf clubs a rare combination of ecological knowledge and practical problem-solving, backed by real-world results in public water management.
When golf clubs choose Faunapoolen, they are choosing a partner with proven expertise and a track record of delivering lasting improvements.
How to get in contact with our maintenance team?
We believe every golf course deserves water features that are as resilient as they are beautiful. Whether your club is dealing with recurring algae issues, flooding, or simply wants to redesign its water systems for sustainability, Max and the Faunapoolen team are ready to help.
You can contact us directly at 0735406757 or email us at info@faunapoolen.se
If you’re a course manager, superintendent, or part of a golf club board, we encourage you to book a consultation with Max. He and our team will walk your course, assess your water features, and create a plan that saves money, reduces risk, and enhances the beauty of your grounds.
