Be Environmental Leaders, Golf Course Officials Told : Conventions: Sen. Howard Metzenbaum speaks at four-day gathering of links management professionals in Anaheim. About 17,000 are attending the event.

Quick, what do golfers and environmentalists have in common?

That’s easy, says Sen. Howard Metzenbaum, one of the nation’s most powerful advocates for environmental concerns but not one of its best golfers: a shared appreciation of nature.

“As an occasional duffer,” the Ohio Democrat says, “I appreciate the natural beauty of golf courses. I’m very aware of the true link between nature and golf, having spent a great deal of time behind trees, in tall grass and fishing golf balls out of water.”

That was part of the punch Metzenbaum delivered Friday to a group that, at first glance, seemed an unlikely recipient for his message of environmental protection: 450 superintendents of golf courses around the nation.

“Get off your butts and become leaders for the environment,” the senator urged his listeners, taking the tone of a scolding parent.

In defense, the greenbelt keepers had a ready response. “Golf course superintendents are environmentalists too,” said Bill Roberts, president of the Golf Course Superintendents Assn. of America.

The exchange took place at the association’s 64th International Golf Course Conference and Show at the Anaheim Convention Center. Attended by about 17,000 golf course professionals, mostly superintendents and turf maintenance experts, the annual four-day convention is the largest yearly gathering of golf management professionals in the world.

Not generally known to the public for their environmental sensitivities, the superintendents invited the outspoken senator--who shared the podium with Rep. James A. Hayes (D-La.)--as part of an effort to change their image by becoming more “part of the process,” Roberts said.

Metzenbaum said he accepted the invitation mainly because golf course superintendents “control a very substantial amount of open space” yet feel that the government, with all its environmental regulations, is against them. “No one in government wants to close golf courses,” the senator said. “I want to bring them on board.”

According to a spokesman, the association did not pay Metzenbaum for his appearance but did fly him to California for free and put him up in a hotel for the night.

He offered one specific suggestion for the gathered sports executives: help conserve water by persuading golfers that brown spots and a few weeds will not hurt their games.

“Some of you seem to have the feeling that all these environmentalist groups are wild-eyed radicals opposed to what you want to do,” Metzenbaum told the golfers, “but I think you’d be a lot smarter to figure out how to join them.”