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 Last weekend multi-talented entertainer and lone credible survivor of the bygone boy band era Justin Timberlake unveiled his eco-friendly golf course project, Mirimichi, a 7,400-yard layout he saved from development and turned into America' preeminent "green" golf course for roughly $16 million.
The course is situated just outside of Memphis, Tennessee, and is Timberlake's latest contribution to a game that he's becoming increasingly involved in.
Timberlake, who has participated in the first two installments of Golf Digest's U.S. Open Challenge as well as various Pro-Am events around the country, also hosts the annual Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospital for Children Open in Las Vegas. This year's tournament takes place Oct. 12-18 at TPC Summerlin.
For Timberlake, Mirimichi started as a sentimental mission to preserve the course where he struck his first tee shot, but eventually morphed into an effort to create a sanctuary-like environment that would redefine what it means to be a "green" golf course, if there is such a thing.
"After we had the golf course, we said why don't we refurbish it and make it even nicer for the community," Timberlake said during a media day to introduce the course. "Then I asked questions about what we could possibly do, and we found out we could actually make it a green course."
Mirimichi, formerly Big Creek Golf Course and Woodstock Hills Golf Course when Timberlake was a kid, is the first golf course in the U.S. to receive either the Leed platinum certification or the Audubon International Classic Sanctuary certification. The course has received both.
While golfers often hear courses being mentioned as Audubon-certified institutions, you might be unfamiliar with the LEEDS program.
Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED provides building owners and operators with a framework and guidelines for creating projects that meet certain environmental standards through each phase of development. There is a particular concentration on certain elements of environmental improvement that are deemed to be rather important: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.
The Audubon certification will be revisited yearly to ensure that Mirimichi continues to implement these principles. According to a press release from the golf course, all of the club's employees are thoroughly trained in environmental stewardship.
Overall, the project and dedication to golf exhibited by Timberlake is comendable, whether or not you believe in "green" golf courses. While Timberlake does fly on private jets and consume massive amounts of energy to put on sold-out, large-scale concerts, at least he is making an effort to popularize green living and environmental awareness.
He's also a welcome face within the golf industry, which despite the likes of fashionable young players like Paula Creamer and Anthony Kim, can still use a bit of cool to expand its fan and player base.
The deaths of Bing Crosby and Bob Hope have also left a void for high-clout entertainers and Hollywood types in the game of golf. Like Hope and Crosby did, Timberlake hosts his own golf tournament and has a high approval rating within the sports and entertainment industry. If Timberlake continues his contributions to golf for decades to come, perhaps someday he could come close to occupying a lofty perch like his predecessors.
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