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Liberty Corner, N.J. – (May 10, 2022) The United States Golf Association (USGA), in partnership with the Town of Brookline, The Country Club and One Tree Planted, today ceremoniously planted the first of 122 trees as part of the 122^nd U.S. Open Sustainability Plan, which will add to the community’s tree canopy and follow its Urban Forest Climate Resiliency Master Plan. The trees will be planted in Environmental Justice Zones determined by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts along various streetscapes, providing cooling zones and promoting healthy green spaces in the area.

Seventeen trees – honoring the USGA’s 17th national championship at The Country Club – will be planted this spring through a unique partnership with reforestation experts at One Tree Planted, the USGA and the Town of Brookline. The remaining trees will be planted in the fall, for a total of 122 new trees signifying the 122nd U.S. Open Championship.

In line with the UN’s Sports for Climate Action framework, the sustainability plan for the 122nd U.S. Open will significantly reduce the championship’s carbon footprint and reinvest dollars in the Town’s proactive environmental programs, leaving a lasting legacy well beyond this year’s event.

Quotes

• Eric Steimer – Director of U.S. Open Championships, USGA
  • “We’re very excited to be here today, with the support of the Town of Brookline, support of The Country Club and just the community. Today, we’re very excited to celebrate what we’re doing with this championship, to be able to promote the sustainable initiatives, to be able to host a green championship. Today, we’re celebrating the collaboration and partnership that the USGA has with the Town of Brookline, with The Country Club, as well as with One Tree Planted, who is a partner of the USGA that has come on board to really help create a more lasting impact, a long-term impact. As we think about this championship and what it means, we have partnered with One Tree Planted to be able to plant 122 trees, in coordination with the 122^nd U.S. Open. Which is extremely exciting for us, along with the Town of Brookline’s support, with The Country Club’s support, to be able to provide a much greener canopy to leave this community in a better place than how we found it. Very exciting times here to be focused on our sustainability initiatives, to be able to host a green 2022 U.S. Open Championship, which we’re really proud to be able to say.”
  • “As part of the process of planning this championship, we’ve had a very spirited discussion and collaboration with the Town of Brookline, with The Country Club, to really be able to focus on what we’re doing operationally to promote a greener championship. I can stand here and proudly say, that from the USGA’s standpoint, we are eliminating single-use plastic bottles at this championship. Which, in effect, reduces – or really removes – about 500,000 single-use plastics during the week of the championship, which is an incredible initiative that we’re able to support. As we look at this championship as a whole, we’re really focused on three initiatives – reduce, renew and reinvest. One of the most important parts of the planning process is how we will reinvest in the local community, in and around this championship. The USGA is proudly partnering up with The Country Club to provide a community inset program, which is really going to reinvest in the community and build up a much greener championship going forward.”
• Alexandra Vecchio – Director of Parks and Open Space, Town of Brookline
  • “These 122 trees really go a long way in helping the town meet our Urban Forrest Climate Resiliency Master Plan goals. Currently, the town plants 300-400 trees each year, and we’re looking to increase that to 550. This is really the perfect time for us to be increasing our urban canopy to meet our goals.”
• Thomas Barrasso –Director of Sustainability, Town of Brookline
  • “I just want to thank everyone from The Country Club and the USGA, working with their team. With John DeVillars and Cadmus Group, it was absolutely phenomenal to work with them on these projects that dovetail really well with my Climate Action Plan, with the strategic plan that we have for Brookline. The open space ideals, which we found out during the pandemic are really, really critical to maintaining good, local consistency with people being able to get outdoors. It dovetails nicely with the values of the USGA, of golf and of The Country Club.”
• Tom Brady – Town Arborist and Tree Warden, Town of Brookline
  • “The trees that we chose are ornamental in nature. We started today with what’s called a cornus mas, which is a Cornelian Cherry. It fits the character of the clubhouse and works well. That will be followed up immediately by 16 additional trees in the parkway, which we’ll have 17 trees to commemorate the 17 significant events that took place at the club.”
  • “When we’re looking at tree selection, we make sure that the tress that are chosen are appropriate for both the specific location and the historical context in the area. In this case, we’re immediately adjacent to a historic parkway that has a number of ornamental trees, and we’re on a golf course that has a nice ornamental tree setting in and around the clubhouse. We’ve started with an initial phase of 17 ornamental trees that are going in this spring, and will be in place and installed before the U.S. Open tees off. That will lead in to a follow-up planting in the fall, with an additional 105 trees in the community in and around the club where the Open is taking place, to enhance canopy and make sure those neighborhoods are in good shape for the next generation.”
• John DeVillars – U.S. Open Sustainability Chair, The Country Club
  • “Partnership has been critical to every aspect of the tournament, and that holds true for sustainability especially. The club, the town and the USGA have worked very, very closely to come up with a gameplan that will set a new standard for golf. It’s a great credit, I think, to all the partners for what they’ve done.”
• Bill Toomey – Chief Tree Officer, One Tree Planted
  • “We’re really excited about our partnership with the USGA and the Town of Brookline. We’re here at the Robert T. Lynch Municipal Golf Course - we planted our first tree this morning. We’re going to be planting 122 trees in the community.”
• Kristen LaCount – General Manager, The Country Club
  • We are one of the first clubs of the country, that I’m aware of, to establish a sustainability subcommittee, made up of our own members, who are experts in the field, and some who just care deeply about the cause. We partnered up – or hired – a group called Cadmus and they came in and did a full analysis of the club and daily usage. Working with multiple department heads, they came up with reports and really educated our board, leadership and membership overall, on future initiatives to make sure that we’re remaining a good neighbor. We’ll plan to tackle those in the future as we have future projects.”

About the USGA 

The USGA is a nonprofit organization that celebrates, serves and advances the game of golf. Founded in 1894, we conduct many of golf’s premier professional and amateur championships, including the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open Presented by ProMedica. With The R&A, we govern the sport via a global set of playing, equipment, handicapping and amateur status rules. The USGA campus in Liberty Corner, New Jersey, is home to the Association’s Research and Test Center, where science and innovation are fueling a healthy and sustainable game for the future. The campus is also home to the USGA Golf Museum, where we honor the game by curating the world’s most comprehensive archive of golf artifacts. To learn more, visit usga.org.