Temecula Creek Golf Club has made conditions inviting for the flightiest of guests – Monarch butterflies. In three separate areas of the 27-hole, 150-acre golf course, the butterfly variety whose population has dwindled more than 90-percent in the last 20 years, will find 8,000 square feet of new habitat. Not that butterflies are counting the number of square feet, though this does amount to 20+ milkweed plants, a flora species that acts as the single food source for the insects before they enter their metamorphosis.
The idea for the butterfly habitat came from Temecula Creek Golf Club’s superintendent, Brett Wininger. After reading information on the Monarchs in the Rough program, Wininger set about getting approval (which he quickly received) to plant areas with milkweed plants along the fairways and beyond the greens at TCGC. Wininger and his team designed the butterfly habitat in the shape of a butterfly. Guests staying on the second floor of Temecula Creek Inn will have the vantage of seeing that outline. Wininger also points out that the butterfly habitat helps them realize a water savings of more than 250,000 gallons per year. This was achieved by removing several acres of unused golf turf, and replacing it with the drought-tolerant plants and a dedicated drip irrigation system.
Monarchs in the Rough partner with golf courses to restore pollinator habitat in out-of-play areas. They work to create essential habitats for butterflies and increase awareness of the golf sector’s contribution to the monarch conservation challenge.
Related: Hundreds of Golf Courses Tee Up to Help Monarch Butterflies
“As the superintendent here at Temecula Creek, I have an obligation to manage this property responsibly and with the wellbeing of the environment in mind,” said Brett Wininger, golf course superintendent of Temecula Creek Golf Club. “We had the ability to help increase the Monarchs’ population and this team was ready to take that on. My team and I tend to the butterfly habitat nearly every day, ensuring it’s as inviting for the insects as possible.”
Temecula Creek Inn’s executive chef, Matt Steffen, sees the butterfly program as much more than fly by night. He expects the butterflies will enhance the entire resorts more than 300-acres of natural beauty and mountain views. In addition to aiding the increase of their populations, the chef looks to the fluttering butterflies to land on and help pollinate the plants and flowers in his 4,000 square foot herb, vegetable, and fruit garden.
Temecula Creek Golf Club is the only golf course in the region currently partnering with Monarchs in the Rough.
About Temecula Creek Golf Club
Temecula Creek Golf Club is a 27-hole, 150-acre course located at the south end of the Temecula Valley. The course, open to the public and also offers memberships, is an amenity to the larger Temecula Creek Inn. The resort offers 127 rooms and suites, the on-site Cork Fire Kitchen specializing in true farm-to-table dining, and sought-after wedding and event spaces including the historic Stone House on the Stonehouse course located near hole 7. Temecula Creek Golf Club is open every day from 6:30 a.m. to sunset. To make and purchase golf rounds, guests may visit TemeculaCreekGolf.com and click the “Book Tee Time” button at the top of the screen.
