Pond management is a critical part of overall golf course management, both during growth and maintenance modes of turf care. This study investigated 48 ponds in nine 18- or 27-hole golf courses to analyze the environmental characteristics of ponds. The research process had three phases: (1) inventory and analysis of grading plans and drainage plans, (2) field verification and interviews with greenskeepers, and (3) analyses of water quality and statistics. All data were collected from May to August in 2004. The results of this study can be summarized as follows: 1. It is desirable to site a golf course in a small watershed with high watershed eccentricity to control storm water runoff efficiently and to minimize soil erosion during construction. 2. The siting and size of a pond should be determined through a land-use analysis of the watershed for the purpose of ecological management. The bigger the forest-to-golf course ratio, the better the water quality will be. 3. The size and capacity of each individual ponds varied and there were many somewhat longish rather than round ponds. 4. There were many differences among golf courses in naturalness of the ponds, and the correlation between naturalness and area of aquatic plants was very high. 5. Analyses of pond water quality indicated that the degrees of Dissolved Oxygen, Chemical Oxygen Demanded and Suspended Solids were relatively low values but Total Phosphorus and Total Nitrogen were too high. Therefore a systematic approach is needed to solve e problem. Pesticide residues were not detected in all ponds. 6. Water depth and area of hydrophyte should be considered when designing an ecological pond. 7. All ponds used storm water as a main source of water supply and added underground water. Aquatic plants and physical methods such as water aeration and spray fountains were the main choices for maintaining a healthy aquatic environment.