Is golf doing enough for the environment?

[HogansAlley]

Sorry my confusion, Vicount! You're absolutely right, we live in a land of plenty. I just want to see small changes over a long period to gradually create sustainable courses - we'll barely notice the difference over time. Better this, than big government forcing it upon golf at a later date.

 

[USER1999]

I agree with the chemical side of things, but think the usage of the dangerous stuff is reducing in general. My course is also using a lot less water an it used to too.

However, what is the issue with water? The stuff is indestructible. It falls as rain, soaks into the water table, or runs off into rivers. We have a bore hole. The rain that falls on the course reappears in the bore hole, where we suck it back up. We pay money, to suck out own water out of the bore hole.

In my garden I am encouraged to collect water in a barrel, to stop it from being wasted. How can you waste water? If every landowner collected every bit of rain that fell on his land, there would be no rivers, no lakes. Surely this would be a bad thing?

The rain that falls is collected via evaporation from the sea. It is free. Yet the waterboard, who collect it for free, charge me for using it. We live in one of the wettest countries in the world. Conserving water is daft.

Even if I drink the stuff (what a waste), I recycle it (well, someone does, every pint that goes down the drain in London has been drunk 9 times before).

Despite the rant, I can't get excited about it.

 

[Wildrover]

In regards to the EU banning a lot of chemical fertilizers, this is going ahead although all the fertilizer manufacturers have perfectly good natural products for sale so you shouldn't see too much change on your track.
Golf courses are already limited as to how much water they can take from the system, which is why the way ahead for many clubs is to utilise lakes and ponds to create their own supply. Waste water is already re-used with course maintenance equipment wash down water being recycled through a filter system for use over & over again.
Sustainability is the keyword in the greenkeeping world at the moment and most clubs have this at the forefront of their minds as it has the added benefit of reducing costs.

 

[Herbie]

I dont feel guilty at all, not no way no how.
If you look at almost every pastime or sport there is out there, you will find that all their requirements involve massive use of chemicals, just in the process of manufacturing equipment, buildings, tracks, courts etc, added to that is fuel use or misuse.

Yeah, some golf courses use a lot of chemicals, others use few, some golf courses use extreme water volume, others use a negligible ammount or produce their own from sea water
but golf courses take a piece of land, often waste land and improve it. They also introduce plants and nature in various quantities to areas that once were lacking.

Golf courses dont use elctric like a football stadium or indoor sport persuits. Whatever happens with a golf course, it can so very quickly be returned to natures control, not so with dozens of other sports I can think of.

The courses you could have a little dig at for extreme use of resources for the sake of prestige or immage are not always the ones you might think of, but even so, their effect on the enviroment would be less in year than any top football club would forcing power stations to pump up the volume each month.

I think the arguments against golf in relationship to the OP is just pathetic, and I am in no way angered by it , it just reminds me how stupid humans really are sometimes, if anything to do with golf becomes a priority question over just about anything else.

 

[Golfmmad]

Look no further than page 23 of this months Mag to see what "Golf is doing for the environment".

Golfmmad.

 

[Herbie]

Look no further than page 23 of this months Mag to see what "Golf is doing for the environment".

Golfmmad.

Spooky! I was just reading that as I had a smoke out the back. great point though

 

[RGDave]

Dont dare try to make me feel guilty about playing golf. Im sick to the back teeth of this politics of fear. Terrorists around every corner, obesitity in every mars bar, cancer with every tomato and now global warming because my greenkeeper finally decides to water the greens.

Sod off and let me enjoy life.

Come on mate.....get with it.....don't sit on the fence.

 

[justhitthething]

Dont dare try to make me feel guilty about playing golf. Im sick to the back teeth of this politics of fear. Terrorists around every corner, obesitity in every mars bar, cancer with every tomato and now global warming because my greenkeeper finally decides to water the greens.

Sod off and let me enjoy life.

Come on mate.....get with it.....don't sit on the fence.

I cant sit on the fence. For 1 its not from a sustainable source and secondly the creosote is carsonagenic.

 

[greensman]

Hello all

Being a greenkeeper for many years I have seen many changes, some good and some not. I am delighted to say we have learnt from past mistakes.

In the past, green was good and lush carpet style courses became the norm. This had harmful environmental issues. We had courses that cut from fence line to fence line and we changed our golf courses to resemble fields. All down to the pressure of our customer.

Thankfully, the average golfer is starting to appreciate that golf is a natural sport and you play the course as it is naturally intended. Dry /hard greens are a challenge, and many welcome this challenge. Green is not so important, as long as they putt well!

Rough is making a come back! A bit like Take That!

In all honesty the US are far behind the UK regarding environmental issues. Have a look around your course and see the abundance of wildlife. See what your course provides for wildlife.

Incidentally, I work in the UK and I have never used water on fairways, the last time I water the greens was three years ago… however it hasn’t stopped raining.

Kindest regards

 

[clubchamp07]

Makes me laugh whenever we need to water our golf courses. We live in the UK ffs, I'd see through it if we got a summer.
Years ago our greenkeeper used to get a slurrytanker and go to Lough Neagh fill up and water the greens with the water from there, some bright spark then said we needed a water system. 90K it cost us? I ask you? why oh why did we need to spend 90K on a water system when we live in Northern Ireland? If it's on 3 times a year that would be pushing it!

To all the do gooders, go and catch the people who are messing about with gobal warming and leave us golfers alone.