An Afternoon of Golf: A Real Water Hazard!

Wasting water on the golf course

Up for a round of golf with three of your friends? A burger afterwards? Coffee? That’ll be 25,148 gallons of water! According to Blue Planet Run, based on the average water use of US golf courses, approximately 3,350 gallons of water is used to water the grass for every round of golf. Approximately 2,900 gallons is used to make a quarter pound burger. And approximately 37 gallons make one cup of joe.

This bad news only get worse when you factor in the effect the enormous amounts of chemical pesticides and fertilizers have on the water that runs off the course and into our water system. Or, when you take into account the horrible treatment of the cow that your burger came from and how that treatment affects the quality of the meat.

Now, I never intend to be the bearer of bad news causing you to feel guilty for doing the things you enjoy to do, but I do intend to make a difference and inspire you to take action…

There has been a shift in golf course mentality–a move to greener greens–even Justin Timberlake is involved. However, less than a fifth of US golf courses incorporate sustainable practices. According to the environmental minds at Gaiam:

The irony is that modern golf courses arrived at their current state of unnatural beauty by attempting to reproduce the lush, verdant Scottish landscape in places that nature didn’t mean for Scotland to be—places like forests, wetlands, and deserts. This bizarre evolution caused excessive water use (sometimes potable water, to boot), reduction of wildlife habitat, and the introduction of non-native plant life that upset the local ecology and that require harsh pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers in order to flourish, further harming water quality.

Therefore, your duty is to make suggestions when you golf. Suggest an emphasis on native, draught tolerant plants. Suggest a respect for wildlife and local ecosystems. Suggest that they purchase their food from local, organic farmers.

Feel like a wimp for suggesting such things? First of all, you golf so you are a wimp:) . Secondly, it’s an easy opportunity to make the world a better place, to fight for what is important, to make the future better for the next generation. It’s actually very superhero-esque.

And there’s nothing wimpy about that.

Oh yeah…if you drink a gallon of water while you golf, add a gallon to the 25,148.

Related Articles

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Is There Such a Thing as Sustainable Golf?
Greening the Greens: Environmentally Friendly Golf Course Care

image credit: Wikimedia Commons courtesy of Lotus Head

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