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One of the most popular sports today, golf has a widespread effect on the world. Golf culture originated in Scotland and Ireland several centuries ago played over grazing pastures along the coasts. Sand dunes and water hazards were just a part of the natural landscape. Which began as a simple game played in the spirit of natural enjoyment and leisure changed its colors when the links courses were has now become a dirty enterprise, whose history in America is marred with environmental devastation. Because the golfing industry has become so widespread and impactful, I am only going to focus on how golf course are managed and for the time being ignore the added costs associated with golf products, tournaments, television, etc…

How much land are we talking about really? Well all of the 18,000 courses in the U.S. would almost completely cover the states of Delaware and Rhode Island. That area is over 2 million acres, adding up to roughly the size of Rhode Island and Delaware. This is in my opinion a low estimate because it doesn’t take into account the area affected by courses from runoff. Because golf courses boast to be the most difficult and beautiful they usually are built in pristine or ecologically significant areas. Wetlands, shoals, forests, beaches, and desserts are ideal for creating physical artworks. These areas once supported wildlife and habitat for many endangered species of birds, reptiles, and insects. Currently the rate of increase for golf courses is around 3.5%, but globally it is much higher especially in places like S.E. Asia and the Middle East due to the recent explosion in the popularity of the game. Audubon International estimates that the average American golf course uses 312,000 gallons per day, and in a place like Palm Springs, California where 57 courses constantly challenge to dessert heat, each course uses up to a million gallons per day. This means that each course in Palm Springs uses as much water as a family of four uses in four years, and they do this every day. If we multiply the average usage of 312,000 times the 18,000 golf courses, we get 5.6 Billion gallons of water a day and if we include the amount of water spoiled by chemical use, this number become much larger. 17,000 tons of pesticides and chemicals per year, which results in 34 million pounds going into the ground and running off into waterways, every year. The Average golf course uses 9 pounds of chemicals per acre, whereas farmlands use less than 1 pound. These golf courses are not a beautiful oasis of rolling hills, they are toxic waste dumps that are killing off wildlife, misusing good land, and wasting water. The reason for some much chemical use is located in the top right portion of my slide. Herbicides and pesticides are necessary to fight off fungus that eat up greens, weevils that destroy fairways, and beetles that spread turf fungus. In a California study, agricultural chemicals, predominately fertilizers and pesticides accounted for the largest annual source of carbon emissions from golf courses, with an average of 740 Mt CO2e yr^-1. Carbon emissions from water use makes this number closer to 1,000 Mt of C/ per year. Before the golf world fell from grace and became a monster industry, it once supported the sustainable land use practices ignored today. As it is unlikely for the golfing courses throughout the world to change their practices to more sustainable options, there does exist a simple solution to the chemical and water use. There exists a symbiotic relationship between plant species and micorrhizae fungi that live on root tips that has been recently proven to be essential to a plant’s success and even it’s resistant to pests and drought. Using organic plant and soil science researchers are beginning to realize that micorrhizal fungi have potential benefits to climate change as well. Below ground biomass accounts for 3 x more Carbon than above ground. The resulting micorrhizae produce proteins that capture carbon and “stick” to soil particles. This represents one major way in which the ecological impact of golf course can be eradicated or eliminated. Ultimately, it may prove to be biologically, environmentally, and economically feasible to use micorrhizal fungi in putting greens to reduce requirements for fertilizer and water while achieving a greener, more vigorous, disease resistant turf.

Britt, Marco. "Environment and Nature." //Living Green Online Magazine//. Living Green Mag, 26/10/2011. Web. 14 Nov 2011. [].

Valenti, Alex. "Carbon Footprint Analysis of Northern California Golf Courses." //nature.berkely.edu//. UCB, 2010. Web. 14 Nov 2011. []. Koske, R., N. Jackson, and J.N. Gemma. "MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI BENEFIT PUTTING GREENS." //T&J Enterprises//. Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, URI, 01/12/1995. Web. 14 Nov 2011. [].