The sport of golf has grown tremendously in the past three decades. It is now the leading sport in the world in terms of total economic expenditure, yet surprising little on golf has appeared in the academic sports studies literature. In particular, the impact of golf on the environment has been virtually absent from discussion. Golf takes place in the outdoors, yet golf course development and maintenance has involved many aspects that are deleterious to the environment. This article charts the impact of golf on the environment from an international perspective, particularly noting emerging differences in first and developing world countries.
Notes
[1] Keast, ‘Going for the Green’, 37.
[2] Wray, Q., ‘Jozi Whiz Kid Has Golfing Success Right Down to a Tee’, Business Report, 28 Sept. 2003, citing sport marketing reports on golf participation, available online at http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fArticleId = 244889, accessed 16 Dec. 2005.
[3] National Golf Foundation, ‘Golf Participation in the US’.
[4] Lowy, J., ‘Thirsty Golf Courses Drive Environmental Protests’, Scripps-Howard News Service, 22 April 2004, available online at http://www.knoxstudio.com/shns/story.cfm?pk = GOLFCOURSE-04-22-04&cat = AN, accessed 28 Oct. 2004.
[5] Golf and the Environment – A General Perspective, available online at http://www.golfecology.com/publics/strategy/black3.htm, accessed 5 Nov. 2004.
[6] ‘China the Largest Growth Market for Equipment’, Golf Today, n.d. available online at http://www.golftoday.co.uk/news/yeartodate/news04/china.html, accessed 16 Dec. 2005.
[7] As reported by the Guinness Book of World Records: see R. Scott Macintosh, ‘In China, A Golf Community on a Supergrand Scale’, International Herald Tribune, 30 Sept. 2005. Article reproduced by Greg Norman Golf Course Design, available online at http://www.shark.com/gngcd/gngcd/093005a.php, accessed 28 Dec. 2005.
[8] National Golf Foundation, n.d., available online at http://www.ngf.org/cgi/home.asp, accessed 9 Nov. 2004.
[9] Golf and the Environment.
[10] Platt, ‘Toxic Green’; Hildebrandt, T., ‘Environmentalists Cry “Fore!” in China’, Christian Science Monitor, 16 July 2003, 11, accessed 5 Nov. 2004 from GALILEO (ProQuest database).
[11] Good examples of concerns raised by activists and scientists since 1990 are Keast, ‘Going for the Green’; Platt, ‘Toxic Green’; Chatterjee, ‘Clubbing Southeast Asia’.
[12] Greg Norman Golf Course Design, ‘Environmental Philosophy’, available online at http://www.shark.com/gngcd/gngcd/environmental_philosophy.php, accessed 28 Dec.2005.
[13] The few references include a section in the textbook, Maguire et al., Sport Worlds; Todd Crosset's study of women in golf, Outsiders in the Clubhouse; and a couple of articles and book chapters by Brian Stoddart: ‘Golf International’ and ‘Golf in the Modern Age’. Recently several articles have begun to appear on golf in the sociology of sport, but these are almost exclusively focused on issues of gender; for examples see Nylund, ‘Taking a Slice at Sexism; McGinnis et al., ‘I Just Want to Play.
[14] Keast, ‘Going for the Green’, 37.
[15] Stuller, ‘Golf Gets Back to Nature’.
[16] Nyad, ‘Commentary: Ecological Impacts Golf Courses Have on the Environment’. Morning Edition, National Public Radio (US), 17 July 2000. Transcript retrieved 5 Nov. 2004 from GALILEO, ProQuest database.
[17] Keast, ‘Going for the Green’, 37; Stuller, ‘Golf Gets Back to Nature’.
[18] Keast, ‘Going for the Green’, 37.
[19] Keast, ‘Going for the Green’; Stuller, ‘Golf Gets Back to Nature’.
[20] Ling, ‘Golf Gulf Divides Rich and Poor’.
[21] For example, see Winter et al., ‘Impacts of Golf Course Construction’.
[22] Chatterjee, ‘Clubbing Southeast Asia’.
[23] Esposito, ‘Fairways in the Rough’.
[24] Likens and Bormann, ‘An Experimental Approach’.
[25] See Winter et al., ‘Impacts of Golf Course Construction’.
[26] Esposito, ‘Fairways in the Rough’.
[27] Tang, ‘Hawaii Golf Courses’.
[28] Winter et al., ‘Impacts of Golf Course Construction’.
[29] Kunimatsu et al., ‘Loading Rates of Nutrients’; Mallin and Wheeler, ‘Nutrient and Fecal Coliform Discharge’; Sudo and Kunimatsu, ‘Characteristics of Pestiside Runoff’; ‘Common Arsenical Pesticide Under Scrutiny’, Science News, 9 Feb. 2005, available online at http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2005/feb/science/jp_arsenical.html, accessed 28 Dec. 2005.
[30] Chatterjee, ‘Clubbing Southeast Asia’.
[31] Chamberlain, ‘Golf Endangers Hawaiian Ecology and Culture’.
[32] Cited by Platt, ‘Toxic Green’.
[33] Lowy, ‘Thirsty Golf Courses Drive Environmental Protests’, 1–2.
[34] Chatterjee, ‘Clubbing Southeast Asia’.
[35] Esposito, ‘Fairways in the Rough’.
[36] Winter et al., ‘Impacts of Golf Course Construction’.
[37] Lowy, ‘Thirsty Golf Courses Drive Environmental Protests’, 1.
[38] Platt, ‘Toxic Green’.
[39] ‘Teeing Off or Keeling Over?’.
[40] Kenna and Snow, ‘Turfgrass and Environmental Research Program’.
[41] Kross et al., ‘Proportionate Mortality Study’.
[42] Chatterjee, ‘Clubbing Southeast Asia’; Platt, ‘Toxic Green’.
[43] Maguire et al., Sport Worlds, 92–5.
[44] Quoted in Ling, ‘Golf Gulf Divides Rich and Poor’.
[45] For an example of this see Pierce, B., ‘Tennessee National to Open Next Summer’, Daily Times, 2 Jan. 2006, cited on the Greg Norman Golf Course Design Website, available online at http://www.shark.com/gngcd/gngcd/010206.php, accessed 6 Jan. 2006. Tennessee National is a $500 million development.
[46] Hildebrandt, ‘Environmentalists Cry “Fore” in China’.
[47] Information from Worldwatch Institute, available online at http://www.worldwatch.org, accessed 9 Nov. 2004
[48] Nyad, ‘Commentary: Ecological Impacts’.
[49] Platt, ‘Toxic Green’.
[50] Kiggen-Miller, E., ‘In Debate Over Earth and Water, There's Fire in the Air’, New York Times, 20 Sept. 1998.
[51] ‘Arizona Golf Courses Teeing Off Residents’.
[52] Chatterjee, ‘Clubbing Southeast Asia’.
[53] www.antigolf.org, accessed 6 Jan. 2006.
[54] Kenna and Snow, ‘Turfgrass and Environmental Research Program’.
[55] Shapard, ‘Environment at the Fore Front’.
[56] Keast, ‘Going for the Green’.
[57] ‘Committed to Green’, available online at http://www.golfecology.com, accessed 10 Nov. 2004.
[58] Esposito, ‘Fairways in the Rough’.
[59] Ward, ‘From Tee to Greenspace’.
[60] McCartney, ‘Organics Recycling’, 27–8; Tang, ‘Hawaii Golf Courses’; Ward, ‘From Tee to Greenspace’.
[61] McCartney, ‘Organics Recycling’; Tang, ‘Hawaii Golf Courses’.
[62] Malicoat, ‘More Golf Courses Strive to Go Green’.
[63] ‘Golf Course “Hazard” Filters Runoff Pollution’.
[64] Hildebrandt, ‘Environmentalists Cry “Fore!” in China’; ‘Green Menace, The Untold Story of Golf – From Gambling to Deforestation’. Aired on The Cutting Edge, SBS, Australia, 5 July 1994. ‘Green Menace’ explored the golf boom and its impact on the social and natural environment in Thailand.
[65] Worldwatch Institute.
[66] Takeda, ‘Golf's Social and Environmental Impact on Japan’.
[67] Platt, ‘Toxic Green’; Mettam, G., ‘Flexible Foreigners Make Golf in Japan More Accessible – Even for Your Pet!’, Manichi Daily News, 15 Dec. 2005, available online at http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/features/news/20051215p2g00m0fe016000c.html, accessed 9 Jan. 2006.
[68] Takeda, ‘Golf's Social and Environmental Impact on Japan’.
[69] Roberts, ‘Golf Tourism in Japan’; Walsh, ‘Golf, Tourism and Environment’.
[70] Roberts, ‘Golf Tourism in Japan’.
[71] Platt, ‘Toxic Green’; Malkeet Kaur, ‘Eradicating the Alligators from the Golf Course’, Asian Professional Golfers Association 2001–6, available online at http://www.asianpga.com/article.php?sid = 166, accessed 8 Jan. 2006 (lists total Malaysian golf courses at 189).
[72] Chatterjee, ‘Clubbing Southeast Asia’.
[73] Platt, ‘Toxic Green’.
[74] Hildebrandt, ‘Environmentalists Cry “Fore!” in China’.
[75] ‘Golf in Thailand’ (2004), available online at http://www.mekong-travel.com/golf.htm, accessed 8 Jan. 2006 Also see Pleaumarom, ‘Golf Courses in the Mekong Sub-region: A Green Menace’.
[76] Hildebrandt, ‘Environmentalists Cry “Fore!” in China’.
[77] Platt, ‘Toxic Green’; Walsh, ‘Golf, Tourism and Environment’.
[78] Platt, ‘Toxic Green’.
[79] Hildebrandt, ‘Environmentalists Cry “Fore!” in China; Lowy, ‘Thirsty Golf Courses Drive Environmental Protests’; Nyad, ‘Commentary: Ecological Impacts’.
[80] Keast, ‘Going for the Green’.
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