Golf - Waste of Time and Natural Resources? Is it really exercise?

[bleedingheart]

Discuss:

Acres of land denuded of any vegetation to plant grass that must be constantly fertilzed, constantly watered and mowed...waste of water, and gas...my favorites are the golf courses in the Arizona desert....

People who golf, aside from those who actually walk the course, claim it is exercise but generally drive around the course....and then either eat a heavy lunch at the "club" or drink alcohol (heavy in calories) while golfing....


(putting on my flameproof suit)

[Dr.Phool]

1. Without golf

My blood pressure would be way too low. There's not enough aggravation in my life, so I play occasionally.

[merh]

2. But it is a wonderful game.

And most golf courses are the only green spaces left in and around cities. Lately in our community one golf course's charter ran out and it was immediately bought up and divided into huge lots for an exclusive subdivision on the bay. At least when it was a semi-private club, there were trees and the public could enjoy the natural view. Now the prime lots on the bay have huge lots and the subdivision is fenced off, private access only.

Another course has been sold and a super walmart will built on part of its acreage. Give me a golf course over mini-malls, subdivisions and walmarts any day.

I love the game, and even riding in a golf cart provides exercise. Getting in and out of it to take your shots, walking to find your ball in areas where the carts are not allowed, the golf swing uses more than just your arm muscles. A lot of energy can be expended after 18 holes, especially if you are a poor golfer, but love the game.

[bleedingheart]

3. but a golf course in an Arizona desert is really foolish...

I understand your feelings regarding green space but why didn't anyone try and save the course as green space?

[merh]

4. It's hard enough to save it as a golf course, that has potential

to generate income and pay for itself (though very little if it is publically run and operated).

Do the golf courses you refer to in Arizona have trees and green space? Would that same section of the desert have said trees and green space if the course wasn't there? If the course were gone, what would you have, concrete and ranch style homes or strip malls and walmarts?

[bleedingheart]

5. how about leaving it as a desert?

<>


www.desertgolfnetwork.com/


does that look natural?

Arizona and even areas of California do not have the water to support all the people who want to live there on a level akin to living in Pennsylvania...

[merh]

7. Well, I see your point.

I suppose it is like everything else, supply and demand. If folks want it and are willing to pay for it and the extensive amount of water necessary to keep it green, then they have that right.

Why does Las Vegas exist? Why do they allow new construction?

Supply and demand.

Don't blame the golfers. Why are millions spent on sports arenas of kinds?

[CrownPrinceBandar]

6. First, there are many golf courses.......................

here in the east that are built upon old landfills and discarded property. There is a movement amongst some newer golf course designers, such as Greg Norman, that re trying to establish a beautiful golf course, but still trying to maintain a healthy natural landscape. Golf course design has come along way. As far as the desert courses go, I would agree that they require more resources to upkeep, but still designers are mindful of their environmental footprint. There's a GC in Arizona owned by Peter Kostis and CBS commentator and Champions Tour golfer, Gary McCord that has tried to maintain a good eco-balance. Not perfect, but definitely keeping the environment in mind.

As far as golfers not walking, its just a sign of the times. More folks are coming to golf than in the past. You can thank Tiger Woods for that. On some of the busier courses, its just not feasible to have a large # of folks walking the course. For one, it holds up play and you tend to have traffic jams at the tees. Also, many elderly folks play golf and walking 18 holes in the heat of the summer is not only unfeasible, its downright dangerous.

As far as a "heavy lunch at the "club"" and swilling brews, you're right, a few do, but many (like myself) do not. I play golf to relax and to compete with my fellow players and against the course, which is the toughest opponent.

[merh]

8. I'm with you on the heavy lunch and swilling brew comments.

I usually pack bottled waters in my bag and maybe some nabs. I have played in best ball tournaments to raise money for charities that have golf carts full of beer traveling around to keep us all happy, but that is not how I normally play the game. I don't like having to worry about using the bathroom when I am playing golf, it is a distraction.

I play to relax, enjoy the outdoors, compete against with myself and against the course and other players.

[CrownPrinceBandar]

9. I think there has been a paradigm shift in golf....................

I may not particularly like Tiger Woods or his politics, but I must say he brought a healthier, more holistic attitude to the game. I think folks see him eating healthy, working out and avoiding excessive consumption and have taken the game away from the beer-swillin' good ol' boy crowd.

I used to hate golf, and I used to think that golf was a sport for poseurs, until I played. The bug bit me hard. Within a year of beginning to play, I had bought my own clubs and had a cheapie family membership at the local public course. I still suck, but I love the game. And I don't fit into the mold of what was thought of as a stereotypical "golfer."

[merh]

11. It really is a fun game.

There is nothing worse than golfing with someone who is too competitive and drunk. I prefer to golf with folks who don't tell me why my swing is bad and that I should address the ball or keep my elbow down. I golf to golf, I may be mediocre at best, but generally I golf with folks that don't take themselves or the game too serious.

[SW FL Dem]

13. I don't play and I am definitely not the "country club" type either

But my son and hubby love the game. I can't think of a better way to spend a sunny afternoon than with my son on the golf course. He's 13 and still needs someone to drive the cart for him. How many moms get 5 hours of undivided attention (and many hugs) from their teenagers. I was with him when he first broke 100 about a year a half ago. Last month he was well on his way to breaking 80 when we got rained out after 9 holes (38 on 9, 6550 yards). Those moments are priceless.

[Kingofalldems]

10. Golf is great

The courses feature large amounts of wildlife, I've seen plenty including deer, fox (including one who stole golf balls on a par 3 green), the biggest snapping turtle in the world and even a mink. I play for 3 reasons--stress relief, being outdoors, and most important-----there are a million ways to gamble.

[merh]

12. You mean to tell me that foxes will steal golf balls?

That explains it then. I could never figure out where my balls went on one course I played that had plenty of foxes in the woods. LOL, I was blaming the squirrels that were the size of large cats, but it could have been the foxes.

I live in the south and the alligators in the swamps adjacent to some of our courses offer a different type of course obstacle. Just imagine teeing off and finding that your ball may be inbounds, but sitting precariously close to a very big alligator that is sunning itself. I have taken plenty of strokes because of those gators. On those courses I definitely ride a cart, just in case a quick get away is necessary.

[Kingofalldems]

14. Speaking of gators

I've heard this story many times--Two guys in Fla. are playing golf and after a while one guy decides it's too hot and quits while his buddy keeps playing. Well, the guy who stayed on the course was never seen again and his clubs were found next to a gator-filled pond. Eventually they located him-----in a gator's stomach. I suspect this is an urban legend but who knows?

[merh]

17. Like I said, I always use a cart on a course with gators and I

always take a stroke when the ball goes near the swamp or a gator.

I have heard that tale and I, for one, don't want to find out if it could be true.

[SW FL Dem]

16. LOL last time I took my son out

the guy we were playing with hit his ball into the water, it was reachable, but there was a water moccasin wrapped around it by the time we found it. Needless to say, he didn't retrieve the ball.

[merh]

18. Depending on the time of year I play, I will seldom go into the

weeds or high grass of a course on or near the water. Water moccasins scare the hell out of me.

[SW FL Dem]

22. No kidding!

We lose a lot of balls that way. I won't go into any of the natural areas unless I can see my feet and several feet in either direction.

[merh]

23. And some have posted in this thread that the game is boring!

:shrug: Go figure.

[KG]

15. all that, plus it's boring beyond belief.

[alarimer]

19. no- it is a horrible use of natural resources

the amount of fertilizer used to keep these places green is huge. It runs off and pollutes waterways. Not to mention the sheer amount of water used on them. Most new golf courses (that are not municipal) cost gobs of money to get into so most people can't afford it. It is a "sport" by of and for rich people. They should not be allowed to build golf courses in deserts (t least not green ones- let em play in the sand- more of a challenge anyway LOL) or on land that hasn't been reclaimed from landfills or something.

[blondeatlast]

20. Mixed feelings. My late father adored it and he walked the

course up until he got cancer and had to stop playing at the age of 79. It kept him quite fit up until the end.

OTOH, I live in the desert and am surrounded by brilliant green monstrosties in spite of the fact we are entering our third year of draught.

It just cracks me, because I respect my surroundings and deliberately put in xeriscaping.

The municipal courses have to obey water restrictions, and my dad always played on ,unicipal courses. But the private ones are watered slavishly even in the middle of summer.

:mad:

[TyeDye75]

21. I find that most people who call golf boring

have never actually played the game

as for the corses themselves our local course is beautiful it has wild rabbits, squirrels, all kinds of birds and even the occasional fox (so Ive been told).

[BiggJawn]

24. My nearby community spends Boo-Koo bucks every year....

To reclaim their Muni golf course from the loving embrace of the Wabash River.

Over 250 kilobucks last year, and the river's drowned the fuck out of it again this year. No mention of how much they intend to waste on it yet, given that the city is having to cut back on services and lay-off people...

Of COURSE the idea of raising the greens fees never occurred to them...So glad I don't live there and have to pay taxes for that shit...

I don't mind Muni golf courses, but Jeez, after the damn thing's been flooded 5 times in 8 yars, shouldn't that tell them something? Move the damn course away from the river and develop the course into a wilderness park....

[Tsiyu]

25. yes

yes. Yes.

I used to drive by golf courses and yell out the window:

"You're wasting your time!"

"Go home and help your wife clean the kitchen!"

"Go spend some time with your kids!"

My kids would laugh their asses off. But i think golf IS a fun game, and I know many women enjoy it. I just always saw these Yuppie and retiree males dressed up in their polos and khakis wandering around these fakey grass courses and they annoyed the piss out of me.

[miss_kitty]

26. I'm with Mark Twain, who allegedly said

"Golf is a good walk spoiled."

The chemicals used for the upkeep of most golf courses are very polluting and damage the environment and water table. It's also a waste of water.

[never cry wolf]

27. As someone mentioned above

Golf course design has come a very long way. In my area of Illinois many of the courses use on site water treatment plants to recycle not only their watse water but that of the surrounding communities as well for irrigation and a natural fertilizer.

In urban and surbab areas the choice is ofter a golf course vs. a subdivision, strip mall or office park with all there attendant water run off problems. They use many more natural resources than a golf course (oil for acres of asphalt parking lots and streets for instance.) Being on the plan commission in my suburban community, i'll take the open space any time.

I enjoy golf quite a bit, hate the country club scene and play on municipal courses. I play in a twilight leage hat is populated with teachers, carpenters, plumbers, real estate agents, retirees as well as some professionals and executives. On the course and after, we are all equals. It's nice to see plumber whip a corporate accountant and they both go in and toast each other.

Anyway, I found the following article which I found quite interesting:

Considering Wildlife in Golf Course Management
W-15-04
Melissa J. Santiago and Amanda D. Rodewald, Ph.D.
School of Natural Resources, The Ohio State University
Golf Courses as Wildlife Habitat

Public open spaces or greenspaces (parks, cemeteries, and golf courses) account for millions of acres of land in the United States. As urbanization spreads, these greenspaces have the potential to accommodate the needs of both people and wildlife. Golf courses and other public open spaces can be developed and managed to have a significant positive impact on the quality of habitat for sensitive and desirable wildlife species (Mankin, 2000), as well as enhancing the recreational, educational, and aesthetic aspects of these golf courses.

In the United States, there are approximately 15,000 golf courses, accounting for an estimated 4 million acres. Seventy percent of that area is considered rough or out-of-play, and has the potential for creating significant wildlife benefits (Tilly, 2000). More golf courses are created each year, with a typical golf course comprising 54 hectares of land (Terman, 1997). Recently, golf courses have played an important role in the conservation efforts for the Eastern bluebird, tree swallow, purple martin, red-cockaded woodpecker, and even osprey (Tilly, 2000). Golf courses may also provide suitable nesting sites for the declining red-headed woodpecker.

Photo copyright 1994 Expert Software, Inc.

Golf courses can be beneficial to the public and wildlife in many ways. Courses are sometimes built in areas in need of improvement, and the development of a golf course remains a positive option for the reclamation of landfills. The Phoenix Golf Links was the first course in Ohio to be developed on a landfill through a project with the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO, 2000). Furthermore, plants on golf courses absorb carbon dioxide, release oxygen, and filter pollutants from runoff. Golf courses can also support America’s endangered wetlands. With support from the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) and the Maryland Duck Stamp Fund, Rum Point Seaside Golf Links in Maryland turned adjacent old farmland into a complex of wetlands, offering habitat to many species of wildlife (Ceikot, 2000).

A significant trend in golf course management is to create more naturalistic landscapes. Not only are these areas beneficial to wildlife, but they are also often very cost-effective in the long-run. Once established, naturalistic golf courses can be maintained with far less effort than conventional golf courses, requiring smaller quantities of pesticides, herbicides, and water.

more---> http://ohioline.osu.edu/w-fact/0015.html

[zann725]

28. It "exercises" the ego's of power-brokers who play golf as status symbol

and to "seal the deals" they play golf to do in a relaxed atmosphere.

[Seabiscuit]

29. I'm with George Carlin - it's a waste of good land that could be used for

graveyards. :evilgrin:

[GOPisEvil]

30. I play on municpal courses, which use reclamated water for irrigation.

At least most of the time, I do. I walk when I play most of the time too. Think about the distances involved. A short course is 6500+ yards long - straight distance. So, we're walking well over a mile, with a bag of heavy golf clubs on your back. I've read that it can burn up to 1000 calories.

As for you golf haters, y'all can take a flying leap! Since I play mostly on municpal golf courses, I meet people of all ages, races and from all socio-economic strata. Are there elitist assholes who golf? Sure. But there are elitist assholes in EVERY activity. If you think it's boring, too bad. Then the idea of competing against yourself, the elements and the course itself must bore you. Too bad.