Golf's Sustainability

gold sustainability For years, the golf industry has been dedicated to environmental responsibility in the design, construction and management of golf courses. Some of the game’s leading organizations have invested considerable resources in this effort and are now leading golf’s drive toward sustainability. The shared goal of the industry is to offer a sustainable asset to the community that is managed with a focus on water conservation, water quality protection, energy conservation and pollution prevention.

  • 0.5%

    Percent that golf course irrigation accounts for of the 408 billion gallons of water used daily in the U.S.

  • 65%

    Number of golf course facilities that have completed upgrades to their irrigation systems over the past ten years.

  • 15%

    Fewer than 15% of golf courses utilize municipal water supplies.

Preparing the golf industry for the future

The We Are Golf coalition supports the collaborative program led by The Environmental Institute for Golf that is committed to continuous improvement. “Golf’s Drive Toward Sustainability” is about ensuring profitable businesses while making decisions that are in the long-term interest of the environment and communities. The focus is on continual improvement by professionally managing and conserving resources and inputs, and reducing waste while providing playing conditions that satisfy golfers of today and tomorrow.

    By the Numbers

  • Golf courses have an average of 11 acres of water bodies (lakes, ponds, wetlands, streams). This number is nearly double the amount of the acreage of greens and tees.

  • Approximately 12% of golf courses in the U.S. currently use recycled water for irrigation. Using recycled water is a win/win situation for communities and the golf course because communities benefit from the sale of recycled water and golf courses have learned how to effectively utilize this water to irrigate turfgrass.

  • The golf industry has been proactively increasing a multitude of wildlife habitat. Nearly half of all golf courses increased their acreage of native/natural/unmowed areas by an average of ten acres between 1996 and 2005.

  • Golf courses increase our nation's green space, which have been shown to have measurable environmental and health benefits by the Environmental Health Research Foundation.