How to Kill Sustainability With A Golf Club

My gut wrenched and I am pretty sure my face involuntarily contorted into something grotesque, as my bodily reaction clearly indicated that I had an issue with this question:

“How does systems-thinking help in developing sustainable golf tourism?”

Wrapping up an MBA in Sustainability Management in Switzerland, I was shocked to receive this question from my teacher as a prompt for an essay I was to write.

It seemed obvious to me. Without thinking about it, my immediate response was:

“It doesn’t.”

The question framing appeared to imply that it did, and for me, that felt wrong. Many times, intuition is not sufficient by itself, so I decided to dig deeper.

What’s unfair here, is that before studying sustainability and how it relates to economics and business, I had worked and studied earth sciences for several years. I learned much about embedded energy, ecosystem services, and systems thinking. Right away, I am knowingly biased against any sort of homogenization of land.

Systems-thinking, as we may already know, is the holistic analysis and comprehension of relationships across components and processes of systems and within the context of larger systems over time.

We know that social and economic health are significantly dependent on environmental health and THAT is where the problem with golf resides: environmental health.

The first four objects that come to mind when we hear the word “golf” are: vast expanses of perfectly trimmed, monoculture grass; golf balls; golf clubs; and golf carts.

Let us focus on that first item:

Grass.

Golf courses worldwide are constructed predominantly of 1 of 5 types of grass: Poa Annua, Bermudagrass, Bentgrass, Perennial Ryegrass, and Zoysia[4].

Now let us consider the fact that there exist at least 12 distinct climate zones (per the Köppen secondary climate zone classification method):

• rainforests,
• monsoon,
• tropical savanna,
• humid subtropical,
• humid continental,
• oceanic climate,
• Mediterranean climate,
• steppe,
• subarctic climate,
• tundra,
• polar ice cap, and
• desert[1].

Within these climates, we can find approximately 400,000 different types of plant species. Each of these plant species is uniquely adapted through millions of years of evolution to function optimally in their native climates. Each of these plant species possesses unique environmental conditions to sustain itself.

Coming back to “golf course grass,” there are reports that we have developed around 40,000 golf courses around the world[3].

Let’s multiply that by an average course size of 30 hectares (74 acres)[2], and we find ourselves with over a 1,200,000 hectares (2,960,000 acres)-a conservative estimate of the surface area which golf courses worldwide occupy.

How could only five types of grass species for golf courses be considered sustainable? It is a terrestrial homogenization. #BiodiversityLoss

In the development of golf courses, the top 6–12 inches of soil is stripped away and replaced with a monoculture grass that is often non-native. Many golf courses are developed in forested areas that further exacerbate the displacement and destruction of native animal and plant species.

Most golf courses apply chemical fertilizers and biocides to maintain and ensure optimal health for the non-native grass. These petrochemical cocktails permeate the soil and work their way into the groundwater table. They also runoff with stormwater into their local watershed’s riverine systems. This dumping of chemicals into ecosystems that previously had no such volumes are producing levels of toxicity with harmful effects to the native flora and fauna.

The depleted biodiversity results in ecosystem services collapsing related to soil, water, climate regulation, pollination, pest regulation, food, and more.

A majority of golf courses also require exorbitant amounts of water to maintain their green grasses. California’s desert city, Palm Springs, has more than 100 golf courses. It seems laughable that a city located in the desert would possess any luxurious, water-excessive activities at all.

I have so far discovered zero positive environmental impacts from golf courses. Adverse effects are far outweighing the environmental benefit. Over time, these negative consequences accumulate and begin to take their toll on society and then end up hitting the economy as health and quality of life deteriorates from a sick environment.

So, “how does systems-thinking help in developing sustainable golf tourism?”

From my perspective, it doesn’t.

Systems-thinking would lead one to understand that “sustainable golf” is an oxymoron.

At best, employing features like native plants, rainwater, stormwater and greywater systems can alleviate the total damages; however, there is no net benefit to the environment from installing a golf course that I have identified yet.

I even considered virtual golf. Virtual golf “courses” could potentially require fewer resource inputs once established; however, the embedded energy needed to create the technology used is, again, not sustainable but harmful to the environment.

No, I don’t hate golf. Golf is fun.

I hate the impact it has on our natural world. In the same way I love deep-fried ice cream, but holy hell I feel like crap afterward.

How could golf possibly have a long-term net benefit for the environment?

Originally published on https://benoitclement.com

References

1. Climate. (2020, January 18). Retrieved January 19, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Climate#Climate_classification

2. Golf course. (2020, January 3). Retrieved January 19, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Golf_course

3. Heath, E., Tadman, J., & Tappin, N. (2019, June 25). How Many Golf Courses Are There In The World? — Almost 40,000. Retrieved January 19, 2020, from https://www.golf- monthly.co.uk/features/the-game/how-many-golf-courses-are-there-in-the-world-182153

4. Journey to The Tour. (2018, January 7). How to Play on Different Types of Golf Course Grass. Retrieved January 19, 2020, from https://www.journeytothetour.com/play- different-types-of-golf-course-grass/