Facts About Golf and the Environment
When effectively irrigated, healthy and properly maintained turf provides many environmental benefits:
- Produces oxygen (carbon dioxide exchange).
- Removes pollutants from the air.
- Cools the atmosphere (acts as a heat-sink).
- Absorbs sound and glare.
- Prevents erosion.
- Filter natural and synthetic contaminants from rainfall and irrigation.
- Recharges critical groundwater supplies.
- Provides crucial "greenspace" in urban settings.
- In addition to turf-related benefits, golf aids the ecology and the community in other ways. Golf courses provide:
- Key sanctuaries for birds and other wildlife.
- Disposal and treatment sites for (effluent) wastewater.
- Attractive and environmentally sound "covers" for closed landfills and other ecologically damaged sites.
- An area for non-golf recreational activities, such as jogging, walking, birdwatching, cross-country skiing and fishing.
- Employment opportunities for skilled and unskilled workers.
- Location for community events.
- Add value to surrounding land, thus increasing local tax bases.
Excerpted from "Greentips," The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, Office of Government Relations.