#golf courses

[thrivingisthegoal]

Golf Courses ARE Being Converted

The Solarpunk "fantasy" that so many of us tout as a dream vision, converting golf courses into ecological wonderlands, is being implemented across the USA according to this NYT article!

The article covers courses in Michigan, Pennsylvania, California, Colorado, and New York that are being bought and turned into habitat and hiking trails.

The article goes more into detail about how sand traps are being turned into sand boxes for kids, endangered local species are being planted, rocks for owl habitat are being installed, and that as these courses become wilder, they are creating more areas for biodiversity to thrive.

Most of the courses in transition are being bought by Local Land Trusts. Apparently the supply of golf courses in the USA is way over the demand, and many have been shut down since the early 2000s. While many are bought up and paved over, land Trusts have been able to buy several and turn them into what the communities want: public areas for people and wildlife. It does make a point to say that not every hold course location lends itself well to habitat for animals (but that doesn't mean it wouldn't make great housing!)

So lets be excited by the fact that people we don't even know about are working on the solutions we love to see! Turning a private space that needs thousands of gallons of water and fertilizer into an ecologically oriented public space is the future I want to see! I can say when I used to work in water conservation, we were getting a lot of clients that were golf courses that were interested in cutting their resource input, and they ended up planting a lot of natives! So even the golf courses that still operate could be making an effort.

So what I'd encourage you to do is see if there's any land or community trusts in your area, and see if you can get involved! Maybe even look into how to start one in your community! Through land trusts it's not always golf course conversions, but community gardens, solar fields, disaster adaptation, or low cost housing! (Here's a link to the first locator I found, but that doesn't mean if something isn't on here it doesn't exist in your area, do some digging!)

[newsfromstolenland]

"China has launched a renewed crackdown on golf, closing 111 courses in an effort to conserve water and land, and telling members of the ruling Communist Party to stay off the links.

The state-run Xinhua News Agency said Sunday the courses were closed for improperly using groundwater, arable land or protected land within nature reserves. It said authorities have imposed restrictions on 65 more courses.

China banned the development of new golf courses in 2004, when it had fewer than 200. Since that time, the number of courses more than tripled to 683 before the new crackdown, Xinhua said."

Full article

This is great news, and exactly what needs to be done all over the world to protect biodiversity and the environment! Fuck golf courses!

tagging: @allthecanadianpolitics

[iceeericeee]

Golf courses should not exist. You agree. Reblog

[phoenixyfriend]

Raise Taxes on Golf

I saw a post about how much housing could be built on the 'open' space of a golf course. It got me thinking that... I don't think there's a quick way to actually get people to stop making golf courses. I don't think there's an achievable way to make 'repurpose these golf courses into something useful, like affordable housing' in the next twenty years. There aren't any ways to easily, quickly force these places to change what they are doing.

I wish there was, but most of them (over 80%) are private property:

According to the National Golf Foundation, in 2020, there were roughly 16,100 courses at 14,100 facilities in the U.S. Of that total, 75 percent are open to the public: 2,500 municipal and 7,900 daily-fee. That leaves approximately 4,025 courses labeled as private. (source)

So the ones we can actually influence are the ones that are not owned by the megarich; I'm not upset about a community pool the same way I'm upset about a multimillionaire keeping five pools active in his backyard during a drought.

But you know what we can do? Bother our representatives about raising taxes on golf courses, and closure of courses will likely follow.

You want to use up a whole lot of land that could be used for public housing or environmental restoration or wild animal rehabilitation or any number of better things? Pay out for the government to do those things elsewhere.

Currently, most privately-owned golf courses are taxed at ludicrously low rates. I was going to link sources, but there are individual articles for state after city after county, and the common thread is that golf courses are taxed at a fraction of what they should be. These private courses enjoy subsidies that functionally come out of other incomes.

So... contact your senators, reps, local government, whomever. Raise taxes on golf courses, and maybe we can actually get them to stop spreading.

Remember! If the course isn't making money (which, if the taxes are raised, many will be losing out on a lot of profit), then it might not stay a golf course. Sure, they might just raise entry prices to their members... but at least we'll be getting the taxes rightfully owed for the usage of that much land, and put it to use elsewhere.

[mapsontheweb]

Worldwide Golf Courses

by u/CharcoalCharts

[gwydionmisha]

Golf courses should be illegal.

[savanimay]

good morning to people who hate lawns, cars, and golf 😍

everyone else, hi i guess 😒

[scorittanius]

11 year old me was right it SHOULD be legal for all 11 year olds to tresspass on golf courses for FREE and play wolves and have fun and if the rich old men do so much as insult them they get a billion dollars and some pretty flowers to give to their overworked moms

[mandsleanan]

Golf courses are such a huge fucking waste of land.

Every time I drive past one I think about slapping the pulling shoes back on Ollie and going for a gallop.

[legendarytragedynacho]

Che Guevara in the former fields of the Villareal Golf Club- Colinas del Villareal, Loma de Bacuranao, Havana, 29 March 1961

© Alberto Korda Estate - Courtesy Cobra Museum via loeildelaphotographie

[caveundertree]

Welcome to Palm Springs, CA

A desert filled with golf courses

[thisisengland]

Silloth & Solway Golf Club, Cumbria.

[bunkershotgolf]

Explore Branson Golf Destination Courses Shine in ‘Golfweek’s Best’ Annual Rankings

Five cited for excellence in Missouri including the top four, three garner ‘Top 100 Public Course’ status

Golfweek recently announced two “Golfweek’s Best” lists (“Top Courses by State” and “Top 100 Public Access Courses”) and five courses in the Explore Branson golf destination garnered best-of recognition in them.

Nationally, Ozarks National (Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw design), Buffalo Ridge (Tom Fazio and Johnny Morris), and Payne’s Valley (Tiger Woods) earned distinction in the “Top 100 Public Course” list, ranking nos. 51, 77, and 93, respectively.

For Missouri public courses, Golfweek course raters ranked Ozarks National No. 1 in the state, Buffalo Ridge No. 2, Branson Hills No. 3 (Chuck Smith/Bobby Clampett), Payne’s Valley No. 4, and LedgeStone No. 7 (Tom Clark).

The hundreds of members of Golfweek’s course-ratings panel continually evaluate courses and rate them based on 10 criteria on a points basis of 1 through 10. They also file a single, overall rating on each course. Those overall ratings are averaged to produce the final rankings.

“Golfweek bestowing this honor on us validates not only that our course is considered one of the finest, but also that the Branson golf destination is one of the best with five courses voted into the state’s top 10,” said Dan Davis, PGA, Branson Hills Golf Club, Director of Golf.

Branson’s five other courses are Top of the Rock (Jack Nicklaus), Mountain Top (Gary Player), Thousand Hills (Bob Cupp), The Pointe, and Holiday Hills. Top of the Rock and Mountain Top are award-winning par-3 courses, a welcome addition in golf trips where players tee up 18-holers in the morning, then add afternoon “short course” rounds. Thousand Hills has often earned “favorite course” status among area golfers, while The Pointe and Holiday Hills provide additional popular 18-hole playing options.

The two short courses and Ozarks National, Buffalo Ridge, and Payne’s Valley are amenities of Big Cedar Lodge.

All 10 courses in the destination are located near one another as well as hundreds of restaurants, lodging options, and after-golf attractions.

“Golfweek rating five of our 10 courses among the finest in the state and country is exciting; we hope it inspires people to visit our golf destination in the Branson Missouri Ozarks,” said Lynn Berry, Director of Communications, Explore Branson.

Branson is the No. 3 rated trending tourism destination in America according to Tripadvisor, a place where live entertainment theatres, lakes, museums, a world-famous theme park (Silver Dollar City), sports venues, outdoor adventures, and family friendly activities proliferate.

Tripadvisor, the world’s largest travel guidance platform named Branson’s Silver Dollar City the No. 1 theme park in the United States last week. Utilizing traveler reviews and ratings for experiences, tours, activities, and attractions on their site over a 12-month period (May 1, 2022 - April 30, 2023), as well as an additional editorial process, earned the theme park top status.

For more information about Branson and its golf destination, visit www.explorebranson.com/golf, Instagram (@ExploreBransonGolf) or Facebook (@BransonGolf).

Explore Branson Golf Courses

Ozarks National, 800.225.6343

Mountain Top, 800.225.6343

The Pointe, 417.334.4477

Thousand Hills, 800.487.0769, 417.334.4553

Buffalo Ridge, 800.225.6343

LedgeStone, 417.335.8187

Top of the Rock, 800.225.6343

Branson Hills, 417.337.2963

Payne’s Valley, 800.225.6343

Holiday Hills, 417.334.4838

  About Explore Branson

Branson is a one-of-a-kind family vacation destination nestled in the lakeside beauty of the Ozark Mountains — and an incredible value — with dozens of live performance theatres, three pristine lakes, an international award-winning theme park, dozens of attractions and museums, a Historic Downtown district, a Town Center-style shopping complex, a full range of dining options, and a host of hotels, motels, resorts, RV parks, campgrounds, sports venues, and meeting and conference facilities. Branson is less than one day’s drive for one-third of America’s residents. With low-cost flights to Branson Airport (BKG www.flybranson.com) and nearby Springfield-Branson National Airport (SGF), it has never been easier to access Branson. Call 1-800-296-0463 for help planning your next vacation, convention or reunion. See more at: http://www.explorebranson.com

[rjzimmerman]

Conversion of golf courses to nature preserves is a terrific idea, which might be picking up steam in other parts of the US.

Excerpt from this story the Desert Sun:

Palm Springs soon will have its own "central park" — or more accurately, a "central preserve," after Oswit Land Trust converts the Mesquite Golf Course into a desert nature preserve.

Jane Garrison, executive director and founder of Oswit Land Trust, announced the nonprofit's acquisition of the golf course to a room full of more than 100 emotional supporters at Demuth Community Center on Tuesday. For years, Oswit Land Trust has eyed purchasing closed or struggling golf courses into Palm Springs and restoring the courses to natural desert habitat. Formerly called the Mesquite Desert Preserve, Oswit has called the project "the largest desert restoration project in California."

The project was renamed on Tuesday to the Prescott Preserve, after longtime Palm Springs resident Brad Prescott, whose Prescott Foundation purchased the golf course and donated it to the Oswit Land Trust.

"We envision a place where everyone can walk with their leashed dogs, a place where regardless of your age, regardless of your fitness ability, you're able to enjoy nature... This is like our, not our central park, it's going to be our central preserve right in the middle of our community. We envision lush gardens, we envision butterfly gardens, educational signage, floating docks for migratory birds," Garrison said.

After a golf course building boom in the 1990s and early 2000s, the industry has spent the past 15 years contracting in response to overbuilding, according to the National Golf Foundation.

The growing number of shuttered golf courses is sparking discussions at both the local and state level over how best to use the large swaths of land often surrounded by residential development.

About 130 U.S. golf courses closed in 2021, down from a peak of 250 golf course closures in 2019, according to the National Golf Foundation. The U.S. has over 16,000 golf courses with an average footprint of 150 acres, a size that often piques the interest of potential developers.

[petula-xx]

Seed Bombs.....

I see lots of posts encouraging people to seed bomb golf courses.

I understand the intent behind this. However, I hope that seed bombing doesn’t result in greenkeepers using extra chemical herbicides to deal with all the unexpected plants that start popping up.

Just a thought....

[libraryofva]

Recent Acquisition - Postcard Collection

Fifteenth Green of Princess Anne Country Club Golf Course, Virginia Beach, Va.