In Thailand, they're building a course a day. In India, deserts and mountains are converted to golfscapes with few hazards. China drains wetlands and rice paddies in its quest to build more courses. Rainforests in Vietnam and Malaysia are routinely cut and filled for fairways. Now it's over 400, as American duffers slice and hook their way across the country's 29,000 courses.
Golf is a huge business in Massachusetts.
The Commonwealth hosts 343 courses and 69 driving ranges. In order to keep these playing fields bright green, there are a heavy dependence on chemicals and an enormous thirst for water. The average course in Massachusetts receives over 2,000 pounds and 80 gallons of pesticides annually. Turf then builds up a pesticide dependency and resistance that may require an ever-increasing application of harmful chemicals. Golf course water use is greatest at the very time aquatic and wetland ecosystems are most stressed by seasonally low stream-flow and groundwater levels.