Water issues and golf in Utah - My thoughts

General Discussions Forum
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I need to share my thoughts as a Utah resident… This made the news today:

SB92 - Utah Bill to study golf course water use

I support using less water and saving every drop of our precious resources in this desert. I’m for using reclaimed water, recycling, getting rid of rough areas, and converting lakes and ponds to waste areas, whatever it takes. I’m also for saving the Great Salt Lake; those alkaline dust storms are no joke (just ask the folks in Ridgecrest, CA). If they want to study this and find ways to save water, I’m all for it.

However, a quick search shows how much posturing is going on here…

According to Google, golf courses in Utah use just 0.65% of the state’s water. In comparison, agriculture uses 75% of Utah’s water. People say we can’t cut back on agriculture because everyone needs to eat, right? Well, it turns out 68% of Utah’s water goes to grow alfalfa, most of which is exported abroad. That means we use nearly 35 times more water growing alfalfa for export than we do on golf courses. So we’re really sending a lot of our water out to benefit a few local cash crop farmers. Don’t get me wrong, I respect our farmers. If I had the means, I’d love to start my own farm. I keep chickens, plant gardens, and grow fruit trees on my small suburban lot. Farmers are great.

What I’m asking for is some common sense.

If we cut back on exporting alfalfa by just 25%, we’d save a lot more water than by getting rid of all the golf courses in the state. We don’t need a study for that, just a quick search online would do.

But golf is an easy target since it’s seen as a luxury hobby for rich people. Honestly, covid changed the crowd on the courses I visit. Now I play with people from all walks of life, and I always have a great time.

Politicians and journalists can be the laziest people around.

Edit: If you want to reach out to Sen McCay, here’s the link: Sen McCay contact form

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There’s a similar situation in SoCal too

They say land should go for housing, not considering that the land often sits in flood zones or fire areas where dense homes don’t belong, or in pricey spots where new homes would cost over $5 million

Plus what you mentioned about agriculture. Sending a third of it overseas for horses? Ridiculous

Palisades burned down, but Riviera stayed safe. We need more golf courses, which help manage forests!

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@Jin
I believe Riviera helped stop the fire from spreading in Santa Monica.

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Sky said:
@Jin
I believe Riviera helped stop the fire from spreading in Santa Monica.

That thought crossed my mind as well

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@Jin
Every time someone complains about land use for golf, it ignores how much undeveloped land the US actually has that could be used if politics got out of the way.

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I don’t get why people want to destroy golf courses. They provide public outdoor spaces for recreational activities. Isn’t it a shame to deny men their hobbies?

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Sage said:
I don’t get why people want to destroy golf courses. They provide public outdoor spaces for recreational activities. Isn’t it a shame to deny men their hobbies?

Because those recreational spaces could easily be normal parks that everyone can enjoy. I love golf and it’s one of my favorite activities, but it does take up a lot of space for a very specific and often expensive sport.

For example, Presidio Golf Course became like Golden Gate Park during Covid. It was fun to see, but now that it’s back as a golf course, that land is valuable and mostly benefits wealthy hobbyists.

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@Mai
If people want to drive an hour to use my golf course as a park, they’re free to do so. It’s surrounded by farms and has no public transport. I’d happily let it be a park for a few days just to see if anyone would actually use it.

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@Hadley
Why convert the golf course to a park when there are plenty of parks that aren’t being used? I see empty parks all the time…

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Blake said:
@Hadley
Why convert the golf course to a park when there are plenty of parks that aren’t being used? I see empty parks all the time…

Touché.

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@Patton
You could even get a group together to buy land and create a park. You’d need to charge a usage fee to maintain it, but it could be done.

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@Patton

It’s wrong to suggest taking resources from others for your benefit. If you want it, just buy it.

That’s a major issue in society—people prefer to take from others instead of doing the right thing.

Especially in California, where many people in this thread seem to justify how they like golf but criticize courses for being wasteful.

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@Patton
lol. The guys in the men’s club aren’t the ones lobbying against it.

14

@Mai
So why not build a park somewhere else then?

Are you really saying California has no land available?

15

Lian said:
@Mai
So why not build a park somewhere else then?

Are you really saying California has no land available?

Exactly what I was saying. Why the anger?

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Mai said:

Lian said:
@Mai
So why not build a park somewhere else then?

Are you really saying California has no land available?

Exactly what I was saying. Why the anger?

You didn’t say any of that. You just complained about how golf courses use land for rich people’s hobbies. Read your own comment.

17

@Lian
I didn’t complain. I prefer them to be golf courses and said that. I can see why non-golfers want parks instead of courses.

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Sage said:
I don’t get why people want to destroy golf courses. They provide public outdoor spaces for recreational activities. Isn’t it a shame to deny men their hobbies?

This is bad for the environment, and only a small percentage of people golf. Those yards of turf would be much better as a park.

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@Madden
Right, but this outdoor activity has been around since the 1600s and yet it’s somehow worse for the environment than the government allowing companies to dump chemicals in our water. Golf is the problem?

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@Sage
Golf now isn’t the same as it was in the 1600s. It uses water and chemicals to keep the grass green in areas where it normally wouldn’t be.