Golf Courses: Greens to Greens

Stop Building Golf Courses

Golf.

It’s a massive industry. People get air, walk, exercise and engage in social activities.

There are an estimated 1-1.2 million Canadians that golf on a semi-regular basis.

So why be grumpy with golf courses?

There are at least 2,500 golf courses in Canada.

The average golf course covers more than 150 acres of land.

How much produce would we be able to generate from nearly 400,000 acres of land?

A LOT.

To put it mildly, a 2 acre vertical farm could out produce at 750 acre flat farm.

Plus, there are no pesticides, herbicides, nowhere near as much manure, roofs could be used to generate solar power to fuel LED lights, plants could be grown 24/7, 365 days per year in greenouse structures and the carbon offset would be more than enough to meet many of our climate change / Paris Accord targets.

Furthermore, there are no more EV-powered golf carts whipping around, leaving important and valuable rare earths for batteries for commuters buying up new EV cars. It would quickly put an end to this common objection coming from middle-aged white guys complaining about the rush to electrify our driving habits.

There’s nowhere near the same level of habitat loss and food loops could be closed much more efficiently, resulting in quicker delivery times and fewer trucks on roads. Reducing large-haul congestion on our 400-series of highways could (a) result in less need for more highways and (b) less emissions owing to vehicles stuck in traffic. Of course, there would likely be fewer tragic accidents as well.

Overall, it ust makes sense for a country like Canada to start re-evaluating how much commitment we make to golf courses.

The reality is that life on the greens will have to replaced with living on greens.

If we don’t make this choice, we will all suffer for it.