MANY GOLF COURSES PROVIDE HIDDEN BENEFITS – A BALANCED ARGUMENT NEEDS TO BE MADE

An interesting article with some good points, and several technical issues not considered. There is no doubt that some cities have too many golf courses, too close to each other. Some golf courses also became too uneconomical to run.

But there are many golf courses that provide hidden benefits. One that is not mentioned is that many urban courses receive their water supply from the closest waste water treatment works. Yes, there are some that take water from other sources, for example, rivers, groundwater, dams. But those using treated effluent are in some way acting as a receiver, thereby assisting end disposal of in many cases ‘partially’ treated effluent. Another issue is that some golf courses are also preservers of indigenous vegetation types and provide green lungs within the city landscape, plus refuge for wildlife. One must though distinguish between privately owned and municipal leased golf courses when assessing the status quo.

Not being a golfer, these points are made to provide a balanced argument – some have benefits, and some maybe not. However, these need to be looked at equally and objectively. A rapid review status quo study on golf estate development in the Western Cape was undertaken in 2004-05 with guidelines published in December 2005. This would be a good starting point to establish some principles.