Golf Courses 3

Johannesburg

The construction of a new golf course has the potential to create adverse impacts on the aquatic environment. To begin with, a typical 18-hole golf course can convert on average approximately 55 hectares of rural land into a highly “terra-formed’ environment of fairways, greens, tees, sand traps, and water obstacles. As such, golf courses are often an attractive part of the urban landscape. Haphazardly designed golf courses, however, can disrupt and degrade the wetlands, floodplains, riparian zones, and grassland thatcontribute to ecological systems.
        A second recurring concern in respect of golf courses is the large inputs of fertiliser, pesticides, fungicides, and other chemicals that are required to maintain vigorous and attractive greens throughout the year.