I live in upstate New York, just about every town has a golf course. I personally love the game, but I honestly don't think their that bad for the environment up here. For many people it's their third place.

Like we get plenty of rain, and most I've been to are nestled near the edge of the forests. The APA regulates the shit out of what you can do. And it's really not much of a waste of land. If I want to go for a hike or trail run, I have dozens within biking distance and maybe even 100 within 30 minutes of driving.

It's farms and their cow shit fertilizer releasing gass and it's runoff polluting the watershed that's doing the most damage around here. But like I say, the APA does a pretty good job most of the time.

Two golf courses nearby have closed down and are being rehabilitated by the National Park that claimed the land or however they got it. IIRC one of them was family-owned for four generations, but the last owner was in his mid-twenties and got in way over his head, and committed suicide on one of the greens.

Sucks about the circumstances, but otherwise I love to see it

Lets replace golf courses with mini-golfs and parks!

The only benefit to society I can see for golf is that it provides a reliable source of consistent standardized ammunition for my golf ball cannon.

Golfers play baseball?

Americans: What the fuck is "kilometers"?

Great places to pitch tents.

Hectares or acres

So... I actually really like golf. I think it's fun. Haven't played in over a decade, but I look back on my memories playing pretty fondly.

That said, I have zero issue recovering a lot of that lost land and water usage to put them to better use.

I'd be very interested to see a version of golf that is less ecologically destructive and less water intensive.

A good walk spoiled and they won't even let you walk on a number of courses. Have to use the little electric cars.

IMO, rectangle sports are the most boring sports in existence. It's literally a rectangle and always a rectangle every time... And everyone stands around watching the exact same shit happening inside the perfectly constructed rectangle. It's the same thing, over and over. Not only that but millions of people say they love sports, but they don't even play, just stare at a glowy rectangle and watch people in a rectangle run around. You can't define a more boring sport than that. At the very bare minimum, to spice things up, how about introducing some goddamn obstacles randomly placed in the rectangle. Add some actual dynamic scenarios that keep the players on their toes and trying to come up with new strategies.

Motocross and enduro racing are sports and so is golf. Golf courses are all different, they unique, dynamic change depending on temperature, weather, grass length, wind, dew point, hole location.

But I do agree in general, golf courses are very big waste. Especially when placed in the middle of deserts or places that require significant resources to maintain.