Sustainability of Desert Golf: An Assessment of Golf Courses in the Greater Phoenix Metropolitan Area

Golf courses require large amounts of water and other resources. The Southwestern United States has experienced rapid population growth, coupled with a dramatic increase in the built environment and golf courses. This paper aims to assess the environmental sustainability of golf courses in the Phoenix Metropolitan area at multiple scales in terms of water, ecosystem services and management practices. We report on the number and spatial distribution of golf courses, the amount of water used by them, the ecosystem services they provide, potential social injustice issues within the area, and the sustainability of management practices. There are 197 golf courses within the Phoenix Metropolitan Area, which are composed of 465 patches covering an area around 57 square miles. The golf courses within the Phoenix Active Management Area use around 500 acre-feet of water per year. Golf courses are categorized as an industrial water user and account for roughly half of all industrial water use in the Phoenix Active Management Area. The primary water source for golf courses is groundwater, with effluent as their second most-used source. Most golf courses are located in areas with a median household income between $61,333-$90,185 and only one was located in an area with a median household income below $27,393. Golf courses in the region provide a number of ecosystem services and help the local economy in multiple ways. However, given the scarcity of water and the projected drier and hotter climate in the American Southwest, we suggest curbing the expansion of golf courses and implement more sustainable management practices.