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Do golf courses use potable water?

Author

Noah Mitchell

Published Jan 18, 2026

Just under 50% of golf facilities rely on mains potable water supply for irrigation (water industry suggests 66% use mains)

Where do golf courses get water from?

Golf courses use a variety of water sources for turfgrass irrigation including groundwater, surface water (lakes, rivers and reservoirs), recycled water, and municipal potable water supplies.

How much water do American golf courses use?

Courses around the U.S. suck up around approximately 2.08 billion gallons of water per day for irrigation. That's about 130,000 gallons per day per course, according to the golf industry.

How much water does it take for a golf course?

Depending on the location of the golf course and the climate, an 18-hole course can use on average 2.08 billion gallons of water per day. Depending on the amount of water needed, a typical golf course can spend between $7,000 and $108,000 per year.

What golf course has the most water hazards?

Pacific Ocean - Pebble Beach 18th hole

The Pacific Ocean comes into play on many of the golf courses along the United States' West Coast and arguably most famously at Pebble Beach. The five-time U.S. Open venue has numerous holes which force golfers to wrestle with the largest water hazard on Earth.

42 related questions found

How many balls are in the Honda Classic water?

Last year, the stretch combined for a score of 230-over par and 1,604 balls have found the water since the tournament moved to this course in 2007.

Do golf courses use fresh water?

The Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD), which serves 105 of the golf courses, draws from the California Water Project, the Colorado River and the aquifer. Kessler, who heads up the Coachella Valley Golf and Water Task Force, said much of the water used to irrigate golf courses is non-potable.

What do golf courses use water for?

Golf courses use a great deal of water for irrigation and other purposes. A typical 150-acre golf course uses approximately 200 million gallons of water a year, enough to supply 1,800 residences with 300 GPD of water.

How do golf courses conserve water?

Any rain that falls on the buildings, pavement and cart paths goes into one of the course reservoirs — which form the major water features on the course. And underground, there are giant cisterns that hold millions of gallons of runoff water from the course.

Why do golf courses drink water everyday?

Typically, putting greens are irrigated at night or early in the morning. However, during periods of hot weather or low humidity, turf may need additional water throughout the day because soils can quickly dry out. Light watering during the day helps keep putting greens healthy and playing well.

How much water does a golf course use per acre?

Water use varies significantly by agronomic region. An average 18-hole golf facility in the Southwest region uses an average of 4 acre-feet of water per irrigated acre per year. An average 18-hole golf facility in the Northeast region uses an average of 0.8 acre-feet of water per irrigated acre per year.

Are golf courses bad for the environment?

Environmentalists argue that golf course land is not only a waste of space, but also harbors harmful impacts to the earth and environment, such as pesticide use. This negative impact occurs by using large quantities of water and destroying habitats for wildlife species.

How much water do UK golf courses use?

A typical golf course uses anywhere between 378.5 m3 to 3,785 m3 of water per week in summer. That's a lot! At higher consumption levels, this could be costing you over £8,000 a year.

What percentage of golf courses use recycled water?

Nearly 13 percent of greenskeepers use reclaimed water to maintain golf courses. They access the irrigation supply from used water sources.

How much water do Palm Springs golf courses use?

The water district says that on average, each course uses about 1 million gallons a day.

How do golf courses use recycled water?

In addition to making good use of a degraded water source, turf serves a vital role in cleansing nutrients and contaminants from the recycled water as it moves through the soil and into the aquifer. Nationwide, approximately 13% of golf courses use recycled water for irrigation.

How much water does a 18-hole golf course use?

Using water use data nationally, an 18-hole golf course uses an average of 152.5 acre-feet of water per year to irrigate 80.7 acres of turfgrass.

How much water does a household use?

The average American family uses more than 300 gallons of water per day at home. Roughly 70 percent of this use occurs indoors. Nationally, outdoor water use accounts for 30 percent of household use yet can be much higher in drier parts of the country and in more water-intensive landscapes.

What percentage of the world's water is fresh water?

In the first bar, notice how only 2.5% of Earth's water is freshwater - the amount needed for life to survive. The middle bar shows the breakdown of freshwater. Almost all of it is locked up in ice and in the ground. Only a little more than 1.2% of all freshwater is surface water, which serves most of life's needs.

How many gallons of water does the average golf course use a day?

Audubon International estimates that the average American course uses 312,000 gallons per day. In a place like Palm Springs, where 57 golf courses challenge the desert, each course eats up a million gallons a day.

How deep is the water around 17 at TPC Sawgrass?

The dimensions of the 17th green -- also referred to as the putting surface -- at TPC Sawgrass is 78 feet deep from front to back and 81 feet from left to right.

How many dimples are on a regulation ball?

Most golf balls have between 300 and 500 dimples, which have an average depth of about 0.010 inch.

Can the public play TPC Sawgrass?

Just 12 miles from Jacksonville, Fla., and 20 miles north of historic St. Augustine, TPC Sawgrass offers two championship golf courses that are open for the public to enjoy – THE PLAYERS Stadium Course, Home of THE PLAYERS Championship, and Dye's Valley Course.