how much water does a golf course use in a day

by Clare Farrell 6 min read

Water is one of the biggest costs to golf courses, and this is another reason why many have tried to save as much water as possible. 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.

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.Jun 11, 2008

Full Answer

How much water do I need to irrigate my golf course?

Dec 01, 2021 · How Much Water Does The Average Golf Course Use? According to Audubon International, the average American course uses 312,000 gallons of water per day. Each course in Palm Springs, where 57 golf courses are located in the desert, consumes more than a million gallons of water per day.

Do golf courses use a lot of water?

Dec 03, 2021 · How Many Acre Feet Of Water Does A Golf Course Use? A typical 18-hole golf course uses an average of 152 gallons of water per day, according to national water use data. An irrigation system that uses 80 gallons of water per year is possible. There are 7 acres of turfgrass on this property.

How much water does a Palm Springs golf course use?

That equates to approximately 2.08 billion gallons of water per day for golf course irrigation in the U.S. According to the U.S. Geological Survey’s “Estimated Use of Water in the United States in 2000” report, approximately 408 billion gallons of water per day are withdrawn in the U.S. Golf course irrigation accounts for 0.5 percent of this total.

What are the biggest costs to golf courses?

Mar 11, 2019 · A typical growing season in my area (Dayton, Ohio) will create a need for about 6.17 inches or 168,000 gallons per acre. Course size varies, but consider a course with 130 irrigated acres and you have a total water need around 21 million gallons. If the year has more beneficial rain events, the irrigation water use declines drastically.

Are golf courses a waste of water?

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. golf courses consume more than 2 billion gallons of water per day, and since one in every 17 of U.S. courses is located in arid and semi-arid California, our 921 courses consume a sizable chunk of that total daily.Jun 18, 2021

How much water does golf use and where does it come from?

Golf, he said, consumes less than 1% of all water used in California, but nearly 25% of Coachella Valley water.Oct 9, 2021

How many acre-feet of water does a golf course use?

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.

How many gallons of water does it take to maintain a golf course?

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.Mar 29, 2021

Do golf courses use alot of water?

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.Jun 11, 2008

Do golf courses use fresh water?

In California, an average 18-hole golf course sprawls over 110 to 115 acres and conservatively uses almost 90 million gallons of water per year, enough to fill 136 Olympic-size swimming pools, said Mike Huck, a water management consultant who works with golf courses statewide.

How much water does it take to irrigate a golf course?

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 often do you water a golf course?

A healthy, high-quality turf may need up to 1¾ inches of water per week to keep it growing vigor- ously under hot, dry, windy summer conditions. This total water requirement includes both rainfall and irrigation. Turfgrass will require much less water when the weather is cool or cloudy.

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.Apr 10, 2019

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.Jun 16, 2017

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.Apr 10, 2019

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.Apr 16, 2015

How much water does an 18 hole golf course use?

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. However, many courses use various methods to water their turfgrass spaces to help limit their need ...

Why do wet agents help irrigation?

Wetting agents are used by many courses to help the irrigation process. The agent is sent along the pipes with the water to lower the surface tension. This allows the water to pass easily through the soil and spread further.

Why are sensors placed in soil?

Sensors are placed in the soil to measure how much moisture is present. This can greatly help with management of the course as only the areas that need water can be irrigated.

Do golf courses use water?

Many countries have now imposed water restrictions on all of the businesses and farms that use water and limited the amount they can use in a year. Golf courses have a two-fold use for water. The first and greatest use is on the maintained turfgrass.

What are the factors that affect the water availability of a golf course?

These factors can be climate, type of turf grass, agronomic and soils conditions, regulations, and water av ailability.

Why does water use vary?

Each course will vary because of size of the irrigated area and management practices. Also, water use each year will vary depending on climatic conditions. The timing and amount of rainfall, temperatures each month, and sunshine. There is no fixed answer.

image

Where Is The Water used?

Image
When you ask people who they think would use the most water, many of them would probably say agriculture and farming. Along with farming, golf courses use roughly as much water, or at least they used to. Many countries have now imposed water restrictions on all of the businesses and farms that use water and limited th…
See more on twl-irrigation.com

Cost and Amount of Water Used

  • Water is one of the biggest costs to golf courses, and this is another reason why many have tried to save as much water as possible. 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…
See more on twl-irrigation.com

Types of Water Used

  • To help maintain the turfgrass, courses use a number of different sources for their water needs. These include:
See more on twl-irrigation.com

How Can Golf Courses Save Water?

  • Water conservation is always high on the agenda for golf courses, and there has been a lot of research on how they can effectively use less water. Here are a few of the ways that courses try to use less water.
See more on twl-irrigation.com

Conclusion

  • Golf is one of the most popular outdoor sports for professional and amateur players. This means golf courses will always need to be at the top of their game to ensure that their clubs are ready to meet the demands of players and water conservation. Head here for our range of golf course irrigation systems.
See more on twl-irrigation.com