Golf Courses

Golf course living sounds like a dream to many: a nice house with a view and a yard that opens up to a wide expanse of grass, no neighbors behind the house, no houses to block your view. It’s just trees, grass, and open space. The only obvious downside is having to put up with an occasional golf ball hitting the house. But is that the only downside? 

 

My collaborator and I have done site searches for many homes over the years, and some of the nicest ones have been golf course properties. Despite their opulence and splendor, these properties contain a few extra environmental hazards besides the sand traps.

 

1. Pesticides, Herbicides, and Rodenticides

 

Oh my! This first hazard may be the most obvious. Maintaining a golf course and keeping it in perfect shape for the golfers takes a lot of time and chemicals: pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers, to name a few. Beginning in the 1980s, there has been much focus on the chemicals golf courses use to maintain their lush and almost perfect fairways and greens. Reports usually like to talk about how many fewer chemicals are being used. However, there are quite a few studies that reveal just how toxic some of these chemicals really are. Not only that, even though many toxic chemicals may no longer be actively applied, their residues and toxic components remain behind.

 

There was an investigation years ago in New York looking into just how much chemical was applied to golf courses. The people conducting the study reviewed the chemical applications of about four dozen golf courses all in the same state. The final report found that the volume of pesticides these courses used on their properties was seven to eight times the amount a farm used when compared in pounds per acre. 

 

In the report’s own words, “The NYS Attorney General Office did a report entitled Toxic Fairways. They looked at 52 golf courses on Long Island and the pesticides used. The report concluded, the 52 golf courses applied 192 different pesticides containing 50 different active ingredients. The total amount applied was more than 50,000 pounds. The report averaged this out over the total acreage and came up with 7 pounds of pesticide per acre. Agricultural land in the U.S. averaged 1.5 pounds per acre. The report also concluded much more than 7 pounds per acre was likely since pesticides were only used on playing areas of the golf courses making the applications even higher.“ The beautiful fairways and insect- and blemish-free greens are the result of continuous applications of chemicals and fertilizers in the same fashion that makeup is always being applied to an actor to keep the appearance perfect. 

 

Risk assessments of chemical exposure on golf courses never includes the people living along the fairways or a couple of houses away. They are not considered when exposure limits are set to say the golfer who is on the course two or three times a week is perfectly safe at this low level. But the people living along these golf courses are exposed to many times that level. Furthermore, the runoff from the golf courses goes onto nearby property, and chemicals drift off site when sprayed on the course, going into the yards and homes of people living nearby. 

 

Pesticide drift is a significant issue when golf courses spray chemicals. While they are supposed to only be applied during low or no wind conditions, many times this is disregarded to stay on groundskeeping schedules. The risk assessments and scientific research seldom ask if it is safe for people living near these golf courses.

 

The standard industry defense is that they follow all the directions and guidelines, so it must be safe. Hundreds, if not more, chemicals for which people followed the directions on the label turned out to be highly toxic and poisonous to humans. Also, some of the chemicals golf courses use according to the directions are already banned almost everywhere else for being too toxic. In 2015 the EPA declared there is no safe exposure level for chlorpyrifos, a widely used chemical on golf courses. The EPA proposed a ban on this product, and it is already banned in the European union, New York, California, and Hawaii over health concerns of brain damage from prolonged exposure. The Trump administration opposes the EPA ban. Dow Chemical is the manufacturer of this chemical. Even when studies show that these hazardous chemicals are likely carcinogens, golf courses cite that most of these studies show instances of cancer were in animals and not humans, so there is no evidence of risk to people. 

 

Of course, the chemical companies and golf course industry has a lot at stake in these results. In fact, the chemical industry are major supporters of the sport. Dow Chemical was named the “Official Chemistry Company” of the PGA tour. Dow and the PGA partnered for a four-year period, collaborating with the PGA tour “to bring solutions and products to enhance the sport of golf.” Dow Chemical is one of the largest suppliers of chemicals to the golf industry. In 2019, for the second year in a row, AMVAC Chemical Company donated $25,000 to the Environmental Institute for Golf. AMVAC makes herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides. According to the organization Open Secrets, the chemical industry spent close to $45 million in lobbying efforts in 2019. Ten chemical companies made direct political contributions totaling about $2.5 million. 

 

When the EPA drastically curtailed the use of Dursban, it continued to allow application on golf courses, claiming it would not affect anyone there. Children were at high risk for damage from the toxic effects of Dursban. The EPA neglected the children who live near golf courses even though they would have much higher exposure than an adult golfer occasionally using the course. Each time the chemical is sprayed or spread, there is some exposure to people living nearby. 

 

Another horribly toxic compound used on golf courses was methyl bromide, which was banned from use by most places in 2005. The chemical depletes ozone and also affects more than just the target pests. Human exposure to high levels can lead to respiratory issues, nervous system problems, and birth defects in pregnant women exposed. Despite this, there was an exemption for the golf industry to use this poison another eight years through December, 2013. 

 

Long-term exposure to small amounts of these hazardous chemicals has already created a crisis for superintendents of golf courses and clubs. More documentation has come forth about these people having cancer, liver disease, kidney issues, and other medical problems, all of which can only be explained by their long-term exposure to these chemicals. According to Jay Feldman from the group Beyond Pesticides, there is a large body of scientific evidence showing links between these chemicals and diseases. Jay talked about a study of former golf course superintendents that found they had higher levels of four types of cancer: brain, lymphoma, prostate, and large intestine. While the study found the pattern was similar to other occupations using pesticide, it did not say any specific chemicals caused cancer. A recent look at the different chemicals used in golf course maintenance showed that, out of the 30 most used, 19 of them are linked to cancer, 13 of them are linked to birth defects, 21 affect fertility, and 15 of them can damage the nervous system. 

 

The weed killer 2,4-D, known more popularly as Roundup, is by far the favorite to kill weeds even though it also affects humans. Already known as potentially causing cancer, millions of gallons continue to be sprayed all over turf while the EPA does nothing. Essentially, the industry is running over people’s health in the name of profit. 

 

Complicating matters, very few golf courses are under any regulations to notify anyone when they are applying chemicals. Some at best will put a notice up in the clubhouse for the golfers. The less the golfers know in this case, the better the courses and clubs think it is. After all, if someone knew they were being continuously exposed to cancer-causing chemicals when they play golf, they may look at playing someplace else instead. 

 

Up until now, this discussion has only explored individual chemicals, but so many various chemicals are applied to golf courses that looking at the problem that way is a dangerous oversimplification. The EPA itself never considers what happens when these chemicals mix. This is a serious hole in the current research literature. Questions are all my collaborator and I have. Do these chemicals form new compounds when they come in contact? Do two toxic 

chemicals mixing make each one more toxic than before?

 

2. Building on Golf Courses

 

From Mission Hills outside of Chicago, to Tamarac, Florida, and out to California, golf courses are being transformed into upscale housing developments. Some courses are being developed for housing while others are modifying existing spaces or downsizing to accommodate housing. This is bringing to light a significant health issue which previously stayed underground–literally. 

 

Many of the chemicals used in the past for golf course maintenance have now been banned due to research and confirmation of links to cancers and many other negative health effects as a result of exposure. These chemicals include arsenic and Dieldrin, which were used in very large amounts to keep golf courses green and pleasing to the players.

 

Unfortunately, these chemicals do not simply disappear from water application to the soil and grass. They persist and remain in the soil, and in many cases work their way down into the water table, and they even poison wells. Several of these chemicals change their structure as they break down and become new, more toxic versions of the original chemical used. Many chemicals bind themselves to soil particles and are present for decades in toxic quantities. 

 

When the soil is disturbed, especially when construction begins, the chemicals previously trapped in the soil are now free to move around again. Much will be released into the air with the dust stirred up; this material will migrate off site. Dust containing chemicals can drift hundreds and thousands of feet away and get into the neighborhoods and houses surrounding the area. Especially vulnerable are the children who will breathe this dust and also play in and touch the dirt outside.

 

In Seminole County, Florida, Rolling Hills Golf Club had been around since the 1920s. When the golf club shut down for good in 2014, a developer eyed the property for upscale houses. The neighbors asked the county to purchase the land and save it from being developed. Rather than more houses where the golf club had been for 90 years, the people in Rolling Hills Development wanted a park. 

 

A study of the property was conducted before finalizing the deal, and it found unacceptable levels of two highly toxic chemicals in fairways and greens on the closed course: Dieldrin and arsenic. There were 13 homes with high levels of Dieldrin in their wells as well. 

 

The county moved ahead with plans to purchase the property and turn it into a park and green space; remediation of the contaminated areas still needs to be done. Because many residents live in homes bordering the golf course, some question if they had been repeatedly exposed to these chemicals. Areas of the former golf course were considered hazardous enough to close access to them, but no consideration was made for the backyards and lungs of the people exposed.

 

Woodmont Country Club in Tamarac, Florida, was going to be transformed into 152 homes, 27 holes of golf, and 28,000 square feet of commercial space. However, arsenic contamination was found in the soil and groundwater much higher than levels considered safe. In addition, the highly toxic pesticide Dieldrin was found in groundwater and the maintenance department. The excavation of the contaminated soil will cause arsenic to be blown around into the surrounding neighborhoods, which would endanger the homes located directly next to the contaminated areas. In fact, it is possible their property may have already been affected from runoff. Many of the homes nearby run the risk of contaminated water. All this contamination was there for years until new development was proposed. The neighbors were likely already exposed to a wide variety of contaminants they never realized.

 

3. Previous Use

 

Over the years, there has been a surprising number of golf course projects built on reclaimed lands, also known as old landfills. Land is very expensive in many places, and many landfills used to be built on the outskirts of the cities. As the cities grew, they gradually surrounded and passed the landfill, and now that property has become much more valuable. The problem is converting this land into something that can exploit its value. 

 

Some cities and states have decided turning their closed old landfills into recreational properties is a brilliant way to turn an otherwise useless, hazardous site into a thing of beauty. Governments who own the landfill property encourage developers to design and build something that pays taxes to the town and attracts people to come and spend money there. As a result, golf courses have been one of the special use projects that dozens of old landfills have been transformed into. 

 

Creating a golf course out of a landfill presents unique challenges to the developers because it was recently an enormous pile literally made from trash. To compensate for this, developers will push thousands of tons of dirt on top of the landfill, sculpt some nice hills and slopes, and maybe add a few water holes (being careful not to dig down too far). Presto–a golf course. 

 

Once the magical transformation is finished, the value of the reclaimed land and that surrounding the project suddenly becomes higher and the property desirable. It becomes a prime location for high-end houses and condos. However, the unique problems with transforming a landfill into a golf course also creates unique problems for housing adjacent to the property.

 

The buried garbage decomposes, creating an excessive amount of methane gas. Methane is a highly explosive gas, and if not properly vented from the landfill, it will find its way to the surface into either the atmosphere or nearby structures. The smell of rotting garbage wafting through windows is not very healthy or pleasing, especially on warmer, humid days. 

 

Below those beautiful green fairways, rotting trash is decomposing at a variety of speeds. As a result, the underlying part continually shifts, rises, and sinks as the trash decomposes at different speeds through the sections. Sometimes there can be a total collapse in a section of the landfill/golf course, exposing old trash and rotting garbage. Even though the golf course was built using fill brought in to cover the old landfill, sinkholes and cracks appear out of nowhere.

 

There are more than 100 golf courses built on old landfills. Developers sometimes will place houses around the perimeter to be close to the golf course and get a premium price for the lots. All landfills, even old closed landfills, represent a danger of toxic emissions, high methane levels, and vapor seepage through the soil. In no way would my collaborator and I suggest being that close to a redeveloped landfill no matter what the developer tells you.

 

In Sarasota County, Florida, a dedicated individual led a fight against a developer who wanted to build houses on an old landfill/golf course. The developer stated the residential houses would be in between where all the trash is buried, not on top of it. One of the first attempts to do this back in 2006 was dropped once benzene, chromium, arsenic, lead, and mercury were found in test probes. Unfortunately, another developer smelling not the methane but the huge profits of putting houses on the closed golf course/landfill proposed another development in 2014. Again the plan was to nestle the homes on the spaces between where the rotting mounds of trash were located. One environmental activist tried to halt the construction of the homes knowing the contamination beneath the area was toxic. The response of the developer was to sue the activist for $1 million dollars for telling people about the hazards who then decided not to purchase homes. The suit was eventually dropped. 

 

Outside Los Angeles, a golf course built adjacent to a closed municipal landfill had the ground underneath the neighboring houses open up giant cracks, breaking their water pipes. It seems the houses were built too close to the landfill and the ground was unstable due to the trash decomposing beneath the ground. The development also has methane gas from the landfill seeping up into the residents’ homes. These residents are at risk for all the health effects from the gases frequently found in landfills, such as aggravation of asthma symptoms, headaches, nausea, vomiting, and respiratory system issues. 

 

Near Columbus, Ohio, in Grove City, the Phoenix Golf Links course was built on top of a closed municipal landfill. Methane gas from decomposing trash under the course was not supposed to be a problem, and special systems were installed when the course was built to prevent the toxic gas from seeping to the surface. Apparently, there were problems with the methane collection system that was built because over the years the amount of methane gas increased until the levels became so high and the collection system so expensive to fix that the golf course simply shut down. Luckily, no homes were built on top. 

 

4. Toxic Fill Dirt to Create Golf Course

 

Fill dirt is the materials used to create the undersurface of the course. Many golf courses have large amounts of fill dirt brought in to create the rolling surfaces, the hills and valleys, and other features. This is a significant expense for the developers of the course. Rather than absorb this price as the cost of developing, they have found an inexpensive but dangerous alternative: fly ash.

 

Toxic coal ash, or fly ash, is the residue left over from coal-burning power plants that produce some of our energy. Fly ash is generated in enormous quantities by these power plants. Because fly ash is the byproduct or waste left over after burning coal, it contains the same cancer causing heavy metals coal has. Coal ash is a cocktail of toxic chemicals, containing the same heavy metals that are found in coal, only in higher concentrations. These metals typically include arsenic, lead, chromium, mercury, and selenium, all of which are known to cause cancer and other health problems. Short-term exposure irritates the respiratory system, may cause breathing issues and shortness of breath, as well as dizziness and vomiting. Long-term exposure, such as possibly living on top of a pile of toxic coal ash, can lead to liver and kidney damage, heart issues, and cancer in body organs including the liver, lung, bladder, and kidneys. Because of the known risks, environmentalists have long fought to have fly ash categorized as a hazardous material, but they have faced stiff resistance from the energy industry, and now the construction industry.

 

Despite this resistance, fly ash can’t legally be dumped as it is too toxic. Disposing of it has been a huge headache for the power plant operators. Much of the millions of pounds of ash sit in storage lagoons, containing hundreds of thousands of pounds of toxic fly ash. Liability for the power plants is huge. However, after industry lobbying, the government decided toxic fly ash can be used if the end use can be considered recycling.

 

The exact wording of this plan is “beneficial use”: take a hazardous product and use it for a beneficial purpose. According to the United States government, fly ash as fill for a golf course is perfectly fine. 

 

In York County, Pennsylvania, a lovely course is proud to feature toxic greens and fairways. I spoke to the mayor of York City who remembered the battle that took place when the project was first announced. The hazardous coal ash was dumped in giant piles and then used to cover the ground before just enough soil was placed over it to grow grass. A company who specialized in helping industry find these creative uses to dispose of their toxic ash was used by the project developers. Over the years, a range of health effects including liver and kidney issues was noted by nearby residents, but none were ever able to be absolutely directly tied to the coal ash as usually is the case with this. 

 

In Chesapeake, Virginia, there are ongoing battles with another golf course featuring toxic greens and fairways as well. The appropriately named Battlefield Golf Club features 1.5 million pounds of fly ash used to create the various hills and slopes. Covering 216 acres of sculpted grounds, the grass hides what lies below. The EPA has also determined the water underneath Battlefield Golf Club is contaminated. While they said the contamination has not yet spread to the wells used by houses nearby, the power company that supplied the toxic fly ash has already paid to hook all the neighbors to the public water supply. That was seen as a preemptive move in case additional people were sickened by consuming contaminated water and wanted to file lawsuits for damages. The EPA noted that connecting these residents who used private water into a public system “mitigated and potential threat to drinking water.” Dominion Power put aside up to $6 million to use for connecting residents into public water supplies. This commitment was made just prior to several hundred residents filing lawsuits stating the ash used to build the golf course had contaminated their well water with toxic chemicals. 

 

Incidentally, one of the businesspeople who helped build the course has sued the developer for damages because he developed kidney cancer. In addition to this suit, there are several others including one by 383 residents suing for over $1 billion in damages.

 

A lovely golf club in St. Louis, Michigan, has the distinction of being perhaps the only golf course on the EPA’s Superfund site list in 2010. It takes a lot to get on this list; the site must be one of the most polluted sites in the country and also pose imminent danger to human health and the environment. Right in the middle of an out of bounds area on the golf course sits this Superfund. For over 14 years, Michigan Chemical Corporation used that land to burn and dispose of industrial waste. This waste included highly toxic DDT, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB), and Tris (a banned flame retardant). Estimates are 2,000-3,000 gallons of hazardous waste were disposed of on the site.Approximately 2,500 people live within one mile of the golf course. Around 5,000 use the groundwater for drinking, and six wells for the public water supply are within three miles of the waste dump.

 

5. Groundwater Contamination 

The toxic soup of herbicides, insecticides, fertilizers, methane, and heavy metals created by golf courses eventually seeps its way into groundwater and drinking supplies. And when it does, it creates havoc on the citizens’ health.

 

Decades after it was banned in the United States as a cancer risk, an insecticide called Dieldrin has been discovered in 108 private wells in Central Florida, making the water unsafe to drink. There have been dozens of cases across the country but especially in Florida due to the high water table found throughout most of the state. In the neighborhoods of DeLand’s Country Estates, 21 wells were discovered with unsafe levels of the chemical. Records from the state have shown another total of 81 wells in two neighborhoods, Longwood and Sorrento, tested positive for contamination in their wells too. The director of Volusia County Health Department summed up the government position of the poison in the residents wells by saying, “But it only means there is an increased risk of cancer if there is prolonged exposure over the course of a lifetime.” People living here for many years are exactly the example the county health department talks about. Prolonged exposure victims. In addition to the chemical Dieldrin, wells in these areas were also contaminated with the pesticide ethylene dibromide, another toxic chemical banned in the 1980s. All of these neighborhoods are situated next to old golf courses where hundreds of pounds of banned chemicals were routinely applied for years still in the soil and water. 

 

6. Illegal and Banned Chemicals – 

 

Information about possible widespread illegal sales and application of pesticides and other chemicals came out in 2017 after an investigation from the Journal News/lohud.com found ongoing issues and gaps in the way the chemical industry sells and handles its products. An incident at a golf course in Rye, New York, in which an unregistered pesticide was used led to the discovery that similar happenings were occurring elsewhere in multiple states as well. Record keeping is extremely lax for everyone from the chemicals’ distributors down to the golf courses using them. Many of the illegal sales and use are for the main reason of keeping the courses green and perfect. Unfortunately, most of these chemicals are banned due to the known health effects they have on humans and the potential for poisoning groundwater supplies. Hopefully, the regulators will make some changes in current laws and do more to monitor and track these shipments. However, in the meantime, the question remains not if unregistered and banned chemicals are being used, but where and how much. The issue that started the investigation, the country club in Rye, New York, was fined $500 for misuse of a substance. A paltry amount for a blatant violation that the club covered up. Apparently, nothing really concrete will be done until either piles of complaints are unable to be ignored any longer or until something jeopardizes the health of a community as a whole, such as the poisoning of aquifers supplying water to thousands. 

 

Yes, golf course living can be very enjoyable, but it does come at a price. Even after doing your homework, there still may be unavoidable risks, and you need to decide if you are willing to accept them. Just when you thought you may have found out all there is to know about your golf course backyard neighbor, because of pollution exemptions for golf courses and the insufficient research currently being conducted, there still may be new surprises in store for you. At the same time, because millions of houses are built on golf courses, there will always be people wanting to live in them. 

 

My collaborator and I only want to share what we know about the potential risks you may face by doing so. Would we live on a golf course? I would have to say no because, no matter what, there will be constant applications of chemicals to maintain the course. The cost of doing an all-organic chemical program is still far too expensive for almost all courses, and even then organic also does not necessarily mean safe.