Golf’s Global Footprint

Golf is a truly global sport, with 38,000+ courses spread across 206 of the world’s 251 countries as of 2021. With an average facility covering about 150 acres, the global land footprint of golf can be estimated at roughly 5.7 million acres (23,116 km²). In the United States alone, there are just over 16,100 courses, occupying an estimated 2.1 million acres.

With around 63%  of the average golf course, about 95 acres, made up of maintained turfgrass, including greens, tees, fairways, and roughs, the majority of golf’s land footprint requires intensive care to meet playing and aesthetic standards for golfers. This management involves frequent mowing, irrigation, fertilization, and pest control, all of which depend on consistent inputs of energy, water, and materials. Each of these activities has an associated emissions footprint, from the fuel used in maintenance equipment to the emissions released during fertilizer production and application. When multiplied across millions of acres worldwide, these maintenance needs and their associated emissions footprint add up to a substantial contribution to GHGs being released into Earth’s atmosphere every year.

Despite golf’s scale, there is surprisingly little comprehensive data on the industry’s overall emissions profile. Most existing research comes from individual course-level studies, which makes it difficult to assess the sport’s collective contribution to climate change or to set meaningful benchmarks for improvement. More time, energy, and resources must be devoted to understanding the golf industry’s climate impact and to identifying the most efficient and effective opportunities for courses to reduce their emissions and work toward carbon neutrality.

Breaking Down Golf’s Carbon Balance

To understand and address the climate impact of golf courses, it is important to first clarify how emissions are categorized. The most widely used system comes from the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). This international standard organizes emissions into three categories, or “scopes,” based on where they originate and how directly they are tied to a facility’s operations.

Scope 1 (Direct emissions): These originate from sources directly on the property of a given golf course. This includes the combustion of fuel such as gasoline and diesel to power machinery like mowers or propane to heat the clubhouse.

Scope 2 (Indirect emissions): These result from the purchased electricity that the golf course uses to power buildings, the irrigation system, golf carts, and other electrical needs. The emissions are “indirect” because they are produced as a consequence of the activities of the golf course, but occur at sources owned or controlled by another organization such as the power plant that generated the electricity.

Scope 3 (Upstream emissions): These encompass all other indirect emissions associated with a facility’s activities that take place beyond its direct control. They are called upstream emissions because these emissions stem from activities up the supply chain such as the production and transportation of products to the golf course. This  includes activities such as the production and transportation of fuel, equipment, sod, sand, and chemicals used at the golf course.

The sum of scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions is equal to the total carbon emissions from a golf course. Emissions of GHGs are reported as weight (typically in lbs or kg) of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e). The term "equivalent" refers to the standardization of various greenhouse gasses, such as methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O), to their equivalent warming impact in terms of carbon dioxide over a 100-year time horizon. This allows for the comparison of different GHGs based on their global warming potential (GWP), making it possible to express all emissions in a single, comparable metric, CO2 equivalent.

Carbon Sequestration 

Golf courses also have the potential to act as net carbon sinks under certain conditions, offsetting some or all of their emissions through carbon sequestration. Certain areas on golf courses, including turfgrass, woodlands, wetlands, and other naturalized areas remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through the process of photosynthesis, using it to form new growth such as leaves, stems, and root mass. Turfgrass, in particular, can contribute to carbon storage by depositing organic matter into the soil as its roots die and decompose, creating a reservoir of fixed carbon known as soil organic carbon (SOC). 

In many cases, golf courses are developed on former agricultural land, where years of cultivation have depleted organic matter in the soil. Establishing turfgrass in these settings often leads to a steady rebuilding of SOC, with the most rapid gains occurring during the first two to three decades after construction. Over time, the pace of carbon accumulation slows or becomes negligible as the soil organic matter levels stabilise and come to an equilibrium around 50 years after turfgrass establishment. While sequestration rates vary depending on climate, soil type, and management practices, this process can offset a portion of a course’s emissions, making it an essential part of the conversation when evaluating golf’s net climate impact.

The carbon balance of a golf facility. Source: R&A, Golf Course 2030

What the Research Shows

Although golf’s climate impact has drawn increasing attention, only a handful of studies have attempted to measure the emissions associated with maintaining and operating golf courses. The table below summarizes five of the main efforts to date. While the numbers provide a useful reference point, differences in what each study included or excluded make direct comparisons difficult.

Several important points emerge from these studies:

• Different system boundaries provided different results. Gillette (2014) reported the highest average emissions, more than 7,000 kg CO₂e per hectare per year, largely because it was the only study to include clubhouse operations in addition to turfgrass maintenance. Most other studies focused solely on turf management, excluding clubhouse emissions, and in some cases even maintenance buildings, and the production and transportation of sand, chemicals, sod, and machinery (ex. Selhorst and Lal, 2011).

• Bekken and Soldat (2020) provides the most comprehensive estimate of turfgrass maintenance emissions, as it included data for all three emission scopes. However, the study did not account for clubhouse operations or golfer-related emissions, and it also excluded carbon sequestration. As such, it should be viewed as the best current reference point for maintenance-related emissions, but not as a full picture of a facility’s net carbon balance.

• Regional differences matter. Emissions reported from the UK (Bartlett & James, 2011) and Sweden (Tidåker et al., 2016) were lower than U.S. studies, reflecting both narrower system boundaries and the fact that electricity grids in those countries have lower carbon intensity compared to the U.S.

• Key emission sources are consistent across studies. Regardless of location or scope, the studies generally agree on where most emissions come from:

• Fuel combustion in maintenance equipment (i.e. mowing).

• Nitrogen fertilizer production and use (including nitrous oxide release after application).

• Electricity use for irrigation pumps and buildings.

• Several studies have attempted to measure how much carbon golf courses can store in turfgrass soils, often finding meaningful offsets to emissions. Selhorst & Lal (2011) reported average sequestration rates of ~1,615 kg CO₂e per hectare per year over 91 years in fairways and roughs converted from farmland, while Qian & Follett (2002) estimated rates as high as ~3,670 kg CO₂e per hectare per year in the first 25–30 years after establishment. Tidåker et al. (2016) found lower averages of ~1,100 kg CO₂e per hectare per year. Together, these studies highlight both the potential and the variability of sequestration, which depends on land history, management, and time since establishment.

• Pathways to lower emissions are well documented. Across studies, several recurring recommendations emerge for reducing golf course emissions:

• Improving nitrogen fertilizer efficiency (e.g., precision application, slow-release formulations, or reduced total use).

• Transitioning to electric or hybrid maintenance equipment to cut fuel use.

• Sourcing electricity from renewable energy sources.

• Converting portions of intensively managed turf into woodlands, wetlands, or other naturalized spaces to reduce maintenance needs and increase carbon sequestration potential.

Together, these findings highlight both the challenges and importance of measuring golf’s emissions profile. While the available studies provide valuable insights, they represent only snapshots of individual facilities or regions. A broader, industry-wide effort is still needed to create standardized benchmarks and identify the most effective pathways to carbon neutrality.

The Path Ahead

The research to date makes one thing clear: golf courses contribute to climate change through a mix of direct, indirect, and upstream emissions, but they also have the capacity to reduce emissions by adopting less energy-intensive management practices and offset some or all of their footprint through carbon sequestration in turfgrass and natural areas. Understanding this balance is essential if the industry is to play a responsible role in addressing one of the most pressing challenges of our time.

So far, most studies have concentrated on the carbon balance of turfgrass maintenance, providing valuable insight into the role of fertilizers, mowing, irrigation, and other day-to-day practices. Moving forward, there is an opportunity for future research to expand these boundaries by including clubhouse operations, supply chains, and even the emissions associated with golfer travel and activity. Broadening the scope in this way would create a more complete picture of golf’s climate impact and open new avenues for identifying solutions. At Greener Golf, we are advancing this work by helping courses calculate their annual operational emissions, identify emission ‘hotspots,’ and chart practical pathways toward net-zero. By combining emissions tracking with strategies to reduce fossil fuel use, limit chemical inputs, and increase carbon sequestration capacity, we support facilities in becoming true climate assets.

Golf’s global footprint means its contribution to climate change is significant, but so is its potential to lead in mitigation. With millions of acres under management, courses can become landscapes that not only provide recreation but also serve as valuable climate assets by modeling carbon stewardship and resilience. As more facilities move toward carbon neutrality or even carbon negativity, and as innovative solutions are adopted across the industry, the importance of golf courses in addressing climate change will become increasingly recognized by community members, policymakers, and civic leaders. This recognition can foster greater investment and support, strengthening golf’s role as both a sport and a partner in mitigating the impacts of climate change, and ensuring its continued growth and relevance in a changing world.