One green creates oxygen for almost 500 people
Actually, the Taereung golf course in Seoul was always considered the green lung in the South Korean city of Seoul. Now, however, the end of the green space is coming, which has to give way to housing estates. This was announced by Finance Minister Hong Nam Ki these days, after the sharply rising prices on the real estate market are becoming more and more of a problem.
The threat to the existence of golf courses in large cities or densely populated areas is immanent. When leases for golf courses expire, the site owners are tempted to look for another form of use. Which is why the question ultimately arises: What does the golf course mean for its environment and the society in the immediate vicinity? Only those who can credibly answer this question positively in the long run have the opportunity to make their golf course crisis-proof.
A golf course supplies oxygen to 85.000 people a year
The Australian Golf Industry Council has now published a study entitled “Golf – Benefits to the Environment” which points to the main positive aspects of golf courses. With reference to a scientific work by the University of Maryland from October 2018, reference is made to the positive influence of golf courses on the air we breathe: According to this, a 50m² fairway produces enough oxygen for a family of four in one year. Converted to the area of a green of a golf course with an area of around 1800 m², this means the annual oxygen supply for 480 people. If you take a complete golf course with 80 acres, which corresponds to 323.749m², you come to 85.000 people.
Apart from the pure oxygen supply, there is still the positive aspect of air cooling . “The grass and trees help reduce the heat in the area,” the report’s authors write. “Planting around buildings and parking areas also creates a more comfortable environment while reducing building cooling costs.”
The full Australian Golf Industry Council information brochure is available for download here. Using examples from individual clubs, questions of water consumption, environmental education, biodiversity and more are also explained. With around 1.500 golf courses in Australia, a total of around 100.000 hectares of land are used for golf. This roughly corresponds to the entire area of Melbourne.
