The meteorologists’ don’t sound well. Summer hasn’t started in France yet, but “the degree of heat is remarkable for June”, says Matthieu Sore from Méteo-France. The country has been gripped by a heatwave since Thursday, with temperatures of 38 degrees Celsius expected in some regions over the weekend. Meanwhile, the BBC weather service is reporting a heatwave for parts of England. The Suffolk region was the first this week. In the UK, a heatwave is defined as a period of three consecutive days or more with temperatures exceeding 27 degrees. The Associated Press reports that “extreme heat and mugginess” will affect more than 200 million people in the UK. At the same time the UK Health Security Agency has issued a health warning, anticipating an increase in heat-related deaths.
According to the current Climate Risk Index 2025, heat is the number 3 climate risk worldwide when it comes to economic consequences and hazards for people, which can even lead to death. Droughts are ranked number one, and flooding is ranked number two.
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News & trends about sustainability in golf
Golf is heavily affected by heat waves, even if many golfers and golf course managers are not really aware of the consequences of these weather conditions.
- But who wants to play golf in extreme heat – especially when the golf courses are primarily geared towards walking golfers, not driving golfers? In the United Arab Emirates, Arizona, and California, golf is tailored to the heat and is played exclusively with carts. In England and Scotland, many regions of France and also in the D-A-CH region, this is not the case.
- Heat can lead to circulatory overload and ultimately to health problems and even death. Children, in particular, and those over 60 years of age, who are highly represented in golf, are also affected by extreme heat.
- Heat means stress for the grass and an increasing need for irrigation. This leads to pressure on the water supply of the golf course, additional costs, but ultimately also a change in aesthetics. Brown fairways, instead of green, are not in themselves a problem in terms of playing quality. But there is always the question of how attractive they are to new golfers in particular, who may expect lush green fairways.
- During heatwaves, health and safety conditions also become an issue for greenkeepers. Staff must be deployed accordingly.
- The infrastructure must match the heat. In hot regions of the USA, Asia or South America, clubhouses are built for hot days. In England, Austria or Germany, however, buildings are usually not air-conditioned and their architecture is generally not designed for heat waves. An award ceremony at the club, for example, can quickly become unpleasantly hot.
A loss of attractiveness of the sport is one of the biggest risks associated with heatwaves for the golf industry. Fewer green fee players on extremely hot days, less turnover in the pro shop and in the clubhouse restaurant. Fewer new golfers may be attracted to the sport. All of this ultimately harms the overall profitability.
Which countries are most affected?
Extreme weather affects countries around the world to varying degrees, as the current Climate Risk Index 2025 shows. It is not only developing countries that are affected by high economic losses or deaths, but also highly developed countries. First and foremost is Italy, which even made it into the top 3 for the last year assessed, 2022. It was the hottest summer ever. In Rome, a temperature of 40.8 degrees was measured on June 28, 2022. Drought warnings were issued in the Po region and later in Tuscany.
No, there is no data on the connection between extreme heat and a decline in the golf business. However, the golf industry has traditionally benefited from the sun. Spain and Portugal’s tourism business is based first and foremost on the fact that the sun and higher temperatures have attracted visitors from Northern Europe.
For decades, golf courses in Florida and Arizona have thrived on golfers who prefer to play in shorts and a T-shirt rather than a wool sweater. Heat has always been a positive factor, never a problem.
Extreme weather means a new understanding of heat
The assessment is changing. Extreme heat is also increasingly seen as a problem in tourism because it is often associated with the risk of forest fires, evacuations and health problems.
A look at the ranking of those nations that were generally most affected by extreme weather between 1993 and 2022 makes it clear: the golf destinations Italy, Spain, Portugal and Spain are all among the top 15. But Germany in 48th place, the UK in 61st place, France (32), Belgium (18), Japan (69), the Netherlands (86), Austria (94) and Switzerland (96) are also among the top 100.
Mudslides and severe flooding hit Swiss, German and Austrian golf courses hard last year. The severe flooding in the Valencia region caused negative press in the international media for weeks. This is also not having a positive effect on tourism.
The costs are rising
Extreme weather events cost an enormous amount of money and claim many lives. Not only entire countries, but also individual branches of industry. The Climate Risk Index puts the economic costs of extreme weather worldwide for the years 1993 to 2022 at 4.2 trillion US dollars. Around 226,000 people have died from heatwaves, whether on construction sites, in agriculture, in retirement homes and hospitals – or even during sport.
