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Show WHAT PRICE GREEN? Utah's golf courses consume billions of gallons of water and could mean ‘bogie’ for the birdies. By Alexandra L. Woodruff A golfer friend once told me, "Golf is the greatest game of all time for three reasons: it combines a learned skill with mental strength to win, it is a sport you cannot master and it is the only game where you can lick your balls and no one will look at you funny." (Some golfers actually lick their golf balls to clean off dirt and grass-caked golf balls.) Save for some childhood outings to the miniature golf course, I had never been golfing. Every day at work, my coworkers regale me with tales of the glories and joys of golf. So I decided maybe I should pick up a club and experience this mind-teasing sport. My friend Tony told me not to get too upset, continuously missing the ball would be much more frustrating than any drink mishap. He reminded me, "Trying is the first step to failure." After shooting nine holes of golf, 1 was well on my way to failure: my score was almost triple the par, the ponds were filled with my golf balls and a string of divots like a dotted line followed my golf trail. And yet, aside from my utter lack of skill, I have to admit, I did enjoy myself. Work colleagues, whose entire lives revolve around their next tee-time, refused to take me golfing. to work and Golf was a compensate shut th As a novice, I would slow up their game. Instead, they brought some clubs let me practice putting into a tipped drinking glass down a 30-foot hallway. game of concentration, and precision, they explained. I had to learn to for the irregularities and contours in the carpet and floor. They finally had to ffice door at the end of thea aay something about But beyond the pleasure of this sport, the upkeep and maintenance of golf courses, mainly water waste and pesticide use, g water quality and water availability. Utah is one of the driest states in the country, yet our per capita water use is the highest in the nation. Our water prices rank well below the national average, but instead of increasing water prices and water conservation programs, Utah Water Districts continue to ee According to the Utah Division of Water Rights, every 18 hole golf course sucks up about a million gallons of water per day. Statewide, that's approximately 100 million gallons of water daily. An average family uses about 325,000 gallons of water annually. So, in one day, a single 18 hole course uses more water than three families would use in a year. ~ HO DOGS OR PETS OF ANY KIND ALLOWEDOM AT AY TIME GOL COURSE Two years, they said cautiously, before I would be good enough to really enjoy the sport. Two years of frustration and agony before I could feel fulfillment whacking a little white ball? I still wanted to move beyond putting, so I turned to some childhood friends to take me out on the greens. I figured, if they’ve put up with me this long, a few hours on a golf course won’t drastically change our relationship. We arrived at Mulligan’s, a course in the south end of the Salt Lake Valley, and I went directly to the snack bar to order coffee. I’d overslept on this historic day and I needed my caffeine fix, but all the club house snack bar offered were blue raspberry and mango passion peach slushies, ice cream, and fountain drinks. No coffee. So at 8:30 in the morning I had to drink Coca-Cola to get my morning buzz. Already, skeptical about the sport, this wasn’t a good start. propose new dam projects. Golf courses add to Utah’s water waste frenzy, using unimaginable amounts of water. There are about 100 golf courses in Utah. Their locations dot a Utah map from Logan to St.George. At 100 acres per golf course, Kentucky Bluegrass covers over 10,000 acres of Utah’s landscape from its Red Rock country to its alpine mountains. In urban areas, they are the only open space for miles. According to the Utah Division of Water Rights, every 18-hole golf course sucks up about a million gallons of water per day. Statewide, that’s approximately 100-million gallons of water daily. An average family uses about 325,900 gallons of water annually. So, in one day, a single 18-hole golf course uses more water than three families would use in a year. Golf courses are open about 190 days a year, which means 19-billion gallons of THE LAZY LIZARD INTERNATIONAL HOSTEL ARE YOUDRTY? TAKE A SUOWER FoR 42 A . sys ‘RGN y yei, d Oh D Cc lf. 4 AND CHECK OUT OUR NGUTLY RATES. THE BEST DEAL IN TO\WN ONE. MILE. SOUTH OF TO\WN ON HIGHWAY 191 702 South Main Street 259-7722 259-6057 (800) 753-8216 Tama 2 Le) |