A golf course less than eight miles away from the hottest point on the entire planet.
A golf course less than eight miles away from the hottest point on the entire planet.
It opened in 1931 and underwent a major renovation in 1997. Apparently, the water usage is sustainable (see below), but it still doesn't excuse the fact, in my mind, that continuing to support the upkeep of a green-ass golf course at the edge of Death Valley shows how out-of-whack its patrons are with the changing climate.
"In an area as hot and dry as Death Valley, balancing water usage with conservation requires significant planning. Furnace Creek and its namesake resort exist in their location because natural spring water flows from nearby mountain ranges to create an oasis. By routing the water from one point to others, the resort’s goal is to use the same molecules of water for several purposes. The spring-fed water is first used at the Inn to irrigate gardens and supply the swimming pool which was designed with a flow-through system that minimizes chemical use. That water then continues downhill to the Ranch where it fills the ponds on the golf course, providing habitat for local and migratory wildlife. The water in the ponds then irrigates the golf course." - How Xanterra’s Furnace Creek Resort is Sustainable, greenlodgingnews.com
You are mad and calling this dystopic but ... it's specifically been made to work in its location? Isn't this exactly what we want our environmental changes to support?
Shouldn't this be a sort of utopic example? "Look what we can do if we think carefully about interacting with our environment.'
If it's all lies or something, bring the evidence and I will be there supporting you. Otherwise, what is it you want, exactly?
Well they've also denied an oasis to the entire local ecosystem. They can claim that golf course ponds fulfill the same purpose all they want but nothing wants to live next to golf carts and flying golf balls if it's big enough to recognize it. People think deserts are wastelands but in reality that water is even more critical because animals can't just pop a mile down to the next spot. Then there's the effect on local plants, they're diverting all of this water and they probably killed the entire local plant system.
Sustainability also means taking care to build in places you won't impact as much. There's no world in which growing grass in a desert is sustainable. It doesn't matter how much technology you throw at it unless you figure out how to get everything you need from the air itself.
It doesn't need to exist. It is a tourist location. That's why this is here. People charter flights to fly out to there to see Death Valley and play golf at the lowest golf course on Earth. I'm not discontent with a golf course being there, more that people insist on going to see the hottest place in the world and the driest place in North America because there's more to do that just say, "Hoo boy, sure is pretty and hot and pretty hot." It just adds to an ever-worsening climate. And, I know...corporations, not people, are mostly responsible for climate change...I get it. But surely there are better uses for this runoff water than a golf course.
They're looking to manufacture outrage by the sounds of it.
OP is just one of those people that are mad golf courses exist at all and think we can’t make it as a species until we do away with the sport of golf
Again, based
This doesn’t sound like a dystopia to me. Having a sustainable oasis in the middle of the desert is actually pretty badass.
It was a sustainable oasis all on it's own. Now it's just a golf course.
If we could financially exploit the desert we'd have companies pushing climate change along. Zero thoughts as to how many people die because of it. Capitalism does not care about people, only profit.
No no no. You don't get it. Forget the fact that this place reuses water to conserve massive amounts of pipe fed water as most other golf coarses do. Forget the vast amounts of water they use, vs the sustainable model this coarse uses.
The point is, we're supposed to be MAD!!! RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE!!!
Agreed
Golf is actually a sport that should be perfectly playable without grass. Like use different grades of rocks.
I've never really understood why golf courses always needs to look the same. Wouldn't they be more exciting if they reflected the local ecology. I'd think it would be more interesting to play a desert course, a swamp course, beach course, forest course, bog course, etc. Then again, golf isn't exactly known for being an adventurous sport.
This is basically disc golf.
Take an existing park/ site/ property / walking trail / hiking trail, and slap some baskets and a few tees (concrete optional in a ~3'x5' square for the 'tee', but a marked off piece of dirt is also acceptable)
Course is in a forest? Better dodge the trees! The course near me encircles soccer fields and a walking path, another one near me follows along a creek.
There are courses that go under power lines and some that are nested away in between buildings.
I thought it would be interesting to have a negative space golf course, where the entire thing is hard packed sand, except for the rough which is slightly looser sand, and instead of sand traps you have Grass traps, where it's just a small area with uncut 6-12" tall grass that you need to shoot out of.
You should find a way to always have angry turkeys in the grass traps, kinda like the alligators.
Ooh… and you could do a hole like that crazy island one from Tin Cup, but instead of an island, make a drunk on a jet ski dragging an inter tube behind it.
At this point it's probably more because grass and dirt is the safest surface for all the old fudds that make up most of the playerbase to fall down on.
Or a disc golf course. I have played golf before and, yes, it is nice to get out into nature, and yes a squarely-hit golf ball feels nice. But it's no more satisfying a feeling than bowling a strike or spiking a volleyball. There are so many ways to get the feelgoods that don't require flagrant water waste the way golf courses do.
Even cooler would be playing golf without the clubs and just going for a walk instead like a non-psychopath.
Golf is actually a sport
Nope.
Would you mind sharing that over at [email protected] ?
This is amazing and crazy!
I see nothing wrong with this, at least they conserve the water, which would normally run off. They probably use graded slopes for water retention. Seems way better then 90% of golf courses, but I dont know the specifics
It's supposed to run off. Humans aren't the only things that need water.
Water for landscaping use makes up a microscopic fraction of CA's freshwater use. If you think you're taking a stand against waste by complaining about golf courses, you're not looking at the big picture.
Kinda neat what is possible for humans to do, shame it is only doable by and for the rich.
This place sounds awesome. I still don't think I'd want to go to Death Valley, but they've clearly built something incredible
Or they just hired a really good marketing team and now a bunch of people who should know better think that an air conditioned compound with a swimming pool and a golf course at the hottest place on earth can be anything other than ecologically reprehensible.
its namesake resort exist in their location because natural spring water flows from nearby mountain ranges to create an oasis.
If its irrigated from a natural spring then wouldn't that water is coming out of the ground and will shortly evaporate in Death Valley whether there is a golf course there or not?
Are you suggesting capturing the spring water and hauling it out of Death Valley for some reason? Are you proposing something else for the water?
Desert ecosystems do exist. I guarantee you the water was not just being wasted. If nothing else there's the aquifers and those are getting drawn down pretty fast these days. Anyone capturing water in the Southwest is contributing to the water crisis there.