Scientific Information
Golf Courses vs. Houses
Barton Creek Canyons Study
The City of Austin, TX conducted a study designed to determine the relative effects of golf courses, residential areas, and rural areas on water quality. The study concluded that, on the whole, golf courses have a greater effect on water quality than low density residential areas.
Click here 
for a summary of the study.
More information is available on the City of Austin's website: http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/watershed/rptbarton.htm
Golf Courses and Pesticides
Florida Study (Swancar, Amy, 1996, Water Quality, Pesticide Occurrence, and Effects of Irrigation With Reclaimed Water at Golf Courses in Florida, USGS Water-Resources Investigations Report 95-4250)
"Pesticides used by golf courses for turf grass maintenance were detected in ground water on seven of nine golf courses studied and in 52 percent of ground-water samples. Concentrations of pesticides in ground water at golf courses were generally low relative to regulatory guidelines, with 45 percent of all occurrences at trace levels and 92 percent under the maximum contaminant level or guidance concentration."
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for an abstract of the study.
Cape Cod Study (Cohen, S., et al., 1990. A groundwater monitoring study for pesticides and nitrates associated with golf courses on Cape Cod, Groundwater Monitoring Review, Winter 1990.)
Groundwater was monitored at four golf courses on Cape Cod. The golf courses were selected to represent the worst risk for groundwater contamination — each was underlain by sandy soils, had above normal pesticide and nutrient applications, and had been continuously operated for up to 30 years. Pesticides were found in groundwater beneath all four golf courses. In all but a few cases, pesticide concentrations were well below the levels set to protect human health.
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for a summary of the study.
Note: This study was funded by US EPA and the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America. The complete study does not appear to be available on the web.