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Golf has grown worldwide in terms of number of golfers and infrastructure; however, environmental impacts have been identified during the construction and operational processes of the fields. The assessment of these impacts has generated a global concern as results show concentrations of pesticides, heavy metals, nutrients in water and soil which often exceed current health and environmental regulations. Additionally, the high consumption of water generates changes in surrounding ecosystems and it may also cause the inclusion of foreign species. Consequently, those issues have been a concern of government agencies and organizations in different countries which have led most countries to initiate the development of methodologies and standard methods to carry out the environmental sustainability of the sport. This article will outline the state of the art of environmental impacts generated by golf courses and some practices to reduce, control and manage them, which include guides, manuals and standards.
Keywords: Golf course, Environmental impacts, Pesticides, Natural resources, Environmental sustainability.
Introduction
Golf practice and the number of fields where the sport takes place is increasing rapidly in many parts of the world mainly associated with economic growth of populations and globalization of the sport [1]; It is estimated that there are over 25,000 golf courses worldwide [2, 3]. Its roots are unknown; it is debatable whether they came from China, Netherlands or Scotland [4]. Most historians agree that it first appeared in the Netherlands because in the thirteenth century Dutch literature makes references to "golf-like" medieval games with names like "mitten Colvespel" (playing club) and "den balmittacalven to Slåen" (hit the ball with the club) [5, 6].
Golf, as it is currently known, began in 1744 in St. Andrews [6] and is composed of 4 types of play areas: greens and tees (3.9 % and 2.4 ha) , fairways (20% and 12 ha), practice areas (4.6 % and 2.8 ha) and roughs (34 % and 21 ha) [7].
According to the Latino Golf Report website, the sport dates from the twentieth century in Colombia and it starts by the construction of an initial 9-hole course at the Country Club in Bogota by the year 1917.The professionalism of the sport came from the hands of British and Argentine golfers who arrived in Colombia in 1919 and highlighted...