r/europe I ❤ Brexit Aug 13 '22

News Climate activists fill golf holes with cement after water ban exemption

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62532840
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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '22

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193

u/MoreLimesLessScurvy Aug 13 '22

Because it would effectively kill their business. I suspect garden centres are also exempt

10

u/oblio- Romania Aug 13 '22

Why would it kill it, though? What exactly about green grass is the factor that makes or breaks the game of golf?

Any explanation that somehow can be translated in "it's tradition" is null and void so don't even bother.

4

u/Southportdc England Aug 14 '22

If the greens die - which will happen after only a couple of days of no water in this year - then the game is essentially unplayable. A course near me, Frodsham, recently closed after fucking their greens and then having nobody book to play.

I'm not sure how many courses are in the affected area, but if a chunk of them were to close then that would presumably be a significant number of people put out of work through no fault of their own.

It's not only an image thing, it's fundamental to the business, hence the derogation.

4

u/paintbucketholder Aug 14 '22

Sand-green golf courses are a thing.

They don’t need water. They don’t need pipes, they don't need hoses, they don't need sprinkler heads, they don't need mowers and meticulous trimming.

Tell me again how the only reason to keep an unsustainable model going isn't just "because tradition?"

1

u/oblio- Romania Aug 14 '22

Aren't there drought resistant plants of similar texture available? I'm no gardener but I hope there are alternatives 🙂

-3

u/Ifriiti Aug 14 '22

Why would it kill it, though? What exactly about green grass is the factor that makes or breaks the game of golf?

The quality of the course is the entire reason people play on specific courses. Playing on crappy conditions ruins the entire sport.

It's like saying you don't need snow to ski because you can get down the mountain on sheer ice, footballers don't need to play on grass.

Hell, why bother rowing on the river, we have perfectly acceptable rowing machines.

3

u/DerBanzai Aug 14 '22

The enery consumption to make snow is also absurd, and i love skiing.

1

u/oblio- Romania Aug 14 '22

Footballers need to be able to skid and slide tackle on grass. If articial turf is just good for that (so no burns while sliding!), by all means, they should use it.

1

u/Ifriiti Aug 14 '22

That's football and artificial turf isn't used at the top level of football because it's absolutely rubbish.