OPINION — In these pages it was asserted that golf, among other Arizona water users, should have “real limits” and golf course “caps” imposed. Yes, it certainly should.
In 1980, now 46 years ago, Arizona passed its historic Groundwater Management Act regulating golf course water use in active management areas, thus limiting golf’s water use. Additionally, the act mandated that golf face ongoing reductions that strongly encouraged shifting away from groundwater toward recycled wastewater. Innovatively, the act also capped acreage to 90 turfed acres for future 18-hole courses.
Thus, “desert golf” was born. Courses surrounded by desert. Tees, greens and fairways as islands in an otherwise native landscape made for a striking visual effect. This was new and stood in stark contrast to long-established “parkland” style courses.
