Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: all that green grass in the middle of the desert. It’s easy to point a finger at golf courses during a drought, but the story of their water use is more complex—and frankly, more innovative—than you might think.
First, the big statistic you need to know: golf course irrigation accounts for just 2% of Arizona’s total daily water use. While every drop counts, it’s important to see the whole picture. The state’s biggest water user, by a long shot, is agriculture, which consumes nearly 74% of the daily supply. This doesn’t give golf a free pass, but it does show that it’s a small piece of a very large puzzle.
Arizona’s courses aren’t just hooking up to the same water supply you use for your shower. They pull from a variety of sources, including rivers, groundwater, and water from the Colorado River delivered via the Central Arizona Project (CAP).
More importantly, they are increasingly using reclaimed water—also known as treated wastewater or effluent. Today, 34% of all water used on Arizona’s courses is reclaimed, a significant jump from just a few years ago. Scottsdale is a world leader here. Back in the 1990s, the city partnered with 23 local courses to build a special pipeline system that delivers up to 20 million gallons of non-drinkable, treated wastewater for irrigation every day. This landmark project saves the city’s precious drinking water for its residents.
The industry’s water efficiency didn’t just happen by choice; it was mandated by law. The 1980 Groundwater Management Act created the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR), which set up strict rules for all “turf-related facilities” like golf courses, parks, and schools.
One of the most revolutionary rules, which came into effect in 1985, was a cap on turf. Any new 18-hole course was limited to a maximum of 90 acres of grass. This single regulation, enacted right before the golf boom of the ’80s and ’90s, forced architects to get creative. They had to design the narrow, strategic “target golf” layouts that Arizona is now famous for, where grass is used only where it’s essential for play. As a result, the average course built after 1985 has 21 fewer acres of turf than older courses.
These rules are only getting stricter. The state’s proposed Fifth Management Plan could cut water allotments for some older, larger courses by as much as 24%, forcing them to remove even more turf to stay in compliance. So, that beautifully efficient desert course you’re playing? It’s a direct result of some of the most forward-thinking water laws in the country.
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