alt Hacker NewsI am not sure how it is in USA but in my country golf courses are abuse of public resources for (almost) private use. For a very few who can lobby enough for renewal of these leases and these are kept out of reach of the normal public, either by rule or by cost, sometimes both. Golf courses are lungs of many of the growing cities, across the world, but I do believe they should not be kept exclusive. Also, this comes directly from feudal/colonial times here. Those also require too much of other natural and public resources to be maintained.
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Malcolm Gladwell did a great podcast on golf courses in prime urban spaces
https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/revisionist-history/a-good-w...
In some parts of the US it is certainly the case that golf courses are private and as a citizen you notice there are v. Few parks but lots of good courses. Many of the courses pay little in taxes so they’re also feels that there is a disparity between how the rest of society functions and golf courses.
Los Angeles is a v. Good example - huge urban sprawl - poor urban planning - few green spaces - amazing golf courses - as a runner I personally noticed I would be running around golf courses and not have any parks near me
In the US many golf courses are owned by local governments as part of public parks.
Many new courses in the US are also built on non-developable land like former landfills.
Not trying to defend all courses, but at least in the US it’s not just uniformly bad.
US is a mixed bag. Where i am from, Michigan, we have over 600 courses and 87% of them are open to the public.
In Toronto, I think golf courses are built on flood plains along rivers (Don, Humber, etc.). Some other flood plains are public parks. Houses are generally not built on flood plains.
Yeah, I could imagine golf being a sore spot for Indians. I never imagined India would even be a hotspot for golf, but given the amount of corruption going on, it would make sense that golf courses would be foisted upon the public. It’s always discouraging to see the amount of upper class Indians who, despite colonial times being long gone, are still very willing to sell out their countrymen to appease whites or to fit a British/white ideal. I hope I’m wrong about this impression, and I’m just seeing cherry picked news articles, but your reaction makes me think otherwise….
Are you saying your country's government, for some reason, spends its money on private golf courses?
> Golf courses are lungs of many of the growing cities, across the world
What? Why and how? And why wouldn't leaving a patch of forest there be way more efficient?
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In the USA they are overwhelmingly public and are desperate for customers.
The handful of private ones near me are also desperate for new members, and several country clubs have ended up closing. Considering some of the golf courses that have closed around me ended up being converted into Amazon distribution facilities, I am not terribly excited about the idea of more golf courses closing.