Golf is the latest sport to fall victim to climate change – A greener life, a greener world

By Anders Lorenzen

Golf could become the next sport to fall victim to the impacts of climate change.

Due to drought on the Hawaiian island of Maui, the January opener of the PGA Tour is in doubt.

As a result, the organisers have been forced to abandon the plan to start the tournament on the island’s Kapalua Resort’s Plantation Course.

How climate change impacts Maui County

The PGA Tour says that more than 90% of Maui County is experiencing a severe drought that has impacted over 140,000 residents. This drought has resulted in water conservation mandates, which have left the golf course and the state too poor to host The Sentry.

PGA Tour decided to cancel the event as the restrictions imposed by local authorities directly impact Kapalua Resort, where the tournament that was scheduled from the 5th to the 11th of January would have been held.

After the tournament organisers’ agronomy team visited the course in early September, they found that the conditions of the course had been significantly compromised by the drought and water limitations in concert.

Even though there’s every chance weather conditions could improve in the coming months, organisers have time; this would not be sufficient to get the course in good enough condition for early January due to the extensive lead time needed to prepare a PGA Tour event.

“Following discussions with the Governor’s office, as well as leadership from Sentry Insurance, Kapalua Resort and Maui County, the PGA TOUR has determined the 2026 playing of The Sentry will not be contested at The Plantation Course at Kapalua due to ongoing drought conditions, water conservation requirements, agronomic conditions and logistical challenges”, a statement from the PGA Tour read.

What are Maui County doing to address climate impacts?

Maui County like many island states is at the forefront of feeling the brunt of the climate crisis.

Therefore, it was perhaps unsurprising that at the end of 2024, Maui County unveiled its first Climate Action and Resilience Plan. Lawmakers said the plan provides policy guidance and actions so the county can mitigate the impacts of climate change, transition to 100% renewable energy and achieve net-zero emissions.

This comes on the back of polling showing that the concerns about climate change amongst the residents of Maui County had reached an all-time high.

According to a national climate survey conducted by Yale University found that three quarters of Maui residents said they were concerned about climate change in 2024 – a six percentage point increase compared with 2022.

How does climate change impact golf?

Golf is highly exposed to climate changethrough sising temperatures, more frequent heatwaves, changing rainfall patterns (droughts, intense storms and rainfall), coastal erosion and sea-level rise, and shifting pest/disease pressures are already affecting course playability, maintenance costs, tournament scheduling and the long-term viability of some historic links. 

How golf exacerbates climate change and biodiversity loss

Reversely, there’s a high carbon and biodiversity cost of golf operations through irrigation, fuel for mowers and mowing, travel and fertilizers. Combined these create a material carbon footprint that the golf sector say they’re starting to more actively measure and take action to lessen the impacts.

While the golf sector say they’re implementing strategies to run and construct golf courses in a more sustainable way, critics would argue that the core basis on what golf is built is unsustainable and only so much can be done to green it and still be able to play the sport. 

A rough estimate indicates that land equivalent to 21,900 km² is currently utilised for the world’s active golf courses, equivalent to the size of Slovenia. As planning and approving new golf courses and growing golf tourism rapidly accelerate, this number can only go up.

As climate impacts intensify year-on-year, cancellations of golf tournaments is likely to become a more frequent phenomenon, a challenge going to be also increasingly felt by amateur gold players and golf tourists alike. 

Anders Lorenzen is the founding Editor of A greener life, a greener world.