Thailand's dirty game of golf.

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Golf was invented by the Scots. But playing golf in such a temperate climate is a different ball game.  It was always a pastoral game, with the bunkers and fairways just part of Scottish landscapes.  The trees provided the shade but the sun was not strong like it is in the Tropics.  In Thailand, the caddies follow the players with umbrellas to protect them from the scorching sun.  The irony is that developers often cut down the existing trees, in the interests of clear fairways!

Philip Shenon (New York Times October 22, 1994) points out: "Asia has created the fastest-growing market on earth for the golf industry. But while the rush to build new courses has delighted land developers… it is alarming Asian environmentalists. They warn that unrestrained development of golf courses is tearing up some of the last pristine stretches of the Asian wilderness, throwing thousands of farmers off ancestral lands, stealing precious water supplies and contaminating the soil and air”.

"A year ago this place was covered by thousands of trees," said a laborer (in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 />Malaysia) who pours concrete over what used to be a lush hillside of climbing palms and kapok. "It took us a year, but we pulled down all the trees to make way for the golfers."  

But trees are not the only problem. 

First, a huge amount of soil has to be removed:   in Thailand it can be as much as 2.5 million cubic meters.  The soil is replaced with thick layer of fine sand. Any old sand will not do:  it has to be a particular quality to ensure that the rain drains away quickly.  Underneath, there needs to be a network of drainage and irrigation pipes.  On top of the sand, a particular Bermuda grass is grown to ensure a green even finish. Even more polluting are the huge additions of fertilizers and pesticides. 

Global Anti-Golf Movement (GAGM), a campaigning umbrella group, reckons that a typical Asian golf course will need about 1,500 kilos of chemicals each year - from seven to nine times the level used in farming. Much of this will simply leach into the groundwater and pollute the water supply.  GAGM’s co-ordinator in Japan, Gen Morita says that “the golfers are playing in poison”. In Thailand, workers and caddies often complain of dizziness, nausea and skin rashes as a result. "Golf has become a serious environmental threat all across Asia," said Sreela Kolandai, a founder of GAGM. "I call them green graveyards because apart from the grass, these golf courses support no other form of life. No trees, no birds, no insects, no nothing."

Golf courses need to look green all year round, even in the hot dry season and are specially constructed to drain quickly, thus using huge amounts of water.  They could save water by using a local grass and allowing the fairways to go brown in the dry season, but golfers would complain because it doesn't provide "a good lie". 

Thai golf courses use an average of 3,000 cubic meters a day, according to Anita Pleunarom, an anti-golf crusader.  That is enough to meet the daily needs of 15,000 people. Golf course developers are required by law to find their own private supply of water.  Using public water supplies is prohibited.

Ing and Brian Bennett's documentary film Green Menace about golf, shows a tanker truck from one Thai golf course illegally taking water from a public reservoir.  And a neighbouring course has a hose and pump connected to this reservoir.  An official from the Royal Irrigation Department insists that such theft does not occur. Suradej Vongsiniang, a water resource engineer, complained: "I saw outrageous exploitation.  One golf course usurped a water source that was used by one of three to four villages of over 1,000 people.  The villagers suffer, but can do nothing. The golf course owners are influential people with everything in their power, including high ranking government officials".  He said developers simply take what water they want from public reservoirs. They even build concrete channels directly from the irrigation canals or pipes from the reservoir itself". 

During a nationwide drought in the 1990s, rice farmers were forced to give up a second crop even as large golf courses, especially those receiving protection from high-ranking military and police, continued to suck water out of government reservoirs.  An editorial in the Bangkok Post (March 1993) asked: "When the people have no food but the rich are still signing contracts at the 19th hole, where will our society be heading? Soon all of us, rich and poor, may well be reduced to a diet of manicured grass and golf balls."

But golf  has powerful supporters.  As a result, developers can often steal land  and the water they need through corrupt and shady deals.  David Fahn, in A Land on Fire, points out that golf is far more than just a game:  "It is an exercise in land speculation driven by real estate bubbles".  Compared with the US or Japan, Thailand still has few golf courses.  Jack Nicklaus told Asian Golfer magazine during the 1990 economic boom :  "Thailand was just unbelievable.  We signed 11 golf courses in Thailand in just about ten months.  There's always a danger about going too quick any place, but what are you going to do about it". Anita Pleunarom, an anti-golf crusader, says that in Thailand, a favourite tactic of developers is to target a piece of land, buy up parcels around the edges, and then restrict access for those farmers who live within this boundary until they are forced to sell.  

She also points out that caddies on Thai golf courses are invariably attractive women and prostitution has become a common part of the golf course business.

Philip Shenan points out, a new golf course opens in Thailand about every two weeks. Most courses are built with the backing of powerful military and police commanders, so the developments are spared any sort of environmental review. Private courses have been built in some of Thailand's national parklands and wildlife sanctuaries, and developers have recently proposed draining one of the nation's few remaining natural wetlands, a swamp that is the seasonal home of thousands of migrant ducks and other birds, to make way for a golf course and hotel.

Gen Morita insists “golf is not a sport, it’s a money making game for both developers and members, a form of speculation”. Investors buy membership of a club at vastly reduced prices before a course is built, hoping to sell at a large profit once the golf course is completed.  The price of membership will usually follow the value of real estate, so it becomes a fantastic way for foreigners to invest in Thai land.  Some people have made a ten fold profit through this.

David Fahn says that golf courses in Asia have become settings for crooked deals. In Thailand, for instance, it's said that many of the country's military coups were plotted on its golf courses!

"Because golf is seen as a rich white man's sport, it's an easy target for environmentalists," said Hal Phillips, editor of Golf Course News Asia-Pacific, an industry journal. "At least with golf it’s open space that's being developed. Would you rather have a golf course or a strip mall? A golf club or a 400-room hotel? If you want to compare the environmental impact, it's really no contest." 

Philip Shenan (NYT) replies:  "Golf course owners say the sport is helping economies in Asia by encouraging tourism. And while golf courses often do replace agricultural lands, developers say, they can often put displaced farmers to work in better-paying jobs as security guards, greens keepers or caddies".