Co-authored by the Cornell Turfgrass Program, the New York Golf Economic & Environmental Impact Report documents how the state’s golf courses provide both recreational and ecological values.
The in-depth analysis tracks environmental protection and best management practice (BMP) adoption on New York state golf courses, which fuel a $12.9 billion economic engine and steward of 103,000 acres of greenspace.
The report is based on surveys collected from golf course superintendents statewide that enable trend analysis and benchmarking against national data. Co-authored with Radius Sports Group and supported by the New York Golf Course Foundation and Empire State Golf Alliance, the report highlights how New York’s golf courses provide ecosystem services such as air purification, water filtration, flood mitigation, urban cooling and wildlife habitat.
In 2023, New Yorkers played 18.2 million rounds of golf across 833 courses at 742 facilities. With 72 percent of courses open to the public and 153 municipally owned, golf remains broadly accessible and affordable. These courses also generate an estimated $67,000 per acre in direct economic value.
Key findings from the environmental survey on course management include:
- New York courses maintain 74,177 acres of turfgrass—including greens, tees, fairways, and rough—with an average of 89 acres per facility, slightly below the national GCSAA median of 95 acres for 18-hole courses.
- An additional 38,105 acres, or 37 percent of golf course land, consists of water, wetlands, trees, forests and native rough, which help preserve biodiversity and wildlife habitat.
- Nearly 90 percent of courses implement four or more pollinator protection BMPs, with 64 percent adopting six or more and 20 percent reporting ten or more practices, many of which directly support pollinator health.
- Over the past five years, 36.4 percent of courses reduced irrigation, removing 1,807 acres from irrigation systems—a 3.5 percent reduction across the state’s 51,000 irrigated acres.
- Nearly all courses, 98 percent, employ water-saving strategies such as advanced scheduling, soil moisture monitoring, wetting agents, and drought-tolerant turfgrasses.
- Fertilizer is applied to just 56 percent of total course acreage (57,512 acres), covering 77 percent of the actively maintained footprint.
- Nearly one-third, 27 percent, of courses further reduced their fertilized area, cutting an average of 13 percent—about 2,868 acres statewide.
- More than 95 percent of courses report using at least four integrated pest management practices, and 75 percent use six or more. Adoption rates are high across practices, including chemical rotation to prevent resistance (97 percent), routine scouting for early detection (88 percent), spot treatments (81 percent), forecast-based timing (80 percent) and mechanical controls with record-keeping (73 percent).
Golf courses that adopt BMPs and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) are creating healthier, stronger and disease-free turfgrass while using fewer resources. The report provides evidence of efficient, responsible natural resource management, while ongoing education for turfgrass managers ensures continued environmental protection.
Read the full report: New York Golf Economic & Environmental Impact Report.
The Cornell Turfgrass Program is committed to supporting homeowners, lawn care professionals, sports turf managers, golf course superintendents, and sod producers in applying research-based practices that manage turfgrass effectively and sustainably.
