The rewilding golf courses movement addresses environmental concerns while creating accessible nature experiences for communities of all ages.
Golf courses around the world are being converted into natural wildlife areas through rewilding golf course projects, creating new spaces for both animals and people to enjoy. From Scotland to California, these rewilding initiatives are showing significant benefits for local ecosystems and communities while addressing environmental concerns about traditional golf course management.
The trend comes as golf course land use has declined by 12% between 2005 and 2021 in the United States alone. Many courses that were no longer financially viable are being purchased by conservation groups and transformed into public parks and nature reserves through carefully planned rewilding golf course programs.
The Plock of Kyle in Scotland shows what’s possible when a rewilding golf course project succeeds. This 60-acre site on Scotland’s west coast was once a community golf course that closed in the mid-2000s. Today, it houses multiple ecosystems, including wildflower meadows, ponds, woodlands, and peat bogs that support an incredible diversity of wildlife.
Park ranger Heather Beaton describes the transformation from golf course to nature reserve as remarkable. The former golf green, which was kept short and highly manicured for optimal playing conditions, now supports over 80 species of flowering plants, including native orchids, pignuts, and goldenrods. The area attracts roe deer, otters, lizards, eels, and numerous birds and insects that had previously been unable to thrive in the maintained golf environment.
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Beaton describes the rewilding golf course transformation as a microcosm of Scotland. The site contains all of Scotland’s major habitats, just in smaller versions, making it an ideal location for people to experience diverse Scottish ecosystems without travelling long distances.
Many of the golf tees have been naturally reclaimed by scrub vegetation and will eventually become woodland areas. Fresh water sources have been restored to support the site’s new otter population. The peatland, which was deliberately drained during the golf course’s operation, is being rewetted—a measure that can reduce carbon emissions and bring back native species that depend on wetland environments.
The struggle for rewilding golf course projects, as always, is securing adequate funding. The Plock’s transformation has largely been supported by grants from various conservation organizations. The trust managing the site has explored multiple revenue options, including charging for scything training sessions, operating a second-hand shop, and running community facilities such as a laundrette in the nearby village of Kyle of Lochalsh.
However, the site will need larger-scale income sources to become self-sustaining, says Beaton. The trust is considering on-site tourist accommodation and hopes to build a traditional longhouse to serve as a small museum with ticketed tours for visitors. These revenue streams are essential for the long-term success of rewilding golf course projects.
In California, the Trust for Public Land purchased the 157-acre San Geronimo Golf Course in 2018 for another successful rewilding golf course project. The course was one of the top 10 water users in Marin County before its conversion, consuming massive amounts of water for irrigation in a drought-prone region.
The trust immediately stopped irrigating the land and began restoring the area’s natural waterways and historic floodplain. This rewilding of the golf course helped endangered coho salmon return to the streams after years of habitat degradation. The 2024 spawning season brought record numbers of salmon to the San Geronimo Valley watershed, particularly to Larsen Creek.
Project leader Erica Williams says hundreds of species now live in the park, including deer, coyotes, bobcats, native egrets, ducks, and hawks, along with dozens of native plant species. The site is now called San Geronimo Commons and serves as a public park that attracts visitors from across the San Francisco Bay Area.
While some people experienced disappointment over the loss of the golf course, many residents and users have expressed deep gratitude for the beautiful, publicly accessible landscape created through the rewilding of the golf course initiative. Williams reports that overall public reaction has been quite positive, with community members appreciating the environmental and recreational benefits.
Golf courses occupy massive amounts of land worldwide, making rewilding golf course projects potentially impactful for conservation. The United States has 16,300 golf courses covering about 8,000 square kilometers – an area roughly one-third the size of Vermont. Many countries allocate more land to golf than to wind or solar energy production, highlighting the potential for alternative land uses.
This extensive land use has environmental consequences beyond just space occupation. American golf courses use an estimated 1.5 billion gallons of water daily for irrigation, mostly drawn from lakes and on-site wells. Courses also receive about 100,000 tons of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash fertilizers annually to maintain pristine playing conditions.
Runoff from these chemicals has been found to cause risks to humans, wildlife, and the surrounding environments. Water usage becomes especially controversial during droughts, when golf courses often receive exemptions from water restrictions while residents face usage limits.
Golf has become an increasingly targeted sport for environmental activists worldwide. Brazilian activists protested a new golf course built on protected environmental land ahead of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. In Scotland, a golf course built in Aberdeenshire was found by a government watchdog to have destroyed the sand dune system on which it was constructed, resulting in permanent habitat loss. Climate protesters in France filled golf course holes with cement during a severe drought to protest water use exemptions. Extinction Rebellion activists disrupted a Connecticut golf tournament, wearing shirts reading “No golf on a dead planet” while spraying colored smoke and powder. These protests highlight growing concerns about golf’s environmental footprint and support for rewilding golf course alternatives.
However, the environmental impact of individual courses varies widely depending on factors such as water recycling practices, pesticide use, and the existing conditions on the land before the golf course was built. Some anti-golf movements completely reject the sport, while others focus on promoting more sustainable practices or rewilding golf course projects when courses become financially unviable.
Golf courses have several features that make them particularly suitable for rewilding golf course projects. They’re often large properties strategically located near natural features, such as streams, creeks, and other water sources. The relatively flat terrain and existing cart paths make converted sites easily accessible to the public for recreation and education.
Long, broad fairways can become wildlife corridors connecting different habitats across the landscape. These corridors help animals move between areas, support genetic diversity, and create larger effective habitat areas for species that require extensive territory.
Golf courses that close often face development pressure for housing or commercial use. Converting them to nature reserves through rewilding golf course programs prevents this development while creating valuable public green spaces in increasingly urbanized areas.
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Rewilding golf course projects offer numerous benefits to nearby residents and the broader community. San Geronimo Commons attracts visitors from across the San Francisco Bay Area for hiking, biking, dog walking, and horseback riding. The diverse recreational opportunities serve people with different interests and physical abilities.
The gentle terrain typical of golf courses makes these rewilded spaces accessible to people of all ages and abilities. Williams notes the multigenerational use of the land, with families walking together, from young children to elderly grandparents who might struggle with more challenging natural areas.
The Plock offers guided walks that help visitors learn about local ecosystems, mental health support groups that combine outdoor time with therapeutic benefits, and practical classes such as scything for local farmers and crofters who need to manage overgrown bracken on their properties.
Local schoolchildren regularly visit the Plock to assist with restoration work and gain hands-on experience in conservation. Beaton describes recent visits where nursery-age children, just three or four years old, planted small trees with spades. She notes that when they’re 20 years old, these plantings will have grown into established woodland, emphasizing the long-term vision of rewilding golf course projects.
Funding remains a major challenge for rewilding golf course projects worldwide. The Plock’s transformation relied largely on grants from conservation organizations, but ongoing maintenance and management require sustainable income sources. Many similar projects face the same financial pressures.
Managers are exploring various options, including tourist accommodation, museums, educational programs, and fee-based activities, to generate revenue. The Trust for Public Land typically works with courses that are already financially struggling, making conversion more economically feasible for all parties involved.
Not all environmental improvements require complete rewilding golf course transformations. Many active courses are reducing water and fertilizer use while creating natural areas on non-playing sections. This approach allows golf to continue while addressing some environmental concerns.
A 2015 survey found that 46% of US golf courses had increased land dedicated to naturalized areas over the previous decade, with only 5% decreasing such areas. These naturalised sections aren’t heavily maintained and can support wildlife while reducing operational costs.
However, there can be trade-offs in terms of playability when dense vegetation grows around playing areas. Some golfers support conservation efforts on non-play areas, while others prefer more manicured landscapes that don’t interfere with their game.
Fertilizer and water use in US golf have substantially decreased in recent decades, partly due to course closures but largely due to improved management practices. These changes demonstrate that the golf industry can become more environmentally responsible without compromising the sport.
Golf courses that are being made wilder can also offer lessons for other types of land management. Beaton suggests that nature can be introduced into various manicured landscapes, whether in cities or other developed areas, using principles learned from rewilding golf course projects.
The rewilding golf course movement demonstrates that former golf properties can serve new purposes when they’re no longer economically viable as sports facilities. These projects create situations that benefit wildlife, local communities, and the environment while preserving valuable green space in an increasingly developed world.
