Will California's Golf Courses Survive the Drought?

To the rest of the country, there are perhaps three classic symbols of California water profligacy: Bright green front lawns, swimming pools, and sprawling golf courses.

The image of sprinkler sin is especially vivid in places like the Coachella Valley, home to the "desert oasis" of Palm Springs and the largest concentration of golf courses in the country. According to a 2013 report by the California Alliance for Golf, golf courses make up about 3.5 percent of the total turfgrass in California, and use an estimated 324,246 acre-feet—almost 300 million gallons—for irrigation every year. Courses in the southwest part of the state, including the Coachella Valley, make up more than two-thirds of that amount, due to high evaporation rates from the hot, dry air.