Golf Environment Organization

Access is perhaps one of the most controversial aspects of golf's impact on society. 

As large tracts of land, often strategically located around towns and cities and along coastlines, golf courses are often close to people, and amongst the areas that people desire to access or pass through for other 'non golfing' purposes.

This can and does cause tension. Almost every week, somewhere in the world, local people complain about loss of access to areas that they value, due to decisions made in golf development or management.

In many places, people's rights of access are now enshrined in legislation, and thus afforded some degree of legal protection. However, in the vast majority of countries, and especially in those where golf is developing most rapidly, they are not. This means that valued access routes and de facto rights that may be many hundred's if not thousand's of years old, are vulnerable to sudden cessation. Of course, golf by its very nature must be carefully planned if it is to be played alongside other forms of passive recreation. Golf balls can be dangerous, and people on the course can pose a liability both to themselves and to the golfer. 

That said, in most situations it is possible to reconcile the needs of the golfer with those of other users - walkers, horse riders, cyclists and local people who historically have moved from A to B through a site. 

There are a number of practical actions a golf developer or manager can undertake to address public access issues:

Development

Access should be on the discussion agenda from the very earliest point of project planning. Local people, government and civic groups should be involved to establish existing rights and aspirations for retaining access to the site. Limitations that exist when planning access into golf course projects should be explained and efforts should be made to factor public access and through routes into master-planning.

During design, make sure the golf architect and other members of the design team are aware of the need to reconcile access issues, so that they can factor this into routing and elements of detailed design. During construction, the local community should understand that short term access restrictions may apply, but inform them of long term plans.

Management

Close relations and ongoing dialogue over access should be maintained with local government and civic groups. Existing rights of way or permissive routes should be kept in good order, often maintenance of these access routes can be achieved with government or local community support. Polite signage should be erected at key locations and local people should be educated as to what constitutes responsible access and what is considered nuisance.

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