Dem AG’s ‘too many golf courses’ remark goes viral as critics tee off
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes’s comments that the state has “too much grass” and may have too many golf courses have become a campaign issue ahead of next week’s midterm elections. Republican Senate President Warren Petersen and other critics say her remarks threaten an important industry, while Mayes says they were taken out of context and were intended to make a wider point about conserving water.
Mayes made the comments in an interview about water use in Arizona, an arid state facing pressure on its Colorado River supplies. The Arizona Chamber of Commerce says golf contributes $6 billion to the state economy, supports 66,000 jobs and uses 2% or less of its water; Mayes said she was not proposing to close courses, but wanted incentives to replace water-intensive grass and collect rainwater.
In short
- Mayes’s golf course comments have become a campaign flashpoint.
- Arizona’s business group puts golf’s economic impact at $6 billion.
- Mayes says she was arguing for water conservation, not course closures.
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The case for
In an arid state facing pressure on Colorado River supplies, Mayes’s comments can be seen as a call to use water more carefully, not to shut golf courses. Incentives to replace thirsty grass and capture rainwater could conserve a limited resource while allowing courses to remain open.
The case against
Golf is a significant part of Arizona’s economy, supporting tens of thousands of jobs, and the Chamber says it uses 2% or less of the state’s water. Critics can reasonably argue that singling out courses risks alarming workers and businesses, and that water policy should weigh golf’s economic contribution against its actual use before encouraging changes.
Explained simply
Arizona is an arid state that relies in part on the Colorado River, whose water supplies are under pressure. Golf courses use water to maintain their grass, so their place in a dry region is part of wider debate about how water should be used and conserved.
Kris Mayes is Arizona’s Democratic attorney general, while Warren Petersen is the Republican president of the state Senate. The Arizona Chamber of Commerce says golf brings billions of dollars to the state economy and supports tens of thousands of jobs; Mayes has said she favours incentives to reduce water use, rather than closing courses.
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