The original game as invented by bored semi-drunk Scots was, I’m sure, a good laugh several hundred years ago with wee sticks and a random round thing.
The modern game and all its hideous capitalist/ classist cultural connotations is fucked.
Very few people realise how environmentally devastating this game is.
Submitted 1 year ago by STRIKINGdebate2@lemmy.world to [deleted]
https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/70755e89-e85c-460e-aa0b-a0571c1548ae.jpeg
Comments
Lophostemon@aussie.zone 1 year ago
Mr_Fish@lemmy.world 1 year ago
The original game as invented by bored semi-drunk Scots was, I’m sure, a good laugh several hundred years ago with wee sticks and a random round thing.
Robin Williams did a great bit on this.
Lophostemon@aussie.zone 1 year ago
Thanks I’ll have a look.
Aux@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Tell me that you’re poor without telling me that you’re poor.
dorron@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Tell me you’re an asshole without telling me you’re an asshole.
FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 1 year ago
How dare someone be poor! Anyone who makes that choice is doing it to be offensive!
mriormro@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Why does it matter if they’re poor or not?
Sharkwellington@lemmy.one 1 year ago
For someone who spends so much time talking about growing up in poverty, this is a surprisingly callous thing to say.
vivadanang@lemm.ee 1 year ago
tell me you’re a classist prick with more money than sense, oh no, wait, you’ve already done so.
Diprount_Tomato@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Cope harder
gibs@lemmy.nz 1 year ago
I have it on good authority that golf was in fact invented by Bandrobas Took during the Battle of Greenfields.
Krotz@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Well, I recently learned of the existence of Excel competitions, so I’m not sure about the ‘most boring’ part.
atlasraven31@lemm.ee 1 year ago
Some people really excel at spreadsheets.
rmuk@feddit.uk 1 year ago
Jus’ gonna leave this here:
funnystuff97@lemmy.world 1 year ago
If you don’t see the beauty in the orchestrated beauty of Excel macros and formulae, then there’s no helping you.
LetterboxPancake@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
What about VBA? Remote data? Python?
HowManyNimons@lemmy.world 1 year ago
FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I don’t know if there still are, but back when you texted on a 12-button phone keyboard, there were texting competitions.
paddirn@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Mini-golf is actually kind of fun.
CosmicCleric@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Mini-golf is actually kind of fun.
It’s a lot of fun, and you don’t need any nukes to enjoy it either.
Cringe2793@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Mini golf is superior and should be the default golf. As in, it shouldn’t have a descriptor. It should just be called golf.
And what is called golf now should be called big golf or field golf or something like that to show how nonsensical it is.
frezik@midwest.social 1 year ago
Most of the times I played it, my group is enjoying themselves on holes 1-5, is getting tired of being held up by the group in front of us for holes 6-12, and is getting noticeably bored by hole 13, but feel like we have to finish it. It’s a game that starts fun and becomes obligation.
ericatty@infosec.pub 1 year ago
I’m told Top Golf is fun too.
cyborganism@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
Not just that, but I found a few golf courses in my city where natural habitats used to be. These place could have easily been changed into nature parks for the local residents to go wind down a bit, but noooOOOooo. Some rich assholes had to buy the land and destroy the ecosystem so they could whack a ball around some fucking grass into a little hole.
Tangent5280@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Would there be a difference to the sport if a part of the land was just left natural? I expect it would make the sport more interesting, atleast to the spectators.
cyborganism@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
It was invented in Scotland. Where there’s grass everywhere and almost no trees. Why not just play in natural landscapes that are suited for the game?
Fraylor@lemm.ee 1 year ago
Wait until you hear about the laws in place that guarantee them access to water their fields no matter the drought. Nobody has heard of an unkempt golf course.
Blackmist@feddit.uk 1 year ago
The golf course near me has spent the last month about a foot underwater.
I have never been so smug. I hope it’s ruined.
dirtbiker509@lemm.ee 1 year ago
IMO, rectangle sports are the most boring sports in existence. It’s literally a rectangle and always a rectangle every time… And everyone stands around watching the exact same shit happening inside the perfectly constructed rectangle. It’s the same thing, over and over. Not only that but millions of people say they love sports, but they don’t even play, just stare at a glowy rectangle and watch people in a rectangle run around. You can’t define a more boring sport than that. At the very bare minimum, to spice things up, how about introducing some goddamn obstacles randomly placed in the rectangle. Add some actual dynamic scenarios that keep the players on their toes and trying to come up with new strategies.
Motocross and enduro racing are sports and so is golf. Golf courses are all different, they unique, dynamic change depending on temperature, weather, grass length, wind, dew point, hole location.
But I do agree in general, golf courses are very big waste. Especially when placed in the middle of deserts or places that require significant resources to maintain.
Cylusthevirus@kbin.social 1 year ago
Dude you can describe anything this way to make it sound boring, but that doesn't even get close to reality and I think you know that deep down. I don't even like sports and this is a senselessly reductive way of framing the discussion.
VicentAdultman@lemmy.world 1 year ago
IMO, rectangle phone screens are the most boring screens in existence. It’s literally a rectangle and always a rectangle every time… And everyone hold it around watching the exact same shit happening inside the perfectly constructed rectangle. It’s the same thing, over and over. Not only that but millions of people say they love their phone, but they don’t even post, just stare at a glowy rectangle and watch people in a rectangle posts around. You can’t define a more boring screen than that. At the very bare minimum, to spice things up, how about introducing some goddamn obstacles randomly placed in the rectangle. Add some actual dynamic scenarios that keep the owners on their toes and trying to come up with new strategies.
CoggyMcFee@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Soccer friends are affected by temperature, weather, state of grass, wind, etc. too. So are football and baseball fields. Baseball fields are all unique. Cricket fields are round.
That said, there are obstacles in those identical rectangles. But unlike golf, these obstacles can move and think! They are called opponents and believe it or not, they can often be more dynamic than a tree or pond!
Restaldt@lemm.ee 1 year ago
Yeah i might enjoy soccer if plyers got to run around with roman candles firing them at each other
Goalies get three mortar shells per match
ryathal@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
Soccer just needs to adopt some rules from hockey and it would be more entertaining.
SharpieThunderflare@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
Like what happened in Pasadena, 1994.
Saltblue@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Golf courses are all different, they unique, dynamic change depending on temperature
Oh my god the ball goes in the hole, such complexity noooo my brain is going to explodeeeeeee.
0xD@infosec.pub 1 year ago
I’m not a fan of watching sports myself, but you’re ignoring a big part of it: The strategy behind it and its execution. But apart from that, I think most people just want to feel like a part of something and cheering on a team is an easy way to do that.
Kecessa@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
You just gave me an idea…
Soccer on a square field, four teams playing against one another, scoring in the nets closest to yours gives one point, in the net facing yours gives 2 points. Imagine the chaos!
Hangglide@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Aussie rules football is all that you describe, but on an oval.
arc@lemm.ee 1 year ago
Las Vegas has something like 70 golf courses wasting inordinate amounts of water. Of course most houses also have outside private swimming pools tool.
PhlubbaDubba@lemm.ee 1 year ago
Vegas actually is a poor example, they have excellent water management policy even in spite of what is typically considered wasteful. Being so far down the Colorado River Basin kinda made being experts on the subject a necessity.
arc@lemm.ee 1 year ago
Of course it has excellent water management because otherwise they’d run out. Doesn’t mean that everyone having pools and so many golf courses is anyway defensible, or doesn’t put insane stress on the supply.
zeppo@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Right. Lake Mead is sure looking lovely these days.
Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Golf is boring to watch. But for most players it is a social game. It’s like going to a bar with a few friends, but getting a little exercise. And they don’t do a ton of leveling. Costs too much, and using the land the way it is, is what makes a course unique and interesting.
That said, it would be easy to find a sport that destroys more natural land. Ever see a football, baseball or soccer stadium… including all the parking. Then realize how many baseball fields their are in america (or soccer fields in other countries). They are several times the number of golf courses, and they all need more parking each than one golf course.
baked_tea@lemmy.world 1 year ago
More than leveling the ground, watering it is the main environmental issue
Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world 1 year ago
it’s really not in a large part of the country. In a desert sure. But even there they take measures like using recycled water and not pottable water and such. And of course agriculture makes every other water use pale in comparison.
Witchfire@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Golf courses use a shit ton of water, especially in areas where grass isn’t supposed to fuckin grow
Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world 1 year ago
yes in the desert they do. But most courses aren’t in the desert. Plenty used to only water the greens in the middle of the summer in the northeast where I grew up. People usualy picture only the high end golf courses. Most are not that. Some used to just shut down for a while if it got too dry rather than water.
KingJalopy@lemm.ee 1 year ago
There are 15,500 golf courses in America.
There are just over 900 stadiums in America.
interceder270@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I think his point about the damage environmental damage golf courses cause pale in comparison to other sports that need arenas.
Have you seen a golf course? Most of them aren’t made from scratch to fit some grand vision. They’re usually set up working with the environment rather than against it.
I’ve been fishing on an old golf course that’s no longer in use and it was mostly the same except the grass wasn’t cut as low. Great outdoors spot for families.
Blackmist@feddit.uk 1 year ago
Size of Old Trafford Football Stadium and all parking nearby: 208 hectares.
Size of my local small golf club: 533 hectares.
And that’s one of the largest stadiums in the country, vs one of many, many golf courses.
Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world 1 year ago
That is an absurdly massive golf club. Nowhere near average.
zeppo@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I guess having absolutely no idea what the fuck you’re talking about has benefits.
Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Nice job adding nothing to the discussion. Go back to reddit, they miss you.
Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 1 year ago
every golf course could be a lovely botanical garden/park or arboretum, with little paths every which way and carefully crafted scenery to make you feel like you’re inside a disney movie
BastingChemina@slrpnk.net 1 year ago
You see this?
I used to hike along the coast there quite regularly but someone decided it was much better to turn the whole thing into a gulf course and to illegally block access to locals.
vivadanang@lemm.ee 1 year ago
AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING ON EACH SIDE. Seattle estimated they could solve the housing crisis by closing a handful of their muni courses (leaving multiple municipal and a dozen private courses in the area) and building medium density housing there.
theurbanist.org/…/unlike-seattle-golf-really-is-d…
It’s a waste of space otherwise.
zalgotext@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
Most of the golf courses near me are pretty much this - densely forested areas with meticulously landscape little gardens, which happens to have some holes built in.
Death_Equity@lemmy.world 1 year ago
This.
STRIKINGdebate2@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Please. For the love God don’t let this lazy comment cliché migrate to here.
Alterecho@lemmy.world 1 year ago
As an environmentalist, fuck Kentucky bluegrass, fuck golf, and fuck lawns while we’re at it
Jazsta@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I agree lawns are dumb but from an environmental perspective they can be net carbon sinks, which I found surprising. Though they are still bad for other environmental reasons.
Fraylor@lemm.ee 1 year ago
Hey fuck environmental diversity, we’ve got carbon sinks.
Aceticon@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Nothing can sink any more carbon than its weight plus any bits that fall or get taken and don’t rot. Worse, for most plants most of the weight is water, not carbon-containing organic compounds.
So lawns might be “net” carbon sinks compared to the extreme case of leaving the ground bare, but only whilst they’re growing (they don’t really retain any additional carbon after grown and any grass mowned will just return the carbon back to the air when it rots and a lot of it will be Methane, a worse greehouse gas than CO2) and they’re a lot worse at it per unit of area than, say, trees or even just the natural ground cover in just about any land environment but desert.
Alterecho@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I mean if you want to talk about sequestering carbon, there’s all sorts of natural lawn options that aren’t actively planting an invasive species that has proven to be really bad at doing any sort of water filtration or absorption. In fact, I’d wager that planning (and letting grow) prairie or whatever your native biome supports probably sequesters more carbon, assuming your native ecosystems aren’t straight up desert. If they are, you’re now using so much less water that it’s a huge net win there.
Ghost33313@kbin.social 1 year ago
Devil's advocate, in a dense suburban setting it keeps that land from being paved over and turned into a commercial zone. But when it is in a rural setting, absolutely.
Death_Equity@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I don’t care for golf and wish golf courses were better used spaces, but the thing about golf that makes it interesting is the meditative practice of being able to swing the club in just the right way to make the ball go where it needs to.
I like archery and you have the same sort of thing going on there. You have to have your positioning, movements, focus, and smoothness of action to hit the target. You can tell how you failed before the arrow hits the target. Working on fine tuning your actions is enjoyable.
greedytacothief@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I live in upstate New York, just about every town has a golf course. I personally love the game, but I honestly don’t think their that bad for the environment up here. For many people it’s their third place.
Like we get plenty of rain, and most I’ve been to are nestled near the edge of the forests. The APA regulates the shit out of what you can do. And it’s really not much of a waste of land. If I want to go for a hike or trail run, I have dozens within biking distance and maybe even 100 within 30 minutes of driving.
It’s farms and their cow shit fertilizer releasing gass and it’s runoff polluting the watershed that’s doing the most damage around here. But like I say, the APA does a pretty good job most of the time.
FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I live in Indiana, so there’s (generally) no shortage of rain. The golf courses in this town still water the entire grass of the course every day. Even if it rained the day before. Even if it’s raining right then and there. There aren’t water shortages here, but what a waste.
Renacles@discuss.tchncs.de 1 year ago
I just don’t understand the need for so many courses, I played golf as a kid on the same one for 10 years, the local environment allowed it to maintain itself for the most part.
MedicPigBabySaver@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Golf is so bloody damn stupid.
Draedron@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 year ago
Golfers play baseball?
0Xero0@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Americans: What the fuck is “kilometers”?
Hikermick@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Golf is a dying sport. Courses where I live have been closing, some have been turned into parks
Touching_Grass@lemmy.world 1 year ago
The problem is its not worth the fight. Its an issue that’s for sure pushed by fossil fuel industry because how many people you will piss off. It’s devastating but if you want action on this you need to actually ignore it for now and instead get golfers to see it themselves in other ways.
penquin@lemmy.kde.social 1 year ago
It’s a sport?
root_beer@midwest.social 1 year ago
Two golf courses nearby have closed down and are being rehabilitated by the National Park that claimed the land or however they got it. IIRC one of them was family-owned for four generations, but the last owner was in his mid-twenties and got in way over his head, and committed suicide on one of the greens.
Sucks about the circumstances, but otherwise I love to see it
dropped_the_chief@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Hectares or acres
clot27@lemm.ee 1 year ago
They dont level tho, I saw some of them playing with pond in between💀
vonbaronhans@midwest.social 1 year ago
So… I actually really like golf. I think it’s fun. Haven’t played in over a decade, but I look back on my memories playing pretty fondly.
That said, I have zero issue recovering a lot of that lost land and water usage to put them to better use.
I’d be very interested to see a version of golf that is less ecologically destructive and less water intensive.
dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 1 year ago
The only benefit to society I can see for golf is that it provides a reliable source of consistent standardized ammunition for my golf ball cannon.
UnfairUtan@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Lets replace golf courses with mini-golfs and parks!
lonnybeasley@lemmy.sdf.org 3 weeks ago
True, it’s wild how a virtual game can have such a real-world carbon footprint—servers, mining, endless energy use. Digital doesn’t always mean clean.