Manchester University Press | The Greening of Golf: Sport, Globalization and the Environment

Overview

The Greening of Golf provides a comprehensive look at golf as a global industry and cultural force, exploring how environmental concerns intersect with economic power, governance, and public health. The book reframes golf beyond sport, highlighting how courses, clubs, and governing bodies influence landscapes, communities, and policy debates across continents.

Grounded in extensive empirical work, including analysis of historical materials and interviews with course superintendents, environmental protesters, and health professionals, the authors trace who drives change and where resistance emerges. The narrative weaves industry ambitions with grassroots movements, offering a nuanced view of environmental leadership in sport.

The work draws on and contributes to several literatures, including environmental sociology, global social movements, institutional change, corporate environmentalism, and the sociology of sport. It presents a globalized lens on how ideas about sustainability circulate through sport studies and industry practices.

Audience and use

This book serves a diverse readership: students and scholars in sport studies and sociology, policymakers, course managers, and activists interested in the environmental dimensions of golf. It provides context for readers seeking evidence-based discussion about land use, resource management, and the social implications of golf development.

An electronic edition is freely available under a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND licence, enabling non-commercial sharing with attribution and inviting further research and discussion in classrooms and online spaces.

Key themes

• Global reach of golf, economic networks, and course management
• Environmental sociology of sport and the dynamics of global movements
• Governance, policy debates, and corporate environmental responsibility
• Land use, resource management, and community health considerations

Reader takeaways

• Analytical frameworks to understand environmental claims and leadership in golf
• Empirical insights from a range of stakeholders across regions
• Connections to broader debates about globalization and sustainability in sport
• Context for evaluating policy options and management approaches in golf contexts

Whether you are a student, researcher, or practitioner, this work offers grounded perspectives on how golf negotiates environmental challenges within a rapidly globalizing landscape.