Are Golf Courses Endangering Your Health?

photo credit: Greencolander   There are over 12,000 golf courses in the U.S, each averaging about a half ton of chemical pesticides and fertilizers per year.  How harmful are these chemicals and is there proper government oversight?  The NAAMP (National Association Against the Misuse of Pesticides) feels that the regulatory process does not protect the public.   

The USGA maintains a staff of about 15 people to develop new methods of tending golf courses, they are also seeking alternatives to pesticides and herbicides such as using beneficial organisms to control pests.  Environmentalists still want strickter regulations.

The question is whether keeping a golf course green, through the use of chemicals, is worth the potential human health risks?  This is a question that every golfer should be concerned with.