It is true that the course is very green. And that it contrasts with the rest of the vegetation, largely yellowed and dried up when we only attack the month of August. But the mayor of Villedieu-sur-Indre, president of the golf course, shrugs his shoulders: “It’s demagoguery to attack the golf courses! Just like associating golf with wealthy social class “
Xavier Elbaz insists: sport is becoming more democratic and it is not uncommon to see young people arriving for a few putts. And this is not the only transition initiated. “Today, it’s true that to water we pump into the water table. But tomorrow, we have a project to use the wastewater of the inhabitants of Villedieu and Niherne“. The mayor would like create a basin at the outlet of the treatment plant to treat this waste water and use it to water the greens. The project has been on the table for a few years. It would cost 700,000 euros.
In the meantime, golf is adapting its practice to climate change. “Watering takes place only at night, and with a technology that distributes the right volume of water needed. And we only water the courses, not the surrounding vegetation“.
The golf course, which covers 60 hectares, welcomes 5,000 practitioners every year. A real economic argument for the town hall:There are people who come for the golf and only for the golf. It’s a public space, we can’t stop watering at the risk of jeopardizing land that has been financed by public money” insists the mayor who estimates that it takes 80,000 to 100,000 m3 of water each year to water the golf course. “Less than what is needed to water all the football pitches in the department“he assures.