TY - JOUR
T1 - Golf and the environmental politics of modernization
AU - Millington, Brad
AU - Wilson, Brian
PY - 2015/11
Y1 - 2015/11
N2 - In this critical review we reflect on findings from a socio-historical study of golf’s relationship with the environment. We focus especially on the golf industry’s pursuit of modernization from the early 1900s to the present. Golf’s quest to ‘be’ modern, we contend, has specifically constituted three particular ‘turns’: a first turn in the early 1900s involving the scientific rationalization of golf course development and maintenance; a second, ‘exemptionalist’ turn in the post-war years whereby science and technology fueled a perception of immense control over nature; and a third, more recent turn to ecological modernization (EM) whereby science and technology are leveraged toward environmental stewardship – or at least claims thereof. We ultimately argue that the golf industry’s recent adoption of EM principles in their environment-related work has political implications, as it ‘protects’ the industry from more radical environmental alternatives.
AB - In this critical review we reflect on findings from a socio-historical study of golf’s relationship with the environment. We focus especially on the golf industry’s pursuit of modernization from the early 1900s to the present. Golf’s quest to ‘be’ modern, we contend, has specifically constituted three particular ‘turns’: a first turn in the early 1900s involving the scientific rationalization of golf course development and maintenance; a second, ‘exemptionalist’ turn in the post-war years whereby science and technology fueled a perception of immense control over nature; and a third, more recent turn to ecological modernization (EM) whereby science and technology are leveraged toward environmental stewardship – or at least claims thereof. We ultimately argue that the golf industry’s recent adoption of EM principles in their environment-related work has political implications, as it ‘protects’ the industry from more radical environmental alternatives.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/record/display.url?eid=2-s2.0-84941956414&origin=SingleRecordEmailAlert&txGid=E8C617BBFEA23BF038B75E287990CCD1.I0QkgbIjGqqLQ4Nw7dqZ4A%3a85
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2015.08.013
U2 - 10.1016/j.geoforum.2015.08.013
DO - 10.1016/j.geoforum.2015.08.013
M3 - Article
SN - 0016-7185
VL - 66
SP - 37
EP - 40
JO - Geoforum
JF - Geoforum
ER -