golf course

Japan is converting disused golf courses into large-scale solar farms, as the country has little open land available for renewable energy projects. The approach makes use of vast, already-cleared sites left vacant as golf courses close across an ageing, shrinking population. Observers see it as a pragmatic fix for land scarcity in Japan's push to expand solar power capacity.

Belgian newspaper La Libre reports that golf's governing federation wants to reduce the speed of golf balls. The aim is to rein in increasingly powerful equipment so that long-hitting players gain less of an advantage and courses stay playable. Debate centers on how the change would affect professionals and equipment manufacturers.

A golf course in Broomfield, Colorado, is set to close as drought conditions make it too costly to keep watered, CBS News reports. Neighbors have pushed back, fighting to keep the course irrigated because of its value as green space. The dispute highlights growing tension between water conservation and community recreation along the drought-stressed Front Range.

A fire broke out in a building near the Teal Bend Golf Course in Sacramento, prompting authorities to declare a hazmat situation. Emergency crews responded to the blaze, and responders are treating the scene as hazardous, though details on injuries, the cause, and what materials triggered the hazmat response have not yet been released.