Now, with the support of the RSPB the ‘roughs’ i.e. less cultivated areas, are now back to being a haven for wildlife. In Britain alone, there are more than 140,000 hectares of rough and out-of-bounds areas on golf courses, this is indisputability a huge area to abuse.

Now European Union laws prevent the use of damaging pesticides and encourage the green-keepers to use environmentally-friendly chemicals instead. As a result many courses are now enjoying an increase in wildlife. Crane Valley in Dorset for example, works with Natural England to ensure it remains a natural habitat for wildlife and is now benefitting from the presence of two sets of nesting buzzards. Another club, the prestigious Remedy Oak, also in Dorset, has recently reported an upturn in the quantity and variety of birds on its courses.

Wasn’t it Mark Twain who said ‘Golf, is a good walk spoiled’? – well, maybe not so any more…