May 10, 2004
Water: Teed Off At Courses

By STEVE FRIESS

Tiger's drought isn't the only one that golf fans should be worried about. Record water lows in the West and Midwest are pitting neighbors against H2O-guzzling golf resorts. "Golf courses are pretty easy targets when water starts getting tight," says Keith Carter, managing editor of Crittenden magazine, a golf-course trade publication.

The exclusive Montreux Golf and Country Club outside Reno, Nev., home of the Reno-Tahoe Open, a PGA match, has become the latest front in the water wars. In the likely event that there's not enough water to go around, Nevada is considering OK'ing a deal that would give the Montreux-a major tourist attraction-its water before nearby ranchers and homeowners get theirs. Outraged locals, who have had to sell off livestock in past summers because the water supply evaporated, are asking the state to cut back on the amount of water the course already gets. Montreux officials say they use their water efficiently and are being scapegoated.  

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