BC Golf has released initial results from an August survey about marijuana use on golf courses. Recreational marijuana use will be legalized in Canada on October 17th. “We were aware that the discussions were happening at the golf course level. We have the ability to talk to golfers and we just felt that doing the survey would allow us to get information to the golf courses so that they could make informed decisions,” says Kris Jonasson, CEO of BC Golf.
5466 golfers responded to the survey. 63% are members at a club, 97% are from BC and 85% of respondents are 55 years old or older. The survey says:
-Overall, one-in-seven golfers plan to smoke marijuana on the golf course.
-This rises to one-in-two for those under the age of 35 and drops to less than one-in-ten for those 55+.
-Overall, six-in-ten golfers are uncomfortable with anyone smoking marijuana on the course.
-Eight-in-ten golfers who are members would like to have input into decisions regarding marijuana use at their club. This rises to 88% for those planning to smoke.
-Three-quarters of golfers do not think that marijuana should be smoked within viewing distance of junior players.
-Almost nine-in-ten of those planning to smoke marijuana on the course view it as the same as drinking alcohol or smoking tobacco/cigars as compared to only six-in-ten for non-smokers.
With pot use being such a divisive subject, it’s no surprise the comments box was filled up by those opposed to recreational use on the course. “Golfers don’t really get that enraged but we did hear from a number of people who gave us their opinion and we’re still in the process of reading through a lot of those,” says Jonasson.