The Dangers of Margate's Forgotten Golf Course
- Nina Culver
- Aug 25
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 26
The Dangers of Margate's Forgotten Golf Course
For five years, the Carolina Golf Course in Margate has been left to rot. What was once a green, lively golf club is now a huge, neglected piece of land. While some people think leaving it alone is good for nature, it’s actually causing big problems for our city and our environment. The time has come to redevelop this land before it becomes a real disaster.
Leaving It Alone is Costing Margate Money
A closed golf course is a drain on our community. The Carolina Golf Course, which shut down in 2019, no longer provides jobs for people—from groundskeepers to restaurant staff. It doesn't attract visitors or their money. When it was open, it was an important part of our local economy. Now, it’s a burden.
The property’s current state is also hurting the value of nearby homes. People who paid extra to live next to a beautiful golf course are now living next to an unkempt field. Leaving the land as it is makes it an eyesore. Rebuilding it with new homes and businesses would create a huge amount of tax money for the City of Margate.
The Hidden Environmental Dangers
Thinking that a neglected golf course is "green space" is a big mistake. When a golf course is properly cared for, it helps manage rainwater and provides a home for wildlife. But when it's abandoned, new dangers appear. This is especially true in South Florida, where our main drinking water source, the Biscayne Aquifer, is just below the ground.
Polluting Our Drinking Water: For many years, golf courses used chemicals to keep the grass perfect. The Carolina Golf Course has traces of arsenic and other chemicals in its soil. Without anyone managing the land, these poisons can slowly seep down into the ground and into the Biscayne Aquifer, our only source of drinking water. Any new development would have to clean up this old pollution first, which is a necessary and expensive job that no one is doing right now.
A Possible Link to Parkinson's Disease: Recent studies have raised serious concerns about the health risks of living near a golf course. Research shows a link between exposure to pesticides used on golf courses and a higher risk of developing Parkinson's disease. One study found that people living within one mile of a golf course were more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with the disease. The risk was also higher for those whose public water system served a golf course, suggesting that the chemicals can get into our water supply. A neglected golf course, where these chemicals remain in the ground, poses a continued threat as they can seep into the soil and groundwater.
Unhealthy Water for Sprinklers: The lakes on the golf course were once used to water the grass. If chemicals from the past have settled in those lakes, and if homes nearby are still using that same lake water for their sprinkler systems, people could be spraying their yards with polluted water. This is a direct risk to families and pets.
Fire and Unwanted Plants:
Without regular care, the grass and plants on the course can grow out of control. This overgrown land is a fire hazard, especially during our dry season. It also becomes a breeding ground for invasive plants and pests that can spread to nearby homes.
The Solution: Development, Not Neglect
The fight over the Carolina Golf Course is ONE IN THE SAME happening all over South Florida as golf courses close down. While people worry about new construction and losing open space, a run-down golf course is NOT a good solution. The plans for the Carolina property include new homes, stores, and even public parks with walking paths. This is a compromise that helps the environment and the economy.
It's time for Margate to understand that doing nothing is a bad choice. Allowing this land to fall apart is dangerous for our city’s finances and our environment. The right thing to do is to carefully plan a new development that cleans up the old pollution and creates a new, thriving neighborhood for our community.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) has published the last 5 YEARS of environmental tests and results.
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