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With nearly 16,000 golf courses nationwide, chances are you live near one. Living close to preened and verdant greens may seem idyllic, however recent research demonstrates a link between golf courses and Parkinson’s disease (PD). How could this be?
In a 2025 case-control study published in JAMA Network Open, U.S. researchers hypothesized that there would be greater risk of PD in those residing within water service areas: with a golf course; on vulnerable groundwater regions; or with shallow municipal wells.
Distance Matters
The investigators compared 419 cases of PD with 5113 matched controls. After accounting for patient demographics and neighborhood factors, the researchers found that living within 1 mile of a golf course was correlated with 126% increased odds of developing PD versus living more than 6 miles away from a golf course. Living in a water-service area with a golf course—as compared with using a private well—was associated with 49% higher odds of PD.
Overall, those living within water service areas with a golf course exhibited nearly double the odds of PD compared with people living in water-service areas without golf courses.
Possible Explanations
One reason why individuals living near golf courses could be at higher risk for PD has to do with pesticides. Golf courses use various pesticides to treat their greens, including organophosphates, such as chlorpyrifos; herbicides, such as 2,4-D; and historically persistent organochlorines. These pesticides have been associated with the development of PD.
Specifically, pesticides such as paraquat and rotenone might trigger Parkinson-like neurodegeneration in the substantia nigra, which is the region of the midbrain that mediates motor control. Pathology at the level of the substantia nigra leads to tremors, rigidity, and difficulty with movement.
Airborne exposure to pesticides could also be to blame.
The authors wrote, “We speculate that greater city density surrounding golf courses in urban areas may lead to higher levels of airborne pollutant exposure for the nearby residences.”
Intriguingly, the authors found that there was no difference in PD risk in individuals living within 3 miles of a golf course. With distances greater than 3 miles from a golf course, risk levels decreased. The authors speculated that this risk pattern could be due to a ceiling level of higher exposure. Alternatively, those living within 3 miles of a golf course reside within the same water-service area, thus drawing from a shared groundwater resource.
Study Limitations
One limitation of the current study is that the population sampled was mostly white, which could limit the generalizability of the results.
Another limitation is that the researchers did not have information on occupational history, and it’s possible that participants in the study spent more of their time away from their homes. The researchers also didn’t take into consideration relevant PD risk factors, such as head trauma and genetic predisposition, which would confound results.
Importantly, although a limited body of mostly low power research supports the current study’s findings, overall the association between drinking water and PD risk is mixed. For instance, a Chinese meta-analysis involving 15 observational studies found no association between well-water consumption and PD risk.
What This Means
Before anybody sells their house to move farther away from a golf course, it’s important to note that the results of the case-control study are merely correlational and not causative. In other words, we don’t know whether the ground water caused PD.
Instead of individual calls to action, the investigators recommend that policy options could be explored. “Public health policies to reduce the risk of groundwater contamination and airborne exposure from pesticides on golf courses may help reduce risk of PD in nearby neighborhoods.”
