Country Meadows. Pebblebrook. Talking Stick.

Those are the names of three of Arizona’s golf courses. They are also three things Arizona doesn’t have.

Well, you won’t find any talking sticks no matter where you go.

But as for the other two things, Arizona doesn’t have them because the state has very little water. No water, no meadows and no brooks. It tends to get a little hot down here.

According to a report by the University of California-Riverside Turfgrass Research Facility, the estimated annual water use of an 18-hole golf course in Tucson is 769 acre feet, or roughly 250,579,748 gallons.

There are 407 golf courses in Arizona, according to www.golflink.com. Using UCR’s estimate for Tucson courses, Arizona’s golf courses use a staggering total of 101,985,957,436 gallons of water every year.

Let us be fair. As massive in size and number as they are, golf courses only use about 4 to 5 percent of the total Phoenix water supply.

But why waste a good 4 to 5 percent on golf?

It’s not just water that golf courses waste. The EPA says the average area of a golf course’s turf is 111.5 acres. With lakes, out-of-play areas and building space, that number increases to 150 acres.

407 times 150 acres equals 61,050 acres. That’s approximately 305,250 lawns.

Go home and water your lawn 305,250 times in a day. You’ll get your water shut off before you get to triple digits. Or your sprinklers will explode.

How many people benefit from a golf course? Say groups of three are playing each hole on an 18-hole golf course at any given time. And each group takes four hours to complete their game. And the course is open from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., with ten-minute tee time intervals.

That would mean there are 96 tee times per day. If groups of three occupy all of those tee times, then the total number of golfers per day would be 288.

The Cine Capri at the Harkins Tempe Marketplace holds 600 people.

Unfortunately, there is a free market. People can buy land and put whatever business they want on it. And they charge a lot of money to play. ASU’s own Karsten course charges $35 per person. Starting September 15, Chandler’s Whirlwind Golf Club will charge $125 per person for a tee time before 2 p.m.

Then there’s the restaurant where players eat after a round. They purchase $50 sweater vests from the golf shop. They drink scotch at the bar to avoid spending time with their families.

With customers who can spend that kind of money, it’s easy to see why there are so many courses. But just because golfers have money to spend, that doesn’t mean they should have 61,050 acres for their hobby.

Think about what has happened. Arizona has dedicated 61,050 acres of land and 101,985,957,436 gallons a year to the pastime of a few.

Arizona should call a mulligan on this golf business.

Cut it down to 200 golf courses. If you can afford to play golf, than you can afford the gas money to drive a little further.

As it lies, golf is just a growing water hazard. Eventually, it’ll be too deep to send your caddie in to get the ball.