Badgers across parts of Britain are tearing up golf course fairways and greens as a prolonged drought hardens the ground elsewhere, cutting off their usual underground food supply. With most natural turf baked dry, the animals have turned to golf courses, which remain wet thanks to exemptions in national water restrictions, making them one of the few remaining places badgers can dig for food.
England and Wales have experienced one of the hottest summers on record, with dry conditions rivalling those last seen in 1836. The extreme heat has produced widespread wildfires and led to hosepipe bans affecting around 26 million people. For badgers, whose diet relies heavily on soil-dwelling creatures such as earthworms and grubs, the drought has made feeding far more difficult.
Why are badgers targeting golf courses specifically?
Golf courses are exempt from hosepipe restrictions under the Water Use (Temporary Bans) Order 2010, which permits watering of sports turf even during droughts. As a result, while most lawns and fields dry out, golf greens stay damp and soft, offering badgers rare access to soil where food is still reachable.
Jim Croxton, chief executive of the British and International Greenkeepers Association, explained the seasonal timing of the damage.
“Badgers generally dig turf to find food and August is the beginning of the period when chafer grubs are generally present.”
According to a national broadcaster's report, a representative from a badger advocacy group said the animals can detect damp earth from a considerable distance, which explains why they are drawn specifically to well-watered greens rather than surrounding dry land. Guidance from the Badger Trust also notes that badgers may become more active during daylight hours in drought conditions, as the need to search harder for food pushes them out at unusual times.
How widespread is the damage?
Reports of badgers digging up golf greens have come from courses in Suffolk, Staffordshire and Worcestershire. At one course in Suffolk, the owner said the damage first appeared on a Wednesday night, according to the same broadcaster's report. Repairing the affected greens is not simple: it requires replacing damaged material and reseeding the grass, which then needs watering two to three times a day to recover.
Golf clubs affected by the digging have expressed frustration online. One Facebook comment beneath a video of a torn-up course read:
“They're a f*ckin pest, I've had countless ornamental lawns wrecked by these f*ckers.”
Why is this happening now, and not usually?
Badgers dig for larvae such as chafer grubs and leatherjackets throughout the year, and this can already cause damage to lawns and sports pitches during prolonged dry or freezing spells, according to greenkeeping industry guidance. What has changed this summer is the scale of the drought: the Badger Trust notes that extended dry conditions cause earthworms to estivate, or become dormant, in parched soil, sharply reducing badgers' normal food supply and forcing them to search more aggressively elsewhere.
This is not the first environmental controversy to touch British golf courses this year. Separately, a course in Cheshire was found to sit atop a chemical waste landfill dating back more than a century, raising unrelated concerns about contamination linked to the site's industrial history.
What happens next?
Some courses have already begun taking steps to deter badgers without resorting to a change in exemption rules. According to the same broadcaster's report, one mitigation measure being used is rolling netting over greens once play finishes for the day, combined with radio broadcasts and flashing lights overnight to discourage the animals from digging. It remains unclear whether wider policy changes, such as revisiting sports turf exemptions under the 2010 water order, will be considered if the drought continues.
Key Facts
- England and Wales are experiencing their driest conditions since 1836, with roughly 26 million people under hosepipe bans.
- Golf courses are exempt from hosepipe restrictions under the Water Use (Temporary Bans) Order 2010.
- Affected courses have been reported in Suffolk, Staffordshire and Worcestershire.
- Chafer grubs typically become present from August, coinciding with increased badger digging activity.
- Deterrents in use include overnight netting, radio noise and flashing lights.
