"Another challenge for golf is how conspicuously it uses water."

The Wall Street Journal's John Paul Newport does an excellent job looking at the pros and cons of California golf courses addressing the drought's impact.

Two key areas to note: his explanation of the Coachella Valley's required cutback of their ground water use and and role perceptions play. The latter component to his story:

Another challenge for golf is how conspicuously it uses water. Oil refineries, food and beverage processing and microchip manufacturing companies use comparable amounts of water, but do so behind factory walls. A single semiconductor chip can take more than 2,000 gallons of water to produce. Golf’s lushly green product, by contrast, is on display for anyone driving past to shake a fists at. Golf in California generates $13.1 billion in economic activity and employs 128,000 people, according to a 2013 study by the California Alliance for Golf. But the game is not viewed kindly by all.

If the current drought continues unabated into 2016, there will probably be fatalities. Most vulnerable are courses that aren’t located near recycled water pipelines and are already weakened by the last recession and a shrinking golf market.