Living beside a golf course might sound attractive at first glance — at least compared to the busy racket of urban life. But new research suggests that living near a golf course may come with an unexpected cost: a significantly higher risk of Parkinson’s disease.
In a massive study spanning over two decades and more than 5,500 people in Minnesota and Wisconsin, researchers found that people who lived within a mile of a golf course had more than double the odds of developing Parkinson’s compared to those living more than six miles away.
“These findings suggest that pesticides applied to golf courses may play a role in the incidence of Parkinson’s disease for nearby residents,” said Dr. Brittany Krzyzanowski, the study’s lead author and a neurologist at the Barrow Neurological Institute.
The research is the most comprehensive attempt yet to test a link that had long been suspected by epidemiologists but largely undocumented: that incidental exposure to the pesticides used to keep golf courses lush and weed-free could have unintended consequences for brain health.
A Dose-Response Pattern
The researchers analyzed medical and residential records from the Rochester Epidemiology Project, focusing on 419 Parkinson’s patients and 5,113 matched controls. They examined how far participants lived from 139 golf courses across a 27-county region and matched those data with information about the local drinking water systems.
Their results revealed a striking dose-response pattern. People living within one mile of a golf course had a 126% higher risk of developing Parkinson’s than those more than six miles away.
“There was a modest dose response wherein the odds of PD increased by 198% at 1 to 2 miles, 121% at 2 to 3 miles, and 92%
at 3 to 6 miles when compared with those living farther than 6 miles away,” the researchers wrote in JAMA Network Open.
As the distance from a golf course increased, the risk fell steadily. Each additional mile away reduced the odds of developing Parkinson’s by 13%, until leveling off beyond three miles.
“People living closer to golf courses were at significantly greater risk for Parkinson’s,” the authors wrote.
Groundwater and Airborne Exposure
The team also investigated whether pesticides might be seeping into local water systems. Golf courses, particularly in the U.S., are frequently treated with chemicals like chlorpyrifos and maneb. These are pesticides known to affect the nervous system and, in laboratory studies, to produce Parkinson-like symptoms in animals.
They found that residents who got their tap water from groundwater systems that included a golf course had nearly double the odds of Parkinson’s. Those living in groundwater areas deemed vulnerable — with porous soils, shallow bedrock, or karst geology—faced an even higher risk.
“Karst topography… allows water from the surface to move more rapidly,” Dr. Krzyzanowski explained for Medpage Today. “This means that pesticides applied to grass or crops can more readily move into the groundwater supply after a rain.”
More than three-quarters of study participants relied on groundwater, and those living in areas with a vulnerable aquifer and a nearby golf course had 92% higher odds of developing the disease compared to people living in areas without golf courses.
But the risk wasn’t limited to water.
Even after accounting for groundwater vulnerability, proximity itself remained a strong predictor, especially in urban areas. That suggests airborne pesticide exposure may also be a factor. “Denser residential areas may trap more airborne contaminants, contributing to elevated exposure,” the authors wrote.
A Long Trail of Evidence
The idea that pesticides might be linked to Parkinson’s isn’t new. As early as 2011, the National Institutes of Health found that chemicals like paraquat and rotenone could more than double the risk. These substances interfere with mitochondria — the energy centers of cells — and cause oxidative damage in brain tissue.
Paraquat, still used in parts of the U.S., is banned in the European Union and the United Kingdom. In the U.S., pesticide use on golf courses remains far more intensive than in Europe — up to 15 times higher, according to one estimate.
The new study builds on earlier but limited findings. One survey of golf course superintendents in the 1990s found elevated rates of pesticide-related cancers and a few Parkinson’s cases. Another anecdotal report noted that 19 out of 26 Parkinson’s patients in a small cohort lived within two miles of a golf course. Still, until now, no study had combined such a large dataset with detailed location and water quality information.
“Our study complements, and expands on, the limited research on golf courses as a risk factor for Parkinson’s,” the researchers concluded.
Unanswered Questions — and Precautions
To be clear, the study does not prove that golf course pesticides cause Parkinson’s. Correlation is not causation, and there are many potential confounding variables. People may have moved to their homes long after the neurological damage began. The researchers did not have access to detailed occupational histories, genetic data, or lifetime environmental exposures.
Still, the biological plausibility is strong, and the data suggest a need for more scrutiny.
Parkinson’s disease is complex and unfolds slowly, often taking years or decades to become symptomatic. By the time of diagnosis, damage to the brain’s dopamine-producing neurons may already be extensive.
“Parkinson’s is complex,” Dr. Katherine Fletcher, research lead at Parkinson’s UK, told The Telegraph. “The causes of the condition are unclear and are likely to involve both genetic and environmental factors.”
The study’s authors stress that their findings should inform policy — not panic.
“Get in touch with the golf course and ask what days and times they spray,” Dr. Krzyzanowski advised. “During spray times, try to stay indoors. You can also consider using a carbon water filter to reduce the risk of contamination from drinking water.”
Municipal wells located directly on golf courses, interestingly, were not associated with increased Parkinson’s risk, possibly because deeper wells may be less vulnerable to contamination.
In the end, the study adds urgency to a wider conversation about pesticide regulation, public health, and land use. Golf courses occupy vast swaths of green real estate in cities and suburbs, many of them irrigated with chemicals to meet aesthetic ideals set decades ago.
If that’s true, the issue is bigger than golf. It’s about how we define a healthy environment, and whether hidden risks can linger beneath manicured lawns.
