Texas golf courses see $1.3M in damage from feral hogs each year

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“The juxtaposition of feral swine and well-to-do golfers has generated some clever headlines and snickers,” the researchers wrote. “However … our results provide the first estimates of damage to an important sector of the turf grass industry.”

The research team distributed surveys to hundreds of golf courses and cemeteries across Texas. Using average reported costs, they predicted that both settings incur $1.6 million in damages caused by feral hogs per year – with golf courses experiencing the bulk of the losses.

Around 20 percent of facilities that received surveys responded to them – 38 cemeteries and 85 golf courses – and the most frequent reports of damage came from the Gulf Coast region, the findings show. The research team speculated that counties with more months of above average temperatures were more likely to experience damage, possibly because hogs look for irrigated grounds when temperatures increase.

Around the Gulf Coast, 15 golf courses and seven cemetery properties reported they have “definitely” observed damage from feral swine, according to the study.

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“Areas that remain moist throughout the year – such as golf courses and cemeteries, which are commonly irrigated – are essential to good wild pig habitat,” the researchers said.

Feral hogs have for years angered homeowners and farmers in counties across the Houston area because of the threat to their land. While they are not native to North America, Texas is now home to 2.6 million feral hogs across all counties except El Paso, nearly a third of the 7 million feral hogs in the U.S., according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. And they’re physically large, with some males reaching between 400 and 500 pounds.

Golf courses and cemeteries had to spend thousands of dollars on repairs each quarter, according to the latest study. They spent even more on mitigation and prevention, making the $1.6 million in damages only a part of the picture.

The visits from wild hogs occurred sporadically, but the golf course and cemetery managers who responded said that the amount of damage by wild hogs has increased over the past three years.

Hogs caused the most destruction to sod by trampling and wallowing, or digging a ditch and covering themselves in mud. Less damage occurred to structures, although some people said the swine toppled headstones and irrigation systems. Cemeteries were less likely to experience damage, most likely because they are fenced and usually smaller than golf courses, researchers said.

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Invasive species in the U.S. cause over $120 billion in damage and control costs annually, the team cited. And $1.5 billion in damage is attributed to wild pigs across the country.

More is known about their harm to traditional agricultural sectors than to the turfgrass industry, where golf courses are the largest sector, the researchers said. Texas has 800 golf courses and 80 stand-alone driving ranges, and the industry is lucrative: Golf courses generate about $33.2 billion in output nationwide.

The research team was composed of A&M-Commerce Management and Economics faculty Steven Shwiff and Lirong Liu, as well as the U.S. Department of Agriculture and faculty from New Mexico State University and Colorado State University. They have worked together for ten years, mostly focusing on economic damages caused by invasive species, according to Texas A&M-Commerce.

The research was published in the spring 2022 issue of the Western Economics Forum, a publication of the Western Agricultural Economics Federation.

samantha.ketterer@houstonchronicle.com