How Public Golf Courses Are Becoming a Strain

Standing on the 7th hole putting green on the municipal golf course in Rockville, Md., it's easy to take a deep breath and forget about the traffic-clogged roads, noisy highways and rumbling commuter trains that cut through much of this bustling Washington, D.C., suburb. It's quiet at RedGate Golf Course. So quiet, in fact, that it's easy to hear the crunch of lifeless, gray grass underfoot while strolling across the once-vibrant green.