James Morgan,
They probably can, but, when that's the primary goal of the developer, I doubt he'd support an argument against his ability to maximize profits.
Paul T,
The law doesn't differentiate between natural wetlands and manmade wetlands.
And, I don't know if your statement is accurate.
The transition of a pond/stream into a meadow is a lengthy process that eliminates a good deal of the wetlands.
SPDB,
While ESA's are involved, I was thinking more about courses that suffer a serious disconnect. Where the green on one hole is quite a distance from the tee on the next hole, due to either the environmental circumstances or the choice of the routing.
Tom Doak,
How do you overcome the disconnects when giving the environmental areas a wide berth ?
Do you decline the job due to site constraints, try to overcome them, or proceed, understanding that the disconnects are an inherent demerit ?
Metedeconk has some extended walks from green to tee.
In some cases, the bridgework aiding in connecting the holes is extensive and it had to be expensive.
I recently saw another course with substantive distances between green and tee, making walking difficult.
And, there are a great number of clubs, especially in Florida, where the distance from green to tee makes them unwalkable for all practical purposes..
In a sense, I see a great parallel between what Tom Doak brings up as a constraint due to development and constraints due to environmental issues.
Can a golf course that weaves in and out and between environmental areas or housing ever attain recognition as a great golf course ?
If so, which ones come to mind ?