As of 2012, the U.S. Department of Defense operates over 200 golf courses on military bases around the world. Although the majority are located on bases in the United States, there are also U.S. military golf courses in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Of course, these golf courses represent only a tiny fraction of the land owned by the the U.S. Department of Defense, which owns close to 30 million acres (121,400 square kilometers) of land worldwide and has 737 overseas military installations.
The U.S. military encourages its personnel to engage in recreation for health and morale. For this reason, many military bases feature not only golf courses but also parks, playgrounds, fitness centers, pools, and bowling alleys for personnel and their families.
More about the U.S. Armed Forces:
- Women make up roughly 16% of active-duty personnel in the U.S. military.
- The Department of Defense is the largest employer in the United States, employing about 1.8 million people.
- Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) is the network responsible for running recreation facilities and services on U.S. military bases.