Place the following in order from most to least dollars spent per acre: golf courses, home lawns, roadsides.

• A. Golf courses, Home lawns, Roadsides
• B. Roadsides, Home lawns, Golf courses
• C. Home lawns, Golf courses, Roadsides
• D. Golf courses, Roadsides, Home lawns

Answer: (A)

This question is about how maintenance costs scale per acre with how intensely a turf area is managed. Golf courses have the highest upkeep per acre because every area—greens, tees, fairways, roughs—needs frequent mowing, precise irrigation, regular fertilization, pest and weed control, aeration, topdressing, and ongoing equipment and labor. The level of perfection expected on a golf course drives costs up far beyond typical landscapes.

Home lawns also require regular inputs—mowing, irrigation, fertilization, weed and insect control—but the scale and frequency are generally lower than on a golf course, and the total area is usually smaller than the collective footprint of a course’s greens, fairways, and roughs. As a result, dollars spent per acre on home lawns is less than on golf courses.

Roadsides are maintained mainly for safety, visibility, and basic appearance. Maintenance tends to be less intensive per acre than a golf course or even a home lawn, focusing on mowing and weed control rather than the ongoing, high-precision care seen on the other uses. Therefore, per-acre spending is typically the lowest among the three.

So, in order from most to least dollars spent per acre: golf courses, home lawns, roadsides.