I was on grass side of the golf industry for a long, long time. The environmental claims are a little overblown, but inputs are constantly increasing, as are expectations. I think the biggest thing to realize is that there is a wide spectrum of courses in terms of size, maintenance budget, exclusivity, price, etc. People tend to cherry pick high end courses to talk about how awful, elitist and environmentally harmful golf is. It’s like comparing your local park or diy to Woodward or a private training facility. Most golfers are definitely doing most golfing on the lower end.
That said, it’s an awful business to make money in (although I’ve heard there was a pandemic bump), the environmental aspects should be getting better, not worse, and the golf industry is driven/trying to appeal to a “core” that is largely white, male, and chases trends.