Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is scrambling to contain the fallout after telling Politico that her state "probably has too many golf courses in Arizona right now" and has "way, way too much grass" — a remark that turned a routine water policy discussion into a political grenade just days before Election Day.
Senate President Warren Petersen, Mayes' Republican opponent, wasted no time weaponizing the comment, framing it as a declaration of war on a multibillion-dollar industry.
"Kris Mayes thinks Arizona has too many golf courses. I think Arizona has too many radical politicians who believe government should dictate which industries get to thrive," Petersen told Fox News Digital on Tuesday.
The remark landed roughly ten minutes into a 25-minute POLITICO interview with reporter Zack Colman published October 26, according to EssentiallySports, which reviewed the exchange. Mayes was discussing the Colorado River, rising power bills, and her push to pause new data center approvals.
"I'm sure the golf industry is not going to like this when I say this," Mayes said in the interview.
She named no specific course, proposed no closures, and offered no enforcement mechanism. Petersen recast the hedge as a pledge anyway: "Kris Mayes is promising to get rid of golf courses. I promise to get rid of Kris Mayes. Save golf," he posted on X.
The backlash was immediate and fierce.
"We don't have a golf course problem in Arizona. We have a dumocrat (sic) problem in Arizona," Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., quipped in his own post.
Turning Point USA executive Justin Streiff added: "We have too much grass — said no one ever, other than Kris Mayes."
And on X, user @robrandalgz didn't mince words: "She just lost my vote. That f---ing idiot, obviously, has no idea what the economic impact golf has on our entire state."
By Tuesday, Mayes was in damage control mode, posting a four-word response with an emoji: "Relax, nobody's closing golf courses."
But the numbers tell a more complicated story than the Attorney General's brush-off suggests.
According to the Arizona Chamber of Commerce, the golf industry delivers a $6 billion economic impact, supports 66,000 jobs, generates $2.3 billion in wages, and produces $520 million in tax revenue. Chamber Vice President Courtney Coolidge noted that golf courses collectively use 2% or less of the state's water resources.
Petersen, R-Maricopa, doubled down on the industry's importance in comments to Fox News Digital, noting that "tee times are very hard to get and rates have doubled or tripled since COVID."
Yet the underlying tension over water is real. A Republic/Golfweek investigation found that between 30 and 50 percent of Arizona courses exceeded their state water allotments in most years across two decades, per EssentiallySports — with one Sun City course over its limit for 16 consecutive years while regulators rarely penalized anyone.
Courses absorbed further allotment cuts in 2025, stacking reductions of about 4 percent over two years.
Arizona hosts more than 325 golf facilities serving roughly 650,000 golfers, and the Arizona Golf Association frames the sector as a tourism engine that has cut turf and invested in efficient irrigation.
Even 12News political reporter Brahm Resnik — who says he read the interview verbatim — noted that Mayes used the phrase "golf courses" exactly once, and that the idea a drought-plagued state "might have too many" isn't exactly controversial.
But whether the remark was a policy signal or a throwaway line, Republicans see political gold.
With Election Day just days away, Petersen is betting the controversy will resonate beyond the fairways — casting Mayes' comment as part of a larger dispute over government intervention in Arizona's economy as Republicans seek to regain control of a state government they once reliably held.
Our Take
Let's be clear about what happened here: Kris Mayes sat down with a national outlet, mused about Arizona having "too many golf courses," admitted the industry wouldn't like it — and then acted shocked when the industry didn't like it.
That's not a gaffe. That's a window into how progressive politicians actually think about the businesses that employ their constituents. Golf in Arizona isn't a luxury — it's 66,000 jobs, $2.3 billion in wages, and a tourism draw that keeps the desert economy humming. It also uses less than 2% of the state's water. The people telling you otherwise aren't conservationists. They're control freaks looking for a politically safe target.
And notice the pattern: it's never the data centers, never the federal water mandates, never the sprawl from neighboring states she blamed on the Trump administration. It's the golf courses. It's always the industries that don't fit the preferred aesthetic of the people writing the regulations.
Patriots, this is what's at stake in every down-ballot race you've ever skipped. Attorneys general don't just prosecute crimes — they decide which industries get harassed and which get left alone. If you live in Arizona, early voting is underway. If you don't, find the AG race on your ballot and ask yourself which candidate thinks your boss deserves to exist.
