By Brian Kendall, The Globe and Mail 

Once ranked alongside the razing of rain forests as an environmentally hostile activity, golf has embraced the green movement with the zeal of the converted.

All across Canada, courses are dramatically cutting back on the use of water and pesticides, welcoming home birds and animals once regarded as pests, restocking ponds with indigenous fish and coming up with ingenious initiatives to transform the image of a sport long under attack by environmentalists.

Here's a look at how four top Canadian public courses are going green with a passion:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/travel/go-ahead-tree-huggers-hit-the-links/article1552397/