Driving the Green in the Emerald Isle

2026

Golf Ireland, formed in 2021 from the merger of the Golfing Union of Ireland and the Irish Ladies Golf Union, is the sport's governing body, representing 379 affiliated clubs and a record 236,384 members - up 30% since 2020. Clubs span the length and breadth of the island, from clifftop links on the Atlantic coast to parkland courses rooted in towns and villages, and together contribute more than €700 million a year to the Irish economy.

In March 2024, Golf Ireland launched Drive the Green, its national sustainability strategy.  It was developed with support from the GEO Sustainable Golf Foundation. Running to 2027, the plan sets three goals: that golf facilities become more sustainable, popular and profitable by embedding sustainability into decision-making; that Golf Ireland delivers increasing, measurable positive outcomes for nature, climate and communities; and that golf becomes recognised as a leading sport on sustainability.

Sustainability Manager Ann Courtney, who leads the plan, is candid about what makes it work: “Drive the Green is designed around pragmatism - pairing ecological and environmental ambition with the funding, grants and cost savings that make it realistic for volunteer-run clubs to act.” Backed by a support team of ecologists, a decarbonisation consultant and a sustainability consultant, the strategy treats environmental stewardship as core to clubs' long-term financial resilience, not a cost layered on top of running a golf course.

Delivery centres on Golf Ireland's Sustainability Leaders Programme, which had enrolled 103 clubs by 2025, each moving through the Sustainable Golf Pathway, and with additional guidance on biodiversity, water, pesticide and chemical management, energy efficiency, waste and carbon measurement. Thirty-four courses have completed bespoke biodiversity mapping led by ecologist Alan Lauder, documenting species, habitat quality and restoration priorities. In January 2025, Golf Ireland and the Association of Turfgrass Professionals Ireland launched a national pesticides recording portal, developed in consultation with the Department of Agriculture, so clubs can track chemical use, support regulatory compliance and access free greenkeeper training. A solar PV system at Golf Ireland's Carton Demesne headquarters now supplies 49% of its annual energy needs, alongside a food waste partnership with Thorntons Recycling.

In May 2026, Drive the Green was named Best Initiative to Promote Sustainability in Sport & Physical Activity at the Irish Sport Industry Awards - part of a night in which Golf Ireland was also crowned National Governing Body of the Year. 2025 also brought Ireland's first Sustainable Golf Forum, held during the Irish Open, and its first Club Sustainability Forum, hosted at Royal Dublin. Together with the pesticides portal's first full year of national data, the completed biodiversity maps, and ongoing data insights from the OnCourse Ireland platform, the strategy has moved in its second year from policy to implementation at scale.

With the Ryder Cup arriving at Adare Manor in 2027, Golf Ireland is accelerating its own targets: growing enrolment in the Sustainability Leaders Programme; extending biodiversity mapping beyond the first 34 courses; using the pesticides portal's national data to sharpen support for clubs; and further promoting and rewarding participation in the Sustainable Golf Pathway towards awards and GEO Certification.  In parallel strong efforts continue with national government agencies spanning climate, energy, waste, water, chemicals and green tourism.