01 Feb 2022
Do One Thing #ForSustainableGolf
By this point in the year, many well-intentioned New Year’s resolutions have already splashed into a water hazard, never to resurface.
Committing to doing more for sustainable golf is different. Whether you’re already undertaking many practices or looking to start the journey in 2022, joining the movement will deliver several benefits.
Like the best rounds of golf, it’s a case of one shot at a time. In sustainability, that means Do One Thing. That’s how momentum starts. Then do one more thing. Then share your examples to inspire more people to join in.
And if everyone does one thing, and then one more thing, just think what we can all achieve during 2022 – to strengthen clubs and courses, accelerate golf’s contribution, and raise the game’s image.
The four pillars of sustainable golf are:
The ‘Do One Thing #ForSustainableGolf’ drive has three aims for professionals or volunteers working on the course or in the clubhouse:
With the urgency around climate action and increasing public engagement in sustainability, you can play your part throughout 2022 and help make golf a leading example to other sports and businesses.
Each sustainable golf activity you embrace deserves to be recognized. It’s your chance to Speak Up #ForSustainableGolf and let others in the sport and the wider community know that you’re playing your part.
Discover the benefits of doing even more
As well as doing more for the planet and society, there are many benefits of taking an increasingly sustainable approach to golf course maintenance. These include:
When you do one more thing #ForSustainableGolf, it’s a win-win situation. For example, at Golfclub Anderstein in the Netherlands, the club changed its fairway mowing patterns, saving time, money, and resources and cutting emissions.
At Thornbury Golf Club in England, a high maintenance bunker was filled in with soil from other parts of the course and covered with gorse bushes to provide habitats for birds and mammals. The gorse flowers are also a good food source for pollinators.
In Oman, Al Mouj Golf undertook an audit of its irrigation sprinkler heads and saved 100,000 cubic metres of water and $28,000 in the process.
Building momentum in sustainable golf starts with doing one more thing. And you can find the guidance and ideas you need using the OnCourse programme, browsing the Sustainable Golf Highlights Hub, and might even want to go on to become GEO Certified.
“I’d recommend OnCourse to other course managers. It’s a good way of tracking how you’re doing throughout the years.”
Craig Boath, Links Superintendent, Carnoustie Golf Links
“OnCourse has a big part to play in the movement towards sustainability.”
Shaun Brits, Course Manager, Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club
Keep the ball rolling…
Over the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing articles on some specific sustainable golf practices that you can do at your course without investing lots of time or money.
There are some things you can do in the meantime to get inspired:
It’s so exciting to see the range of great work that’s being done on courses globally. There’s always scope to do more though and together we can build momentum throughout 2022 and beyond to tackle the most pressing issues facing golf, society and the planet.
Read the first article in the series on saving time and money through naturalization
