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An Introduction to Sustainable Golf Week

By: | Mon 03 Oct 2022


Ahead of Sustainable Golf Week, Golfshake Ambassador Andy Picken has been conducting research into the many ventures that have been launched to make the game more environmentally friendly. Here, Andy provides an Introduction.


What is Sustainable Golf Week?

Our sport deserves to be fully applauded for taking the lead ahead of many others in supporting and promoting the environmental agenda.

We are one of the few sports that does not have a fully defined playing surface like a court or pitch so it is essential that we find the correct balance to ensure the longevity of the game without negatively affecting our planet's resources.

The ethos of this week is to ensure that we reflect on the good practice being conducted and celebrate it in order to promote it across the industry and hopefully outside of the golf supporting public.

The main aim of the support Golfshake are providing to the subject is that we are all committed to our sport but equally we support the planet as a whole and we recognise that “doing what we have always done” is not a practice that is sustainable.

There is a perception that golf is not an environmentally sound sport and we need to challenge that false idea at every opportunity.

Sustainable Golf Week

Researching these articles has been an interesting and informative journey with some incredible work being done around the world to ensure our sport is available for the generations that follow us.

Hopefully by highlighting some of the issues we will encourage a dialogue around them.

As an individual golfer we are all consumers of a product. If that product does not suit our ethical stance we have the power to go elsewhere.

Hopefully we will offer some realistic alternatives for your custom.

Don’t forget that golf club membership is a choice and if you are unhappy at the manner in which these subjects are being dealt with at your club you have the power to ask questions of the executive groups and change things.

My main takeaway from the research is that being environmentally sound in all my golfing practices - including course maintenance - does not necessarily cost more.

In fact, having an irrigation plan prior to drought and limiting the use of water in a more effective manner can actually save money.

Having additional areas within the golf course footprint that are not closely mown or managed is not only beneficial to the wildlife but again saves money and fuel and greens keeping costs.

Does you club offer food?

Where does it come from?

What are the food miles?

Could it grow our own to increase profits?

Could your club ban plastic tees in favour of more sustainable ones?

Many greens staff would support this given the damage reported to cutting equipment blades by discarded plastic tees.

A bamboo tee degrades and disappears within three years.

A plastic one will take 100 years.

It also offers less wear on the equipment and degrades quicker once broken. Fragments of broken plastic can be ingested into the ecosystem around the golf course.

I am certainly changing my habits and using bamboo tees as there are some excellent products out there that have a decent longevity.

Individual Scorecards

Here are 18 things to consider to improve your own ecological footprint.

Sustainable Golf Week

For more information, please visit https://sustainable.golf/sustainablegolfweek/.


What do you think? post your thoughts and feedback on the Golfshake Forum: https://forum.golfshake.com/


Tags: GOLFERS Golf



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