Sustainability

The R&A Golf Course Committee has defined sustainable golf course development and management as:

Optimising the playing quality of the golf course in harmony with the conservation of its natural environment under economically sound and socially responsible management.

The four parameters in this definition – playing quality, environment, economics and social responsibility – cannot be considered in isolation.  The impact of any action taken during the construction of a golf course or its later management has to be assessed against all four issues and any compromises needed to achieve a workable balance between them will have to be judged against local conditions and regulations.

Producing the sustainable course has to be a continuous goal and we should all be asking:

Could we be more sustainable?
Will we be sustainable in 20, 50, 100 years?

The sustainability ladder

This concept, essentially, demonstrates how courses can become more sustainable by improving their performance with regard to the four describable parameters in our definition, i.e. playing quality, environmental stewardship, sound economic management and social responsibility.  Design and management can result in the course being more or less sustainable for these four parameters, and climbing the ladder is a move towards a more sustainable scenario.  Although the four parameters interact, they may not all be at the same level on the sustainability ladder at any specific moment in time.

The ladder can also be used to demonstrate how courses become more sustainable by developing a healthier environment in which to grow their turfgrass of choice.  Promoting dry, firm surfaces, with good access to sunlight and air movement to all of the main in play areas on the golf course will present healthier turf and better playing quality.  This will provide benefits in terms of an increase in potential revenue (more play through the year on quality greens, fairways and tees), fewer chemical inputs as healthy turf is less prone to disease and other problems and, consequently, a lighter environmental footprint.  Turf in heavily shaded, damp, thatchy conditions that is prone to disease and climatic stress would be considered to be toward the bottom of the ladder.
 

Climbing the sustainability ladder is all about improving the golfing experience; providing better value for money, better year round playing surfaces and, at the same time, reducing the environmental impact of course management.

In any particular situation, there will be constraints on how far or how quickly you can climb, e.g. grass species composition, construction, soils, climate, budget, resources, legislation (pesticide and water, for example). To assess the potential of the course in terms of being able to climb the ladder, it is essential that these constraints are identified and the ability to address them fully understood.

For those wishing to try and climb the ladder it is essential that all the important decision makers in the club are fully supportive and that realistic goals are set; climbing a couple of rungs could be a considerable achievement, at which point it may be necessary to reassess the potential to climb higher.

As you climb it is necessary to monitor progress and the work being put in to achieve each step on the climb, recording appropriate information so you can determine the impact of your maintenance.  The R&A’s free and anonymous benchmarking service is a valuable tool in this regard.  To some sites, it may not be possible to get beyond a certain step on the ladder, e.g. due to drainage or shade constraints which simply cannot be overcome.  This may limit the sustainability of the site in terms of playability and income generation. 

Future climate change and regulations, e.g. water or pesticide availability, may remove one or two of the lower rungs of the ladder in terms of their sustainability and this possibility should be factored into long term planning.  It is vital for the future viability of any course that the threats to its existence are understood and that, where possible, strategies are put in place to mitigate against them.  Sustainable course management is not an option and such “future proofing” is essential to ensure that our golf courses will be enjoyed by future generations.