Golf clubs � the effect on the environment

Environmental aspects haven't always been top priority for golf clubs

Historically, golf clubs haven't been regarded as, and indeed, probably weren't, the most environmentally friendly places in the world. However, for some time now, there have been moves afoot to change this commonly perceived image. Golf clubs have been accused of a variety of damaging practices, such as over-use of water to keep the course green, excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers and destruction of natural habitats.

But now the greens are becoming browner in a drive to make golf clubs kinder to the environment. In a revolutionary move, the rulers of golf are telling golf clubs around the world to become more environmentally friendly, in order to head off criticism and cope with global warming. The 250-year-old Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, which governs golf outside the US and Mexico , wants courses to use much less water and drought-tolerant grasses as the climate changes. It is also urging them to cut out pesticides and to put recycled glass instead of sand in their bunkers.

Among all the major land-based sports, golf has probably the strongest interaction with the environment. Certainly no other sport occupies and manages such large areas of green space. Any activity on this scale cannot function in isolation and it is important to understand the game's responsibilities towards the wider community. There are actually many positive aspects of golf courses if attention to environmental detail is shown during the planning, design, construction and management:

• They provide important areas of green space in urban areas
• They can be buffers between natural areas and developed land
• They can provide valuable wildlife habitat in their own right
• They also have the opportunity to conserve and enhance water resources (turfgrass is a highly effective biological filter, capable of improving water quality)

Golf courses can now participate in environmental management programmes and their efforts are being recognised through a national awards programme. There are few land-based sporting activities that have such an intimate interaction with the environment as golf, and no other sport occupies and manages such large areas of the countryside. The majority of courses are now built on reclaimed land or land that was used for agricultural production, particularly pasture grassland. The conservation value of the older sites is therefore likely to be greater, because they contain areas that may have been undisturbed for over 100 years.

With the number of recognition schemes now in operation, golf clubs have realised that they are custodians of some very important areas of land.