St Andrews, Scotland: The R&A Sustainable Agronomy Service has agreed a strategic partnership with SURTEC – a multi-disciplinary agronomy team offering consultancy across the maintenance and development of golf courses – to expand its operations in Europe, with Spain and Portugal regions now benefiting from its expertise.

The new partnership will offer knowledge and experience to facilities in the continental European market, providing support in relation to sustainable agronomic practices to golf clubs.

“The development of The R&A Sustainable Agronomy Service and Sustainable Championship Agronomy is supported by our Research and Education initiatives, which are the foundations of our work,” said Daniel Lightfoot, Director – Sustainability at The R&A.

“The partnership with SURTEC allows us to expand our operation into Europe alongside a team which has a wealth of knowledge and understanding of the market, our goals and golf course agronomy.

“We look forward to bringing our collective expertise and guidance to European golf clubs and resorts together with local insight to help educate, support, and encourage their commitment to a more sustainable future for the game of golf.”

SURTEC, based in Seville, consists of a team with over 15 years of independent experience within the industry in Spain, Portugal and further afield. Its team provides golf course agronomy consultancy to more than 30 clubs, offering a broad range of services for golf courses covering consultancy, project engineering, irrigation, and project management.

Pablo Munoz, co-founder of SURTEC, said: “Collaborating with The R&A undoubtedly represents our most significant step forward since the foundation of SURTEC.

“We believe that with the knowledge and support of The R&A’s qualified and experienced agronomists and with the help of the latest technology, we can reach more clubs and people within the industry, share our know-how, broadcast our message for sustainable agronomy widely, and truly fulfil our commitment to the golf industry in our region.

“This commitment is based on responsible use of resources and the conservation and enhancement of the environment. Our mission alongside The R&A is to achieve the best playing surfaces with minimal labour and sustainable use of material and water resources.”

While this partnership first sees the offering expand into Spanish and Portuguese territories, it marks the start of the continental European operation for The R&A Sustainable Agronomy Service.