St Andrews, Scotland: Collaborating with national and international golf bodies around the world and incorporating on-going feedback from golf facilities in dozens of countries, GEO Sustainable Golf Foundation has simplified and strengthened the pathway of support and recognition for golf clubs and courses.  

The Sustainable Golf Pledge, customised for both clubs and country, is now live at https://sustainable.golf/pledge/

The pledge enables any golf facility to make a clear and meaningful commitment to sustainability, helping engage staff, members and local stakeholders. 

The pledge leads straight into the free OnCourse software programme, which clubs use to review best practices, track key data, access custom sustainability reports and gather the information needed for certification. Alongside these tools, the Sustainable Golf Highlights Hub shares stories and innovation across the industry.

“Regular, collaborative upgrades are essential to keep the whole pathway and system aligned with evolving needs of golf and the ever-changing sustainability landscape,” said Carole Kerrey, the Foundation’s Director of Impact.

“This round of improvements are driven by adding more value to course and club managers, while also delivering on the ever-increasing credibility expectations of governments and communities,”  she added.

The upgrades that have been made to OnCourse include: 

• Tools, templates and guidance: The guidance has been completely updated, including new calculators for waste estimates and pesticide use, as well as templates for resource management and bio-diversity policies. 
• Personalised action planners: Updated ‘best practices’ make possible the introduction of tailored action plans, complementing the existing Sustainable Golf Scorecard reports. Bespoke action plans will help clubs prioritise improvements based on the actions recorded in OnCourse – like a ‘Sustainability Strokesaver’ – helping facilities to see where they can improve their performance. 
• Updated integrated pest management (IPM): Updated turfgrass management resources align with evolving IPM principles and regulatory requirements, helping courses adopt best practices and anticipate changes. 
• Powering data insights: Upgraded software architecture also enables the integration and analysis of diverse data sets, ranging from club performance data to open-source climate data. New themed surveys can also now feed industry databases at local, national and international levels. These further improvements, tested over recent years, strengthen data tracking and visualisation for both facilities and industry groups, to put golf at the forefront of sustainability data insights and reporting.
• Alignment with global initiatives: OnCourse provides frameworks for tracking and enhancing bio-diversity, as well as calculating and reducing carbon footprints. The OnCourse upgrades, alongside other tools in the Sustainable Golf Pathway, now strongly demonstrate how golf’s contributions align with global environmental efforts, including the UN Sustainable Development Goals, UN Sport for Climate Action, the movement towards ‘nature positive’ land uses and businesses, and rapidly evolving Green Claims regulations. 

OnCourse supports thousands of golf facilities in more than 75 countries, helping clubs of all sizes – from small community courses to large resorts – improve and communicate their sustainability efforts. Through sustainability, clubs can strengthen their efficiency, popularity and enhance their courses. 

Clubs that join the pledge and OnCourse are also represented alongside a growing community on the Sustainable Golf Leaderboard. 

“The whole system is built around a practical and accessible framework of priority issues spanning nature, resources, climate and community, and under-pinned by the externally accredited golf-industry Standard for Sustainable Golf Clubs and Courses,” said Robbie Fitzpatrick, GEO’s impacts lead.

“This foundation of credibility is more important than ever for clubs and countries, as expectations rise in voluntary and regulatory reporting, and also in communications and claims. We’re excited to support more clubs in the future to get involved in sustainable golf, use the system to strengthen their businesses, have an even greater impact in society, and gain recognition as genuine leaders in their communities,” added Fitzpatrick.