Melbourne, Australia: Leaders of golf clubs throughout Australia seeking to improve the environmental sustainability of their facilities attended the Sustainable Golf National Roadshow that started this week.

Conducted by The R&A in partnership with Golf Management Australia and the Australian Sports Turf Managers Association, the interactive day-long roadshow is designed to help general managers, course superintendents, department managers, club executives and board members who are committed to building more sustainable, resilient and future-focused golf clubs.

The roadshow comes on the back of the release by the R&A of the Biodiversity Benefits of Golf in Australia and New Zealand report that highlights work done by 30 golf facilities across both countries including Royal Sydney Golf Club, The Cliffs Kangaroo Island, Glenelg Golf Club, Busselton Golf Club, Nudgee Golf Club, Mallacoota Golf Club and many others.

Agronomist (Asia-Pacific) with The R&A Sustainable Agronomy Service, Dr Brett Morris (pictured left) serves on the Board of the International Turfgrass Society and is a recipient of the GCSAA International Environmental Leader in Golf Award.

He is hosting the morning session on ‘Sustainable Agronomy’ at each roadshow stop and believes Australian golf facilities can contribute significantly to the preservation of green space within urban environments.

Dr Morris said: “As climate pressures intensify and bio-diversity loss accelerates, these landscapes are increasingly being recognised not simply as sporting venues, but as environmental assets capable of delivering measurable ecological, climatic and community benefits.

“Clubs are restoring indigenous vegetation, protecting threatened species, investing in alternative water supplies, improving urban cooling, reducing resource consumption and building partnerships with researchers, indigenous groups, environmental agencies and local communities.

“Importantly, many of these achievements have not been driven by major capital investment alone. They have emerged through long-term planning, practical innovation and a growing understanding that high-quality golf and environmental stewardship are mutually reinforcing objectives.”

The Sustainable Golf National Roadshow consists of a morning session with three separate discussions led by industry experts followed by an interactive afternoon titled ‘Game Changer’, a four-hour hands-on workshop designed to help golf clubs define a sustainability baseline and create a practical game plan for launching well-founded sustainability initiatives.

The dramatic renovation of Royal Sydney Golf Club by acclaimed course architect Gil Hanse in partnership with veteran Australian course architect Harley Kruse was completed after enduring significant protest to the removal of 595 existing trees.

As highlighted in the Biodiversity Benefits of Golf in Australia and New Zealand report, the redevelopment of the Bay Course resulted in the establishment of approximately 500,000 native plants and a fourfold increase in floral diversity, while also supporting restoration of the critically endangered Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub ecological community.