Our Driving the Green community creates a future for golf to be a bridge of social equity, economic prosperity and environmental sustainability in the communities where the game lives.
Municipal golf can become an inspiring cornerstone of how municipalities meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. In the latest edition of our Sustainability Spotlight Series, we are excited to share the process, results and methodology behind the National Links Trust’s first materiality assessment and stakeholder survey, and how we used the UN SDG framework to prioritize NLT’s current and future sustainable development programs in Washington, D.C.
We spoke with Andrew Glen, Superintendent at KDV Sports Complex on the Gold Coast of Australia to learn more about his one-of-a-kind, 100% organic golf course and how to make organic golf scalable across the industry.
At least 35% of the food we eat is directly dependent on the pollination services of bees. With their numbers in decline, might a symbiotic relationship with golf be the change needed to restore their numbers?
Can the secret ingredient to fertile grasslands be the key to golf courses creating engineered carbon sinks? Will Bowden of New Zealand Turf Management Solutions seems to think so.
Award-winning golf architect Paul Jansen points to a statistic that should reshape the future of golf course design: roughly 75% of golf shots are played within 125 yards of the hole. If most of the game happens inside a wedge’s reach, why do so many golf facilities continue to prioritize long holes, large footprints, and resource-intensive maintenance models? Short-format golf (including par-3 courses, pitch-and-putt courses, putting courses, short-game areas, and night-lit golf experiences) offers a more accessible, sustainable, and profitable model for the future of the golf industry.
After decades of designing around the 25% of the game played beyond wedge range, the next generation of successful golf facilities will be built around the 75%: the scoring shots, feel shots, and beginner-friendly experiences that grow participation, improve revenue per acre, reduce environmental impact, and welcome more people into golf.
In this Driving the Green interview, NanoOxygen Systems founder Ron Pote explains how water quality and dissolved oxygen influence sustainable golf course management. Drawing from projects like East Lake Golf Club, the conversation explores how improving irrigation water can enhance turf health, soil biology, and golf course sustainability while reducing chemical inputs and water use. By mimicking the oxygen-rich qualities of rainwater, new technologies may help superintendents manage irrigation ponds, reclaimed water, and turf systems more holistically (supporting both environmental performance and golf course profitability).
What does playing great golf share in common with stewardship of healthy and sustainable turf? Carl (Cornell Turfgrass Team) and Andre (Driving the Green) discuss the very practical balance between systematic measurement and tactical feel, or between theory and follow-through when it comes to turf management.
The Mitsubishi Electric Classic offers a leading example of sustainable golf tournament operations, demonstrating how environmental stewardship, community impact, and smart business practices can work together. In this interview, Senior Tournament Director Ashley Hamilton shares how the tournament embedded sustainability into core operations—through initiatives like digital ticketing, reusable signage, material recycling, food donation, and partner-funded community programs—long before publishing its first sustainability report in 2024. By prioritizing measurable, repeatable actions and leveraging long-term partnerships, the Mitsubishi Electric Classic shows how golf tournaments can reduce waste, strengthen local communities, and scale sustainability without disrupting fast-paced event environments.
Even if you don’t play golf, do yourself a favor and take a detour to Jekyll Island. The golf course is a true testament to what can happen when sustainability and conservation are at the forefront of a golf course development project. The work of Ross and Stein and their willingness to work within the parameters of the JIA’s development restrictions will impress golfers for generations to come.
If we cast our gaze from the conventional wisdom of golf course management over to the quickly ballooning adoption of regenerative principles and practices in agriculture, we may find ways, completely out of the box, to think about and manage our courses differently (and perhaps a lot more profitably).