Olympic Spotlight: Le Golf National

If you're a sports fan like we are, you’ve been sulking in your Olympics withdrawal over the past couple of weeks. Luckily for you, we’re going to linger on the Olympics just a little bit longer. Today we want to highlight the venue that hosted the 120 Olympic golfers that represented 38 countries across both the men’s and women’s competitions.

Le Golf National, located in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, hosted the 2018 Ryder Cup and also hosts the French Open annually on its Albatros Champions Course. Le Golf National is not only a renowned golf club in France, but it also walks the walks when it comes to sustainability. This comes as no surprise given how dedicated the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was to making the 2024 Paris Olympics the most sustainable yet. 

The Olympics organizers pledged to reduce carbon emissions by half from the 2012 London games and 2016 Rio games. All Olympic venues were powered by renewable energy, seats in two of the venues were made from local recycled  plastic waste, and 75% of the 2 million pieces of sporting equipment was rented or provided by sports federations. While these large-scale initiatives are impressive, Le Golf National also deserves attention for its efforts to test the best in the world while minimizing its environmental impact. Let’s zoom in a bit.

Sustainability Initiatives at Le Golf National

In an interview with Syngenta Golf, Paul Armitage, Golf Sport Manager for Paris 2024, highlighted some actions Le Golf National has taken, including switching to all electric mowers for the Olympics, only using water from the irrigation ponds (no potable water used for irrigation), and installing drainage that allows for the maintenance crew to recycle it on the course. Other intentional efforts that helped Le Golf National achieve GEO certification include implementing a new irrigation system that reduced water consumption by almost 40%, increasing low-maintenance ecological rough areas, and integrating policies and pricing to increase public access.

Le Golf National has been GEO certified for several years, but the strict regulatory environment in France has pushed them to go much farther. In France, there’s a law that will restrict the use of synthetic pesticides on golf courses starting in 2025. The French Golf Federation and the Natural History Museum have formed a partnership to evaluate, conserve and promote biodiversity. The partnership produced a certification program specific to French golf clubs called “Program & Label Golf pour la Biodiversité.” The certification aims to provide scientific and technical support from the Natural History Museum to improve knowledge, management and conservation of biodiversity at golf courses. Through this program, Le Golf National has planted local species, created ecological habitat, and recycled green waste to reduce the need for water and fertilizer. 

In addition to all the great work that Le Golf National is doing on its golf courses, golf governing bodies are also stepping up for the environment. At the Olympics, there was a ceremony to celebrate the 17 new signatories to the Sports for Nature Framework, which includes the International Golf Federation (IGF), French Golf Federation, and Swiss Golf. The Sports for Nature Framework is a joint initiative launched in 2022 between the IOC and several other international bodies to elevate the role that sports can play in protecting the environment by integrating biodiversity considerations into the planning and operations of sports events, including the Olympics.

The Power of Public Opinion

Despite the efforts of Le Golf National to reduce its environmental impact, the golf club has received pushback from the community. Eco-activists attacked the golf club both in 2022 and 2023, tearing up greens, planting trees, and leaving graffiti and signs decrying the ecological impact of golf courses. The 2023 attack focused on biodiversity. Some of the graffiti left behind said, “they are building golf courses, we want forests,” and “220 km2 for golf courses, 0 km2 for biodiversity.”

The golfing community in this region of the world has responded to the pushback. The recent move by the IGF, French Golf Federation, and Swiss Golf to join the Sports for Nature Framework signals to the public that golf is taking its role in preserving and promoting biodiversity seriously. We’re hopeful that the international spotlight the Olympics have shone on Le Golf National accentuate the environmental benefits golf courses can have when 1.) there’s a desire for change; 2.) the golf club or course has sufficient resources; and 3.) the regulatory environment forces responsibility.

Even those who aren’t familiar with all the changes Le Golf National has made over the years to become the sustainable championship golf club it is today can watch Olympic Golf on television and see a golf course that looks like it’s in harmony with nature.