Learn about the process, benefits and rewards of GEO Certification.
Use our A-Z to find facilities around the world that are Registered and Certified.
Ljunghusen Golf Club
Höllviken, Sweden
Certified 05 / 2009
Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort
Cancun, Mexico
Certified 07 / 2010
Viborg Golfklub
Viborg, Denmark
Certified 09 / 2009
Golfpark Nuolen
Wangen, Switzerland
Certified 12 / 2009
Zaanse Golf Club
Wijdewormer, Netherlands
Certified 12 / 2009
Mirimichi
Millington, United States
Certified 04 / 2010
St Andrews Links Trust, Pilmour House, St Andrews
Scotland, United Kingdom, KY16 9SF
This On Course™ Report indicates the commitment of St Andrews - The Castle Course to become a GEO Certified facility by January 20th 2013
It has been automatically generated from data submitted to the Golf Environment Organization by St Andrews - The Castle Course. Publication of this data is the first step towards becoming a GEO Certified facility.
To achieve full certification St Andrews - The Castle Course will be required to submit further detailed data and be assessed by a GEO Accredited Verifier against the GEO Certification Criteria. You can download the criteria from this page.
Each section in this report covers a key area of environmentally sound facility management. As defined by the Golf Environment Organization, these are: Nature, Landscape & Heritage, Water, Turf, Waste, Energy, Education & Awareness and Management Planning.
Wildlife interest is considerable for such a young course. Skylark (alauda arvensis) are prolific in the wider areas of the fescue rough and meadow pipit (anthus pratensis) can also be heard but rarely seen. Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) too benefit from the more sparce conditions of certain areas of the course. Brown hare (Lepus capensis) frequent the course - a Biodiversity Action Plan species. Various butterfly species have also been observed, including peacock (Inachis io) and meadow brown (Maniola jutina). The bird's-foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) will also encourage the common blue butterly (Polyommatus icarus). Other plant species of interest include; hard head (Centaurea nigra), red campion (Silene dioica), maiden pink (Dianthus deltoides), tufted vetch (Vicia cracca), common vetch (Vicia sativa), Kidney-vetch (Anthyllis vulneraria), white clover and red clover (Trifolium pratense) and soft rush.
Pre-construction Phase 1 and 2 habitat surveys were conducted. The course is linked to St Andrews via an SSSI site called Kinkell Braes (cliffs directly to the north of the site). It is renowned for its flora and geology. As many original drystone walls have been maintained as possible.
St Andrews - The Castle Course does not feature any designated or protected areas.
The following ecological surveys have been undertaken:
| Title |
|---|
| Botanical |
| Birds |
| Mammals |
| Invertebrates |
| Ecological/Landscape Management Plan |
Estimated area of habitats at St Andrews - The Castle Course:
St Andrews - The Castle Course has undertaken the following activities to enhance nature protection:
| Activity |
|---|
| Gorse management |
| Sustainable drainage |
| Grassland management |
| Heather management |
The Castle Course is located in a clifftop setting, which was originally agricultural land. The clubhouse and car park sit near the site of what was Kinkell Castle – from which the course takes its name.
The course logo originates from part of the coat of arms of the Moneypenny Family – who lived in Kinkell Castle and who the land was deeded to in 1211. A milestone at the course entrance required protection during course construction. It was recommendation by Historic Scotland that during the construction process, care be taken not too disturb the milestone located on the roadside verge out with the golf course (see attached plan) . The Milestone itself, however, has no statutory protection, ie it is not listed or scheduled. It is a regionally important archaeological site and a good example of an early 19th century carved milestone.
In summary, there are no known upstanding archaeological sites or monuments within the Kinkell Castle golf course area and no cultural heritage designations of any kind. The site of the former Kinkell Castle is an area of archeological interest and if a planning application that involved sub-surface works in this area were ever to be submitted then it is likely that archaeological matters would become an issue, but as things stand, only the general site of the castle is known and there are no recognisable traces of it above ground.
St Andrews - The Castle Course does not feature any landscape designations.
St Andrews - The Castle Course does not feature any cultural heritage designations or protected features.
The following landscape assessments and appraisals been carried out at the site:
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 2004-09-16 | EIA - Landscape Assessment |
| 2008-08-20 | Ecological and Landscape Management |
The following archaeological and heritage surveys have been carried out at the site:
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 2004-09-16 | EIA |
St Andrews - The Castle Course does not undertake any activities to enhance landscape and cultural heritage.
The source of the water for the irrigation system comes from a bore hole. This is pumped and stored in 2 x 150m3 below ground storage tanks. The water is amended in the tanks to lower bicarbanate levels to improve water quality. The course has USGA spec greens. The tees and aprons are sand capped with the same rootzone to a depth of 8". Fairways are soil based, topdressed with sand to a depth of 1". Sand capped areas are watered every 3/4 days if required. Deep and infrequent being the norm. The fairways are watered more light and frequent to minimize runoff. We hand water as much as possible during dry spells to maximize turf quality. The sand based areas are also on a wetting agent programme to enhance perculation and water retention in the profile.
The maintenance facility has a Waste 2 Water closed loop wash down facility. The treated water then goes through the same SUDS system which filters the water from our buildings, carparks etc.
| Primary Source | Secondary Source (if used) | |
|---|---|---|
| Clubhouse | Public / Potable | N/A |
| Golf Courses | Groundwater | N/A |
| Accommodation | N/A | N/A |
| Maintenance facility | Public / Potable | N/A |
| Other | N/A | N/A |
The following areas are irrigated:
| Area name | Approx. Hectarage |
|---|---|
| Greens | 2 ha |
| Tees | 1.8 ha |
| Fairways | 20 ha |
| Semi-rough | 17 ha |
| Turf nursery | 0.3 ha |
St Andrews - The Castle Course undertakes environmental monitoring of water quality.
| Chemical | Biological | Last Test Date | Tester | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inflow | Yes | No | 2009-10-01 | STRI |
| On-site | Yes | No | 2009-09-20 | STRI |
| Outflow | No | No |
St Andrews - The Castle Course has undertaken the following activities to conserve / reduce / minimise water consumption:
St Andrews - The Castle Course undertakes the following activities to protect and enhance water quality:
The Castle Course is the youngest of the courses in the St Andrews Links portfolio having only been constructed between 2005 and 2007, finally opening for play in 2008.
Although built on agricultural land rather than the linksland of the others, it was sown with a mixture of fescue and colonial bent grass with different percentages of each species being sown in different areas. Greens and surrounds are 80% fescue/20% bent, while roughs are 100% fescue.
Practices remain the same as on the other courses with the emphasis on low inputs of fertiliser and water to encourage these finer grasses
St Andrews - The Castle Course maintains the following turfgrass species:
St Andrews - The Castle Course regularly undertakes the following practices to improve turf health:
Greens and surrounds - 80-100kg N/hc (potash similar Ph zero)
Tees - as above
Fairways - 50kg N/hc (potash 50kg/hc, Ph 10kg/Hc)
The greenkeeping staff feed the following areas of the golf course:
No problems with pests. Diseases - dollar spot - treated with N and also used Banner Maxx on two occations on geens/surrounds and tees - over the space of one year. Heritage applied in September to control superficial fairy ring.
St Andrews - The Castle Course keeps detailed records of pesticide application.
St Andrews - The Castle Course undertakes the following activities to minimise / reduce pesticide use:
| Activity |
|---|
| Low irrigation, good aeration programme, low fertilizer application, continual sandy top dressing and drainage improvements. |
Course organic waste is composted on site.
Paper/cardboard is recycled from the office/clubhouse and shop. This is collected by a private company.
Glass is also recycled by Local Authority collection.
| Avoid | Re-use | Recycle | Landfill | Incineration | Registered Uplift | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glass | No | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Plastic | No | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Aluminium | No | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Metal | No | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Paper | No | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Cardboard | No | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Electrical | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Grass Clippings | No | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Cores | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Turf | No | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Sand | No | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Wood / Timber | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Leaves | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Detergents | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Cooking Oils | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Lubricants | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Pesticide Containers | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Fertiliser Bags | No | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Oil Filters | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Batteries | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
St Andrews - The Castle Course has secure storage for hazardous material.
St Andrews - The Castle Course has not undertaken a waste audit.
| Discharges to: | Legally Compliant? | Formal Discharge Agreement | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clubhouse | Mains Sewer | Yes | N/A |
| Accommodation | N/A | Yes | N/A |
| Maintenance Facility | Mains Sewer | Yes | N/A |
| Wash Pad | Closed Loop Recycling | Yes | N/A |
St Andrews - The Castle Course undertakes the following activities to reduce resource consumption or minimise waste:
Design of clubhouse encorporates the use of geothermal energy. Light sensors have been used as much as practical in non-public areas with energy saving light bulbs installed throughout the building.
Solar lighting has been used on the entrance road and natural lighting in the maintenance facility.
St Andrews - The Castle Course has not undertaken an Energy Audit.
Activities undertaken to record energy consumption:
Activities undertaken to reduce energy consumption:
Green purchasing activities undertaken:
Departments involved in energy saving activities:
Employees of St Andrews - The Castle Course receive the following formal and informal environmental education:
St Andrews - The Castle Course keeps formal staff training records for these departments:
St Andrews - The Castle Course keeps the following record of accidents in the workplace:
St Andrews - The Castle Course undertakes the following internal environmental communications:
St Andrews - The Castle Course undertakes the following external environmental communications:
St Andrews - The Castle Course works with the following external groups:
St Andrews Links Trust - Environmental Statement.pdf
St Andrews - The Castle Course has an Environmental Management Plan covering:
St Andrews - The Castle Course has an environmental working group, comprising the following individuals/organisations:
