Golf Environment Organization

"There is nothing training cannot do. Nothing is above its reach. It can turn bad morals to good; it can destroy bad principles and recreate good ones; it can lift men to angelship." Mark Twain

Well-trained, well-educated, professional staff, respected for their knowledge and skilled for the jobs they do... this must surely be the aim of all golf facilities. From general manager, course manager and club professional, across greenstaff and catering staff, every person within the golf facility has a rôle to play in furthering the facility's environmental programme.

So not only should staff be technically equipped to deliver the tasks that are required of them, they should be motivated to play a part in improving environmental performance.

It is essential that golf facilities invest in the continuing professional development and baseline education of staff.

The course manager and greenstaff have perhaps the greatest need for environmental education, given the broad range of technical issues and practical activities they have to address. Everything ranging from pesticide storage and handling, through to habitat management - from hydrology to geology, and from carbon management to soil biology. The modern-day course manager is required to hold considerable information and knowledge and be able to make informed decisions across a great many topics.

The club manager is in a similar position - marrying business acumen and financial skills with marketing, communications, project management and fund-raising. They too must have at least a working knowledge of health and safety, course management and environmental issues.

It is equally important that the staff pull together as a team, and pool their collective knowledge, experience and skills for the overall benefit of the golf facility.  In this way, environmental issues can act as a unifying common denominator issue, bringing a common goal to all staff, creating neutral ground to begin to nurture improved staff relations, and providing the basis for positive 'common good' achievements.

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