Golf Environment Organization

What role does your golf course play in the conservation of ecosystems, species and habitats? What does the golf course offer in terms of the viable breeding and mobility of species? Such questions are at the heart of understanding the ecological function of your golf course.

Each and every golf course has a unique ecological function. Depending on the size of the site, the amount and type of natural vegetation, aspect, geology, historic land use, climate, mobility of species, location within and proximity to ecosystems and habitat units. 

Ecology is the study of ecosystems and the communities of species and the physical environments and habitats that they have adapted to survive in.

Whilst each golf course will have a different ecological function, value and role to play in conserving habitats and species, all golf facilities can strive to maximise the unique ecological value of their course.  Whether your course comprises a mosaic of large scale, diverse and highly valued ecosystems, habitats and species communities, or whether it merely offers a smaller range and scale of natural areas, it is possible for all golf courses to play a valued role in the protection and enhancement of biodiversity.  It may be that on a small site, the few habitats that do exist are home to a highly valued assemblage or community of species.  Conversely, it may be that large and diverse sites may provide habitats for a diverse range of species, but that are of lower conservation interest.

A key step to understanding this, and more generally to understanding the ecological value of golf courses per se, is to begin to work out what the ecological function of the course is.  There is of course no substitute for ecological survey and evaluation in determining this.

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