ENVIRONMENT
 
Water Sustainability, The Bryanston Country Club moves toward water sustainability and becoming GEO certification.
 
Just three months ago we came face to face with the reality of NO WATER. We have always been very reliant on ground water and rain and the drought caught us a bit by surprise. We knew we were due a few dry summers but thought we still had time to prepare. The lack of rain and subsequent ground water meant that we were down to a week’s worth of irrigation ... and we had only been watering essential areas ... with fairways once a week. The course was under severe pressure and we were in serious trouble of losing our fairways. This time around, thankfully, the rains came just before it was too late and the course has recovered magnificently. But what about the future – without a doubt this is the first of many dry years and South Africa is likely to get drier … we need to be prepared.
 
Besides the lack of rain, golf clubs need to be very aware of societal pressure regarding water use. With many parts of the country lacking basic water for cooking and cleaning it will be harder to justify us watering golf courses. As an industry we have a lot at stake and we can’t be putting our head in the sands. We need to be very efficient with our water usage and we need to manage the PR. Both these points can be addressed if clubs endorse and participate in GEO.
 
GEO is the Golf Environment Organisation established by the golf industry to assist golf in putting our best foot forward. Recently endorsed by SA’s Golf Associations it is a wonderful program that will help us find real solutions to improving our environment, manage water usage and communicate our achievements.
 
As a Club we have escalated our efforts to be more water efficient and maximise the opportunities of water collection and efficient use of what we have.  This is a key business decision – we expect to reap the financial benefits as well as the respect and personal satisfaction for doing our bit for Mother Earth.
 
Some of the projects we are busy with and that most clubs can do include drilling for boreholes, rain water harvesting, grey water recycling and then several initiatives to measure and manage water use.
 
Golfers should be included in the conversation and get to understand the scarcity of water, understand the limitations of how green and perfect a course should be all year around and by encouraging their clubs to do more about water sustainability.
It’s time for action ... we can’t afford to let it slip down our busy to-do list. We owe it to our children’s children and to the game we love so much.