GCS&MAI president Arun K. Singh (centre), GEO golf sustainability director Sam Thomas (immediate right), and Game of Life Sports promoters Samant Sikka and Amit Kharbanda (further right) at the Qutab Golf Club seminar. Image courtesy GCS&MAI.
By Rahul Banerji
Sustainability in design and maintenance of golf courses was the theme of a recent seminar organised by the Golf Course Superintendents and Managers Association of India.
The GCS&MAI and its seminar partner, Game of Life Sports, launched the ‘SUSTAIN’ (Sustainable Upkeep for Superior Turf and Irrigation Needs) initiative on the occasion.
An invited expert spoke at length on the theme which was followed by an interactive session with those in attendance.
Qualified golf architect Sam Thomas, sustainability director for golf at Scotland-based not-for-profit organisation GEO spoke at some length on the progress of their initiative worldwide before taking questions from the audience at the Qutab Golf Club.
GCS&MAI provides a platform for its members from golf courses across India to express themselves and gain visibility. It also focuses on continuous education and upgrading members’ knowledge.
Game of Life Sports is an initiative from passionate golfers to promote golf through all round initiatives covering different spectrums of golf, and has worked with the association to promote education and sustainable upkeep practices in the industry.
Thomas said GEO was currently working with about 3,000 golf courses worldwide and also with more than 50 high level tournaments across various golf tours.
He took the audience across aspects of sustainable design and maintenance of golf courses, emphasising their importance being oases of preservation of flora and fauna in the contest of continuing worldwide urban expansion.
Wider benefits
“Golf courses not only promote better quality of air and carbon sequestration but also provide sustainable health benefits over long years of life,” Thomas averred.
The talk also focussed on sustainable practices like usage of local grasses, better management of water, sand etc.
“Sustainability is no longer a luxury, it is now about survival. It’s important that Golfing ecosystem embrace the concept to the core and start adopting practices to ensure that our courses, both existing and new lead this change,” Thomas said.
An important lesson was the emphasis on creating smaller, simpler and sustainable courses while involving elite golfers, specially at professional tournaments, to promote the concept.
Thomas later said he was delighted with the questions posed by the audience and added that it was a good sign for sustainability in golf.
Speaking on the occasion, association president Wg Cdr Arun K. Singh (retd) thanked Thomas for his illuminating talk on a topic that was of interest to all stakeholders in the industry, including policy makers.
He also promised to keep the momentum of SUSTAIN going by getting experts from India and abroad to provide knowledge.
Samant Sikka and Amit Kharbanda of Game of Life Sports said that they were pleased to be with the unsung heroes of golf courses as it were the maintenance staff who worked silently behind the scenes to create the sort of facilities expected on golf courses.
They were of the opinion that if golf was to grow in India, the effort would have to be a well-rounded one and not focused only around getting new players into the industry.
“Due focus and attention needs to be given to infrastructure. Golf suffers from an image handicap and efforts are needed to improve and promote new facilities and infrastructure,” they added.
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