38 golf courses honoured at Habitat Golf Course
There was a flood of awards on the opening day of the garden show in Eppingen for golf courses that successfully participated in the Habitat Golf Course project of the Baden-Württemberg Golf Association. A total of 38 golf courses received the certificates from Dr. André Baumann (picture left), State Secretary in the Ministry of the Environment, BWGV President Otto Leibfritz (picture right) and Marc Biber, Head of the Environment & Site Maintenance Department at the DGV .
“We golfers have the extremely great privilege of being able to practice our sport in the great outdoors,” Leibfritz summed up in his speech. The golfers wanted to use this privilege to further increase biodiversity within the framework of the golf course habitat and to be active in environmental and nature conservation.
Two thirds of the golf courses take part
Leibfritz was extremely satisfied with the commitment of the clubs in Baden-Württemberg to biodiversity. In the meantime, 62 out of 90 golf courses have been registered for the Habitat Golf Course project. They are all managed by the BWGV environmental committee headed by Prof. Dr. Martin Elsäßer. Appropriate measures can be implemented quickly. “In general,” says Leibfritz, “one can say that we triggered a nationwide response with this pilot project, which started in 2019. Several other golf associations are now also implementing the golf course habitat.” With regard to the golfers, it is gratifying to see how the older generation in particular has been enthusiastic about the subject of nature.
The 38 golf courses from Baden-Württemberg that have now received the award had successfully integrated the recommended projects on the site by autumn 2021.
Exhibition at the Garden Show in Eppingen
“Our aim is to get young and old interested in this sport and to get them out into the great outdoors,” Leibfritz said, explaining the goals of the Baden-Württemberg Golf Association. That’s why there is also a small golf course as an exhibitor at the garden show in Eppingen. “Golf comes to the people”, that is extremely important. This message has clearly reached the population in recent years: “Our growth in new golfers over the past two years has been extremely positive,” Leibfritz summed up. That also has to do with the connection between golf and nature.
