“We are fighting together for biodiversity.” According to Bavaria’s Environment Minister Thorsten Glauber, Bavaria’s golf courses play an important role in this, “because they have huge areas that they don’t use for playing.” Glauber has now presented four of these golf courses with the ” Blooming Golf Course” award at the Bavarian Ministry of the Environment. The representatives of GC Schloss Maxlrain, GC Schloss Mainsondheim, Rottaler Golf- und Country Club and Golf-Club Garmisch-Partenkirchen accepted the award from Glauber.
“We are fully behind the Blühpakt Bayern project,” said a satisfied Arno Malte Uhlig, President of the Bavarian Golf Association. He had signed the cooperation agreement with Glauber in 2020. The Bavarian Golf Association was thus the first partner of the Blühpakt alliance, which now includes five other organizations. 44 Bavarian golf courses have now been personally recognized by Glauber as a Blooming Golf Course.
For the President of GC Schloss Maxlrain, Karlheinz Bachmeier, participation in the project is the logical consequence of the club’s previous activities. “We have just been awarded Gold at Golf & Nature and we wanted to further increase the quality of our golf club with this seal.”
The Upper Bavarian golf course, which covers an area of 110 hectares with its 18 holes and a short course, is constantly upgrading areas. Most recently, a large orchard was planted in 2024. Courses such as GC Schloss Maxlrain are supported in their projects by the Bavarian Association for the Protection of Birds, which was selected by the Bavarian Ministry of the Environment as an external expert body.
Free initial consultation
All golf courses that register for the Blühpakt Bayern and meet the requirements receive a free consultation day from the LBV, which ultimately decides whether the course is suitable for certification. According to Dagmar Blache, one of the LBV experts, this is almost always the case, but not automatically. However, almost every golf club has the will to further enhance the often very beautiful areas.
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“This is also really important to us as the Bavarian Golf Association,” emphasizes Uhlig. “We want this blooming pact to be lived.” In order to make participation a little clearer for the golf courses, the terms in the registration form are now being revised once again. Managing Director Heidrun Klump is also hoping that more courses will register for an initial consultation by June 30.
Golf courses wishing to participate must fulfill a number of criteria. These include, for example, the near-natural design of at least 30% of the open spaces and the mowing of areas in sections. The use of substrates containing peat is not permitted and chemical pesticides may not be used on large areas.
“We want to work with you to protect nature and biodiversity,” Glauber emphasized once again and also commented on the current debate surrounding Germany as a business location. “Nature conservation has nothing to do with cutting jobs in industry.”
Image: USGA