Sustainability in golf: the golf teacher as communicator

For so many golfers, the golf tacher is the expert par excellence. The specialist for ball curves and swing studies is both the first point of contact for beginners and often the last hope for long-time golfers looking for the right swing. But what significance do golf instructors have with regard to the sustainability debate currently affecting golf? Can golf instructors influence them positively? Are golf instructors relevant to the topic at all, since – unlike the greenkeeper, for example – they have no direct influence on the golf course?

Many contacts and target groups
In fact, the importance of the golf teacher for the transformation of golf into a sustainable sport is enormous. Hardly any other person in a normal golf club has such a dominant position when it comes to communicating with golfers. The reasons for this are simple:
– The golf teacher is considered an expert by the majority of golfers. When he talks about the quality of greens or fairways, for example, the majority of his students believe him.
– In golf lessons we still speak to each other personally. Otherwise, information in a golf club is now almost exclusively digital, with newsletters and social media messages dominating. But a real conversation is authentic, more convincing, and the information reaches the golfer more quickly.
– The golf instructor meets big and small, young and old, women and men. He talks to voters from conservative, left-wing and green parties. He teaches environmentalists and climate change deniers. In short: the golf teacher meets many target groups who have one thing in common – the search for the right swing.
– The golf instructor is the link to the management, with whom he discusses teams, member activation and courses for new members.

From drinking bottles to carpooling
What does all this mean for the golf club? The golf teacher can be a key communicator of sustainability projects at the golf club without having to promote this to any great extent. Rather, it’s all about ensuring that his knowledge of certain necessities ultimately reaches the golfer as important information.
Examples of this are quickly explained: If the golf instructor understands why a golf club has to change its water management in view of increasing dry spells, he will incorporate this when he sees a parched golf course. If he realizes that plastic waste is also a problem on golf courses, he might recommend that his youth teams use refillable drinking bottles on the next match day. It is quite possible that he will order spaghetti with tomato sauce instead of spaghetti bolognese and burger with chips for the youngsters for lunch at the next summer camp, because even small measures such as choosing vegetarian food reduce the carbon footprint of a golf club.

As a team coach, the golf teacher can promote carpooling for tournament outings, point out the need for a modern irrigation system to sceptical members or explain credibly why it makes sense for the greenkeeping team to reduce the mowed areas on a golf course, for example. In all these areas, the golf teacher has far more direct contact with players than the greenkeeper or club manager.

Positive image attracts new golfers
The golf teacher has an interest in a sustainable future for the golf course anyway: after all, he also looses customers if the golf course is unattractive or unplayable due to a lack of water or flooding. Only a sport with a positive image will ultimately attract many new golfers who book golf lessons. The business model of the golf teacher only works in the long term if golf as such is attractive to a broad target group and new golfers book lessons.
The involvement of golf teachers in sustainability issues is therefore important. However, this also means that they need the right information in order to build up sufficient knowledge and expertise. It doesn’t work without regular communication with the superintendent or club management. From a joint workshop on sustainability topics at the start to short updates every week or two weeks, many things are possible. In the end, all sides will benefit because the golf teacher’s expertise may bring completely new perspectives to the topic.

Implementing sustainable thinking on a broad basis
“Sustainability must not just be a slogan, but an integral part of our way of thinking in every area of the economy,” South Korean politician Ban Ki-moon once said in his role as Secretary-General of the United Nations. Broken down to the golf club, this means that sustainability can be promoted not only in greenkeeping, but also in the golf academy on the driving range.