Woburn Golf Club – a sustainability champion
History, exclusivity – these are the terms associated with Woburn Golf Club in north London. A third has been added in recent years: Sustainability, a whole range of topics that Gavin Sowden, the club’s sustainability manager, has been looking after since 2010. “In 2010, I was asked by the management to have a first look at the topic,” he explains his role. At the time, ISO certification for sustainability was on the cards. He began to look into the topic and came across the then-still relatively small GEO, Golf Sustainable Organization from Scotland. “We then joined in,” and off we went.
Since then, the topic has become a passion for Sowden. The golf club, which is actually known as the venue for numerous professional tournaments, now also stands for excellence in terms of sustainability. Suppose you have a closer look at the variety of projects and the level of investment. In that case, you will quickly recognize the recipe for success: a responsible person with passion has designed a programme fully supported by the owners and is therefore accepted by the entire workforce. There is the chef Paul Nicholls, who explains, “we buy as locally as possible, and we don’t need any exotic products from overseas.” Marketing assistant Jon Dibb knows that “we now have sponsors who only come to us because we work so sustainably.” “Everyone is on board” is how Gavin Sowden sums it up. All activities are based on precise data collection, ranging from water, fertilizer and energy consumption to plastic bottles. Halogen lamps on the pro store ceiling, electric green mowers in the greenkeeping complex, water tanks for refilling bottles – the list of measures resulting from precise data collection is almost endless.
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The club has also had a complete CO2 reporting system for several years. Separate meters in all buildings enable precise analysis in Woburn. A supplier day, at which the CO₂ reporting procedure is discussed in detail, ensures that all product data is supplied by each supplier. A Sisyphean project, no doubt – but one that the club has successfully mastered. It is the attention to detail that stands out when you walk around the facility. Mats on tree trunks protect new plantings from approaching balls. The mint wall at the clubhouse, which contains all the herbs used for the gin and tonic, looks pretty and makes sense. The mowing patterns on the fairways were changed so that diesel consumption was reduced, but the visual experience did not suffer. And the coffee grounds collected from the restaurants are now processed into coffee logs, which are then used as fuel.
Water management a key project
Large-scale projects also provide the wow effect: the storage pond with a capacity of 110,000 m³ has completely changed the water management of the golf course, which was previously largely based on the use of drinking water. Now that a groundwater extraction licence for 100 cubic metres per day has been obtained, the water is pumped into the storage pond on a daily basis. If it is very dry, the irrigation system first draws the water from there before resorting to drinking water. Now that the drainage water is also pumped into the pond, the golf club is aiming for self-sufficiency in water consumption in the long term.
In addition to water management, forest management is a core project. Woburn Estate covers a total of around 3,000 acres (approx. 1,214 hectares) and is home to various attractions, including Woburn Abbey, the gardens and an extensive wildlife park. Woburn Golf Club, part of the estate, has three 18-hole championship courses: the Duke’s Course, the Duchess Course and the Marquess Course. Old birch and chestnut trees line the fairways. If you play a round here, you won’t hear any noise. The old woodland areas of Woburn Abbey are largely left to their own devices. Deadwood lies on the sides of the cart paths that lead from hole to hole.
First Green project with schools
Cyclists are just as welcome here as hikers. The integration of the entire estate into the region is important to owner Andrew Ian Henry Russell, 15th Duke of Bedford. School groups often visit the club. The First Green program for 50 schoolchildren, who get their first contact with greenkeeping here, is also successful. “By involving schools, we also generate more interest in the greenkeeping profession,” explains Sowden. With a total of three 18-hole courses, there is a constant need for staff. What at first glance appears to visitors to be a classic golf course turns out to be a real showcase in terms of sustainability. Sowden himself is always willing to share his knowledge with others. As he has discovered, sustainability management is a subject that you grow into. The diversity of topics has surprised him over the years. His motivation grows with the enthusiasm of his colleagues. A retired colleague builds all the bird boxes scattered around the grounds from old wood and then brings them back to the club. Community projects like this inspire Sowden. At some point in the next few years, he too will retire. Will he let go of the topic then? Probably not.
Image: Petra Himmel 