Yes to environmental and species protection – but no costs please
How much is sustainability worth to the golfer? How important are environmental issues at the golf club compared to other aspects of a golf membership? The new “Future Golf – Golf Horizons” survey,which the German Golf Management Association (GMVD) carried out in collaboration with Change Management Consulting in the summer of 2023 and has now been presented at the GMVD’s annual congress, provides an analysis of these questions.
“Most golfers want to avoid additional financial costs, but prefer to accept reductions in opening hours and catering services,” is one of the conclusions. “Although environmental and species protection is important, the willingness to provide financial support is close to zero,” says Andreas Dorsch, Managing Director of the GMVD.
The following questions lead to this conclusion:
How important is it to you that your golf course is strongly committed to climate protection/sustainability/CO₂ balance?
76 percent of women and 70 percent of men consider this point to be very important or important.
Would you be prepared to actively contribute with your behavior or financially to achieving a neutral CO₂ footprint for your golf club?
64 percent of women and 53 percent of men are willing to promote this through active behavior. But only one percent of women and three percent of men are prepared to contribute financially.
Would you be prepared to pay a higher annual membership fee to improve your golf club’s carbon footprint?
30 percent of respondents say yes.
Do you agree with the statement: ‘Brown is the new green’ in hot summers?
48 percent of respondents say yes.
Space quality and environmental protection
With regard to the topic of reducing pesticides, which is being discussed worldwide but is particularly relevant in Europe because the EU Parliament is also discussing a complete ban on pesticides, the study also provides an important indication: “However, golfers do not compromise on course quality, and almost everyone agrees: the course quality must be given and is a decisive factor in whether they stay at a golf club in the medium to long term.”
At the same time, 60 percent of golfers answered whether species and environmental protection or game and course quality had priority for them with a yes for species and environmental protection. The idea that this may also go hand in hand with a further reduction in the use of pesticides may be too remote for the respondents. One could also conclude that this connection is not made.
The key figures of the survey
A total of 1847 golfers from 421 golf clubs in Germany responded to the survey. 50 percent of respondents were over 50 years old, 31 percent between 51 and 60. 67.5 percent of respondents were male, 32.4 percent female. Half of those surveyed have been playing golf for more than 16 years.
