The Prince’s Golf Club is committed to sustainability


By: August 15, 2019


I hope the stunning, new photos of Prince’s Golf Club‘s Himalayas golf course will not distract your attention from to focus on a more important achievement of the club.

Namely, Prince’s Golf Club has recently retained its GEO Certified® status for its sustainability measures and work supporting the community, despite a significant period of course renovation.

Himalayas 4th Hole Prince's Golf Club

Before I get into the details of GEO’s Verifier Report, it is good to know that in 2018, Prince’s Golf Club unveiled the newly-redeveloped Himalayas nine having undertaken a significant redesign by Mackenzie & Ebert.

Tom Mackenzie MEIGCA from Mackenzie & Ebert has recently gained the title Sustainable Design Leader.

Now let’s see what Prince’s Golf Club has done to retain its GEO Certified® status!

Himalayas 5th Hole Prince's Golf Club

Prince’s Golf Club & its GEO Certified® status

GEO’s Sustainability Agenda covers 3 areas:

  1. Nature
  2. Resources (I will talk later about F&B + sustainability)
  3. Community
Prince’s Golf Club & Nature area

I must highlight that the site on which the course is located is designated as a RAMSAR.

The sand dune complex around the Sandwich Bay area has numerous designations because of the rarity of the habitat (e.g. lizard orchid) and sand dune combination.

The Prince’s Golf Club is cooperating among the others with Natural England and the Wildlife Trusts during a significant revision to the layout of the course (e.g. upgrade and renovation of the Shore and Dunes nines).

Did you know that out of the total 130 hectares, only approximately 35 hectares forms the managed area in play?

The Prince’s Golf Club is trying to provide a more naturalized Links, shaping fairways, increasing unmanaged grassland and sand-scrapes.

They have established a protocol’s including infrastructure and management of the various operational activities required for the maintenance of a golf facility.

Himalayas 5th Hole Prince's Golf Club 201908
Prince’s Golf Club & Resources

The water used for irrigation is gained exclusively from groundwater abstraction with mains water supply for the clubhouse and maintenance buildings.

The club is using:

  • a combination of mains grid electricity for cooling and lighting, and Liquid Propane Gas (LPG) for heating via a wet central heating system controlled by thermostats and timers.
  • They will have a key card system requires the room key to be inserted inside the room to connect to power.
  • There is an ongoing program of LED upgrades and PIR controls in place to systematically upgrade the clubhouse.

I was happy to find that Prince’s Golf Club is providing seasonal produce and cooperating with Kentish providers.

What I have not seen is how they manage food waste in addition to reducing the delivery frequency and packaging volumes.

I would love to hear from them:

  • What kind of resource-efficient technology do they have?
  • How do they turn food waste into usable material?
  • When will they achieve zero-waste cooking?
  • How do they address healthy aging? Let’s take inspiration from the beauty and personal care!
Prince’s Golf Club & Community

It is really good to find that the club is trying to provide benefits to golfers, non-golfers (e.g. Local Nature Reserve and the Coastal Path), and wildlife.

What are they doing to attract more women to the club?

Although the GEO Certified Report is mentioning that Prince’s Golf Club is holding charity events, however, I don’t consider this something innovative or new golf club activity.