Community engagement and a host of nature conservation and enhancement measures at Wycombe Heights Golf Centre has helped the public pay-and-play facility earn the prestigious international sustainability award, GEO Certified®.
Wycombe Heights – part of BGL Golf, the UK’s leading golf course owner and operator – has joined an elite group of golf courses throughout the United Kingdom to have earned the internationally recognised GEO Certified® distinction. Designed to help the game of golf further progress a positive impact on the local people and environment it touches, the certification and online guidance tool that accompanies it enable golf courses to demonstrate their operational commitment to nature, resource efficiency and community.
Graham Rolland, Wycombe Heights Golf Centre General Manager, said: “I would like to thank all of the staff that have helped make achieving this prestigious standard possible. A highlight in the report is that our long-standing and knowledgeable green-keeping team was specifically singled out for praise and rightly so, with a number having been at the centre for more than 10 years. However, it is the team of people we have here that has enabled Wycombe Heights to become GEO Certified®.
“In addition to the staff, Wycombe Heights has been able to build a reputation as a superb facility for young golfers to learn all about the sport. The Learn Golf initiative launched in 2013, along with the numerous events that are organised to encourage a community spirit, are what help to set Wycombe Heights apart. I am confident the centre will continue to be at the forefront of promoting the game of golf for many years to come.”
The green-keeping staff, community activities and natural initiatives, which includes the fact that Red Kites are now successfully breeding on the Wycombe Heights site, are all highlighted within the evaluation report, which is drafted by an independent third-party Verifier, Tony Hanson, and is available online
Hanson said: “Wycombe Heights Golf Centre is a well-managed golf facility that extends a welcome beyond new and existing golfers. Community groups, dog walkers and horse riders have access to areas of the course to share the views and beauty of the surroundings. The inclusive attitude is a credit to the management and provides an excellent example of a modern golf operation.”
Wycombe Heights is the ninth BGL Golf facility across the UK to have become GEO Certified®, with the final centre, The Shropshire, in Telford, on track to become GEO Certified® during 2014.
Colin Mayes, BGL Chief Executive, said: “BGL Golf operates 10 golf facilities across the UK and is on track to become the first multi-site operator in the world to become GEO Certified® at all of its venues. This is a very ambitious target, but with Wycombe Heights now successfully achieving this standard, we are set to realise our overall goal in 2014.”
Wycombe Heights Golf Centre www.wycombeheightsgc.co.uk
BGL Golf www.bglgolf.co.uk