June 20, 2014
By Rick Horrow and Karla Swatek
As Pinehurst concludes a hectic few weeks that had it staging both the men’s and women’s U.S. Opens, the course’s sustainable design hasn’t been receiving the credit it deserves. As a designer of over 300 golf courses worldwide, Gary Player has always been a huge advocate of designing environmentally friendly, sustainable courses.
Player has always enjoyed golf courses that allow you to experience nature as much as possible, and the legendary golfer would love to see courses adopt more natural conditions, eliminate unnecessary water usage, and establish native grasses. Player’s fierce belief in creating environmentally friendly, sustainable courses has led to multiple Gary Player Design courses globally certified by both the Golf Environmental Organization (GEO) and Audubon International.
In the future, Player is sure that we will see that the impact on the environment and water usage will become an even more relevant topic in golf course design. GPD is one of the world’s top golf course design firms with over 325 courses in 35 countries around the globe.
