Buzzin Golf

The Jockey Club Kau Sai Chau Golf Course in Hong Kong

The Jockey Club Kau Sai Chau Public Golf Course, one of the busiest public golf courses in the world, becomes first GEO Certified™ facility in Asia-Pacific.

The Jockey Club Kau Sai Chau Public Golf Course (Kau Sai Chau), Hong Kong, has become the first golf facility in Asia-Pacific to achieve the coveted GEO Certified™ award – an internationally recognised sustainability assurance from the Golf Environment Organization.

The award, which recognizes Kau Sai Chau as one of the most sustainably managed golf clubs in the world, is a significant landmark in the transformation of the island landscape, a former military firing range that was shelled repeatedly between 1930 and 1975.

Opened in 1995 and now featuring three of the busiest public golf courses in the world, it has become a shining light of environmental innovation featuring solar-hybrid ferries for transporting golfers to and from the island, and the world’s first fleet of solar powered electric golf carts – both projects being part of a US$45 million environmental project initiated by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, in response to the pressing issues of global warming and climate change. These environmental initiatives have resulted in a restored landscape and thriving ecology at Kau Sai Chau which offers 54 holes of world-class golf, including the North and South Courses, designed by nine-time Major Champion Gary Player, and East Course, designed by golf course architects Nelson & Haworth.

Mike Carey, Head of Golf Operations at Kau Sai Chau, explained: “As a community project between the Hong Kong Jockey Club and Hong Kong Government, the mission of Kau Sai Chau is to promote golf to the people of Hong Kong at affordable levels. In addition to this Kau Sai Chau has been restored into a healthy living landscape with diverse habitats through environmentally sensitive golf development.

“In addition to the practical challenges of developing island golf – rainwater capture, storage and reuse being the most significant – the vision for Kau Sai Chau was to provide the golfing public of Hong Kong with a world-class facility managed to the highest agronomic and environmental standards.

“The GEO Certified™ award recognizes the success of our efforts and, hopefully, is an inspiration for others, as the need for sustainable golf leadership in the booming Asian golf economy is more important now than ever.”

The GEO Certified™ award is the most accessible, credible and comprehensive sustainability certification in golf, benefiting the environment, communities and golf businesses. The award is earned after a golf facility works through the GEO OnCourse™ programme of practical step-by-step, on-line guidance, making improvements appropriate for their site and facility. At the end of the process, an independent, GEO-accredited Sustainable Golf Expert visits and verifies each golf course, and creates a three-year Continual Improvement Plan with targets to be achieved before re-certification three years later.

Ross Perrett, part of GEO’s global network of third party verifiers, undertook the on-site evaluation at Kau Sai Chau. (A full on-site evaluation report can be found here) He summarized his impressions by saying:

“With the vision and commitment of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, it’s been possible to restore biodiverse habitats to Kau Sai Chau and a number of rare, protected and notable species are now thriving in the healthy environment.

Benjamin Warren, GEO Communications Director, said:

“It’s clear the Kau Sai Chau team is dedicated to the continued realization of the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s vision for sustainable golf. In 15 years, the surface of the island has been transformed into a living landscape that now hosts a huge diversity of indigenous plant and animal life, including many rare and endangered species, with hundreds of thousands of people experiencing this richness.”