Cover image: Bernardus Golf
The European Golf Association will bring together golf's sustainability leaders this September for a landmark two-day forum, set against the backdrop of one of the most prestigious events in golf.
The EGA Sustainable Golf Forum will take place on 7–8 September in the Netherlands, hosted at Bernardus Golf, a venue surrounded by a Natura 2000 protected site and well placed to reflect the Forum's themes. The timing is no coincidence: the EGA's annual flagship sustainability event runs during the same week as the 2026 Solheim Cup, creating a unique setting where sport and sustainability share the spotlight.
From Practice to Policy: Two Days of Strategic Dialogue
The Forum runs across two complementary days, each with a clear focus:
Monday 7 September will be devoted to industry sustainability. Invited delegates, mainly national golf federation leaders and technical sustainability experts, will spend the day in discussions covering the three themes above. Sessions will feature expert panelists from across Europe, sharing case studies, research, and practical solutions in areas from biodiversity data to pesticide minimisation.
The day will end with the unique opportunity for delegates to experience sustainable golf management in action with a guided nature walk at Bernardus Golf, followed by an evening social hosted by the Royal Netherlands Golf Federation.
Tuesday 8 September opens the Forum to a wider audience. Held at Bernardus Golf, the day focuses on EU policy, looking at where regulation on Nature Restoration, Pesticide Use and Water Stewardship is heading and what it means for sports in nature across Europe. Keynote speakers and panel sessions will explore the role of sport in Europe's sustainability agenda, with contributors expected from politics, elite sport, and international policy.
The Key Themes
Three interconnected topics form the core of the Forum, each chosen for its relevance in Europe's evolving environmental policy landscape and its direct bearing on golf course management today.
Nature Restoration sits at the heart of the agenda, reflecting the momentum behind the EU Nature Restoration Law and the EU Biodiversity Strategy. Golf courses, which cover a large area of managed land across Europe, have a significant role to play as wildlife corridors, carbon sinks, and platforms for ecological research. Sessions will explore how courses can enhance biodiversity, native habitat networks, and contribute to ecosystem restoration, habitat protection, and national conservation frameworks. Bernardus Golf itself, surrounded by a Natura 2000 protected area, is a strong example of what this can look like in practice.
Water Stewardship addresses one of the most pressing challenges facing golf courses across the continent. With growing regulatory scrutiny on water use and quality under the EU Water Framework legislation, the Forum will look at how clubs can reduce consumption, adopt nature-based solutions, improve climate resilience, and manage water responsibly. The Forum will also discuss how a future European Water Roadmap, currently being developed by working groups under the EGA's sustainability umbrella, can support current efforts.
Integrated Turf Management looks at how golf courses can maintain their playing surfaces as pesticide restrictions tighten and environmental expectations rise. From new developments in grass varieties and precision nutrition to the move toward pesticide minimisation in tournaments, the Forum will examine the tools, education, and policy frameworks shaping the next generation of greenkeeping. Progress on implementing the EGA Sustainable Turfgrass Roadmap, as well as on national approaches, such as the Dutch Manifesto on sustainable course management, will be among the examples discussed.
Together, these three themes reflect a shared understanding that sustainable golf is no longer optional but an operational and regulatory necessity. The Forum aims not just to identify the challenges, but to foster collaboration and find practical, scalable solutions from across Europe.
Why It Matters
In the latest (June 2026) Eurobarometer opinion poll on an environmental sustainability theme, 96% of European citizens consider that we have a moral responsibility to look after nature and 95% view our health and well-being as being based upon nature and biodiversity.
Golf and other sports in nature have a unique role to reflect and live the sustainability values held by their athletes, their fans and by European citizens as a whole. By running the Sustainable Golf Forum at Bernardus and during the Solheim Cup Week, the EGA is placing the sustainability of the game at an inspirational venue and alongside one of its highest-profile events, showing that the future of golf must be both competitive and responsible.
