Golf Saudi drives toward a green future

STRI Group, the world's leading sports surface provider, is delighted to announce that it is supporting Golf Saudi in the creation of a regional and a national strategy for the development of golf courses.

Left to right: KAEC GCEO, Ahmed Ibrahim Linjawy & Golf Saudi CEO Majed Al Sorour

The strategies are being prepared to inform golf course developers about the particulars of golf course construction in Saudi Arabia with regard to the environment, turf management, water management and materials selection.

Golf Saudi unveiled its progressive environmental strategy during tournament week of the Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers. During the first day of press conferences, Majed Al-Sorour, CEO of the Saudi Golf Federation outlined a series of initiatives the group have put in place over the last twelve months, with particular reference to its pioneering environmental initiatives.

"It has been a productive twelve months, but we have only just begun," commented Al-Sorour. "A key driver has been our environmental strategy; bringing together a consortium of industry leaders to develop a national policy that will propel Saudi Arabia to the forefront of environmental development. It is of paramount importance to our national transformation and is a top priority."

The environmental strategy to date has seen Golf Saudi align with Golf Environment Organisation (GEO) in order to develop a national program that advises and informs on best-practice across new developments. The initiative will adopt a comprehensive approach with an overarching mission to instil a culture of environmental and ecological innovation. GEO will collaborate with STRI to help achieve sustainability goals for; low carbon, resource efficient and ecologically rich golf courses, which are supported by new knowledge and expertise that will drive delivery. The aim is to create the most robust and progressive environmental and soil science strategy in world golf.

Lee Penrose, STRI Group director, said: "STRI is delighted to be selected to support Golf Saudi in the development of a sustainable strategy for golf."

Al-Sorour continued; "Our objective is to create an ecosystem for golf in Saudi Arabia. Ensuring that we can deal with a range of factors including tourism, job creation, sustainability and any environmental concerns. Hosting events such as the Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers has allowed us to not only lay down initial infrastructure but to also gain more exposure around the world, so people can begin to realise that we are serious about becoming a destination for golfers."

For further information on Golf Saudi, please visit: www.golfsaudi.com