GEO Certified ®

Woodhall Spa Golf Club are delighted to have achieved GEO Certified®

Through becoming GEO Certified, we have achieved the most widely regarded and credible sustainability distinction in golf.  The international certification was earned after successfully meeting the industry-standard best practices and demonstrating our commitment to make sustainability of central importance to our golf facility.  We're proud of our social and environmental value, and looking forward to doing even more on our sustainability journey.

The certificate of recognition has been presented to the club by GEO Foundation, a driving force behind the movement to make the golf industry a sustainability leader.

The GEO Foundation looks to support and reward organisations, businesses and facilities that strive to make a positive social and environmental impact.

Dino Minoli, the independent verifier for GEO certification, said: “Woodhall Spa Golf Club shows a real commitment, desire, interest and ability across all management departments for continuous performance improvement on sustainable golf. and I look forward to seeing the development at the club, particularly the proposed new clubhouse and energy sourcing on the journey to net zero.”

On the course, we have recently continued a detailed restoration and habitat management project aimed at returning the Hotchkin Course to its original state when opened for play in the early part of the 20th century.

Woodhall Spa, already a Natural England Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) with a rich heritage of promoting sustainability in and through golf,  has been acknowledged as a heathland course of outstanding natural beauty.

In collaboration with Natural England, the work to fell invasive trees and remove unfavourable species of gorse and bracken was hailed for bringing the course back in line with how it was designed by the original course architects.

A new irrigation system on the Hotchkin Course has also produced water savings of 50% compared to previous years with a similar system being installed on the Bracken Course.

We have replaced the old gas boilers with a  new biomass boiler which burns wood collected from the course and releases less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than other fossil fuel alternatives along with the introduction of hybrid mowers for the greens staff has gone a long way to reduce our carbon footprint.

Currently, 25% of staff cycle to work and the efforts to source local products for food and beverage outlets was recognised as part of a strong golf club connection to local businesses and the wider community.

Rare species of wildflowers, lichens, heather, birds, mammals and reptiles form an integral part of the site’s natural features which, along with the outstanding golf experience, have drawn golfers from all over the world to rural Lincolnshire.

We find that being a SSSI, a lot of the ecology and the GEO work goes hand in hand, and this latest mark of recognition is also further proof of the club’s progressive attitude towards projects aimed at dealing with modern-day challenges such as climate change, resource scarcity and tighter regulations.