Four Saudi golf courses get world sustainability certification

RIYADH: Four golf courses in Saudi Arabia have been accredited by the GEO Foundation for Sustainable Golf, the international nonprofit dedicated to this assessment process.

Golf Saudi announced this week the accreditation of three courses in Riyadh and Jeddah at the Aramco Team Series-Jeddah, which are the Dirab Golf & Country Club, Riyadh Golf Club and Royal Greens Golf & Country Club. The administrators of the courses have agreed to further improvements over the next three years.

In addition, the GEO Foundation also certified the Safaa Golf Club at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, or KAUST, which is maintained and operated by Mohawarean Specialized Golf Services, or MGS. It is the first private facility in Saudi Arabia to achieve certification.

In 2020, Golf Saudi launched its comprehensive National Golf Sustainability Strategy, which since its inception embarked on developments across several environmental, economic and social aspects of the sport. A key component of the strategy was ensuring that all golf clubs in Saudi Arabia work to improve on all levels.

“Ever since the formation of Golf Saudi, we have continued to demonstrate the strength of our collective commitment as well as our leadership in sustainability. Following news of the GEO certification across four clubs in the Kingdom shows that we are on track in our journey toward playing an active part in our sport’s contribution to prioritizing environmental and climate issues,” said Yasir Al-Rumayyan, chairman of Golf Saudi and the Saudi Golf Federation. “This follows on last year’s news when Golf Saudi became an official signatory of the UN Sport for Climate Framework, confirming our collective mission to contribute actively to Saudi’s