Source: SAPPI Tree Spotting KZN-Natal and Eastern Cape Jacana Media 2013
By Alistair Collier | The Business of Golf Magazine
19th JOHN COLLIER ANNUAL SURVEY
We have pleasure in publishing the 19th John Collier Annual Sustainability ESG Survey for South African golf courses. A copy of the Survey may be accessed by clicking on the link https://johncolliergolf.com/jcs-survey-19/ or through the John Collier Golf Website.
The Sustainability ESG Survey continues to provide the South African golf industry with an important benchmark for environmental stewardship, social responsibility and governance excellence (ESG) across golf facilities nationwide. Encouragingly, this year’s results show measurable progress across several key areas, reflecting a growing recognition among clubs that strong sustainability ESG practices are not only responsible, but also good business.
Participation remained strong, with 215 golf facilities contributing data — representing approximately 46% of the national sample. This broad participation allows the survey to provide meaningful benchmarking, for clubs seeking to measure their own progress against industry trends.
One of the most positive developments is the improvement in the sustainability ESG indicators, with 14 of the key performance areas showing improved levels year-on-year.
These gains reflect a gradual, but clear shift toward more structured environmental management, governance oversight, and sustainability reporting within the golf sector.
Golf has a unique capacity to lead by example in social responsibility, because it sits at the intersection of sustainability ESG management, high-level networking and land use.
The industry is a large employer, but by ‘paying it forward’ this involves moving from merely providing jobs, to building career paths including youth development programmes such as junior golf clinics, which can help to impart life skills such as self-discipline and integrity.
Furthermore, social responsibility means ensuring the facility offers benefits to more people than just golfers and is an environment in which forward thinking clubs are moving from club to hub and diversifying their service offerings.
Environmental stewardship continues to be a focus area for many clubs. For example, the number of clubs with formal environmental management policies increased to 39%, while biodiversity initiatives, and designated environmental areas, also recorded steady improvement.
These initiatives are particularly important, as golf facilities increasingly position themselves as custodians of significant natural landscapes.
Water management remains a key operational priority in a water-stressed country. While progress has been modest, the number of clubs with formal water management plans increased to 27%, and 40% of clubs now formally record irrigation water use, reflecting growing awareness of water accountability.
Beyond environmental measures, the survey highlights broader industry trends including rising participation in golf, with affiliated golfers increasing to approximately 143,500 nationally in2025, and continued growth in junior golf participation.
Overall, and underpinned by governance excellence, the survey points to an industry that is steadily embracing sustainability ESG as a management tool.
The 2026 John Collier Annual Survey recommendation is a call to clubs to implement a methodology, in respect of measuring and reporting on sustainability, based on the three ESG pillars, which underpins the mantra that those issues which are recorded and measured, can be managed, and that these practices support better governance, operational efficiency, and long-term resilience.
If you have any queries, why not contact the John Collier Golf through our website or via email ajcollier@telkomsa.net?
Yours in Sustainable Golf
JOHN COLLIER
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email ajcollier@telkomsa.net or visit the John Collier Golf website at www.johncolliergolf.com