John Collier FAQ: Getting On Board

FAQ, John Collier Survey / By

By Alistair Collier | From BG Magazine Question: I have been following various discussions, particu-larly those that relate to environmental and gover-nance matters. How important is it for us as a management team, and the board itself, to get ‘on board’ and embrace all of the requirements and how much time, money, and resources will this be likely to involve? Answer: One of the most important things with the John Collier Survey, is that the structure will allow you to identify your own goals, and then set your own pace to achieve the objectives that your club has identified. So, it is not a question of tackling all the challenges that your facility has at once – some of which may not even come into play at your facility – and this makes sense, because club’s budgets and staff structures vary enormously, as do the challenges that they face. In terms of the specific questions, there are certain ‘must dos’, and examples of these, would be that every club, or venue, has a responsibility, both in terms of its environmental and governance policies, to re-cycle waste oil responsibly, manage water consumption, wherever, and whenever possible, and note the presence of and then remove alien vegetation. The John Collier Survey’s dashboard, allows you to track your club’s progress in specific areas and monitor results for as a long as the data is input. The last aspect relates to costs, because the only new costs, if any in terms of the survey itself, would be related to the small amount of time needed each month for the designated staff member / members to input the fresh data. The upside of using the dashboard is that it allows you to track the progress made with interven-tions, such as collecting and storing run off water more efficiently. Over time, activities such as the modification in fertiliser programmes, the reduc-tion in the areas of maintained turf, will all make an impact on the bottom line and show as savings in terms of expenditure. The club’s board has an overarching responsibility and duty of care to ensure that the club is a good corporate citizen, which includes the need for it to be active in helping to protect the environment. It is not surprising that Blair Atholl Golf and Equestrian Estate has been awarded the privilege of hosting the 112-year-old South African Open Championship, which is co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and the Sunshine Tour, with Investec as the title sponsor for the next four years. The original farm was owned by South Africa’s greatest golfer and sports ambassador Mr Gary Player, and it was Mr Player’s fore-sight that sculpted the Blair Atholl golf course along the Crocodile River. What we have witnessed, since it’s opening in 2007, is a layout that has consistently appeared in the top flight of golf courses in South Africa. Perhaps of even more importance, is how the property owners, club management, staff and members have, over the past 16 years, patiently built on their stewardship over the property. The care has covered land usage, protection of heritage infrastructure, concern for nature, and the unique biodiversity of the area, management of water resources, turfgrass management, waste management, and an understanding of the club’s carbon footprint, in respect of the use of hydrocar-bons, electricity and an integrated pest management programme. To validate this stewardship programme, the club recently went through a rigorous John Collier Good Governance and Environmental Compliance audit, achieving a GOLD LEVEL COMPLIANCE CERTIFICATE. This is truly a noteworthy achievement, and an appropriate endorsement of GolfRSA’s decision to award the hosting of the Tourna-ment at Blair Atholl and to Investec for their sponsorship of the South African Open. What Blair Atholl has done so effectively, is to understand the relationship between sport and the natural environment, sport’s poten-tial for making positive social and environ-mental contributions, the environmental impacts or ‘footprint’ of sport, and for its measurement and mitigation, to underpin good managerial decisions. In terms of environmental awareness, the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – COP27 – came to a close on the 18th of November, with some positive outcomes. The primary focus of climate summits, remains to rapidly reduce emissions so that global temperature rises are kept to below 1.5°C. The question posed most frequently, is what more can countries and their citizens do? In respect of citizens, and more specifically golfers and golf clubs, the starting point is to understand your club’s carbon footprint. The best way to start developing this under-standing is to participate in the John Collier Annual Survey. The cost is minimal, and in reality, only the time it takes to collate the data, but there are many benefits. Special thanks must be extended to all those clubs that participated in the 2022 John Col-lier Survey. The results will be published in the John Col-lier Annual Survey in March 2023 with the TOP CLUB award being made on World Envi-ronment Day, which is on 5 June 2023. We extend an invitation to all clubs, through-out South Africa, to participate in the 2023 Survey. In the event you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact us via Cell phone, Email or through our website at

John Collier FAQ: Board’s Responsibilities in a Management Sense

John Collier Survey, Media Article / By

By Alistair Collier | From BG Magazine Question I am a club GM and we had a debate recently at board level about what my role is and how it intersects with the board’s responsibilities in a management sense. I thought the matter would be dealt with quickly, and that we would move on, but it turned into a complex debate. So, for clarity could you offer some sort of a summary of the board’s roles and responsibilities, not just as they are in the ‘book’, but rather in a more practical day-to-day sense? Answer I get the sense that the unasked question about micro-management is ‘lurking’ somewhere in the semi-rough with this question! The truth is that in a practical sense, and at its most basic level, a board should set strategy and overall goals, and the required budgets, by working in conjunction with its GM, CEO and or management team. Once the plans have been agreed, the board would then monitor – from afar – the progress, be on hand to support (not lead), offer advice when asked (not make unwanted inputs – the unwanted spectre of micro-management), and review progress (or otherwise) with its management team, to make any adjustments to any of the goals or strategies that might have been set in the original planning process. It sounds simple enough, but the complication is that any board’s effectiveness is directly predicated on the: Skillsets, integrity, commitment… Which each member brings to the table. Many of the issues being faced by SA’s malfunctioning SOEs can be attributed to their boards misfiring on the first of these two cylinders. As to the direct interaction between any board and its management – trust is a key factor. The board must have the trust that its management team has the skillsets to deliver the planned course of action. Conversely, management must be able to trust that the board allows get it to get on with its job and not interfere with management’s day-to-day responsibilities. If management fails there is a system of recourse to address this. The problem with the board at golf clubs is that they are rarely professional and are subject to continual change, which means that issues with personality or a new board not ‘knowing’ its management team can cause serious issues. Managing the relationships in this type of environment is an unfortunate by-product of the current system and looks unlikely to change any time soon. The sad outcome with this type of working environment will often mean that a manager will spend more time engaged in managing the politics at the facility, than in actually managing the facility! That said, some practical advice, would be for the board, and any sub-committees set up by them to assist it with its deliberations, to agree on and implement governance charters.These charters would clearly delineate those obligations and responsibilities, which fall within the ambit of the Board and sub-committees and those that fall for attention by management. Having a governance handbook, with applicable charters, would greatly assist with providing direction as to the role and separation of duties of the board on the one hand and management on the other.

FROM THE FAIRWAYS – VOLUME 1: PART 2

From the Fairways, Media Article / By

By John Cockayne | From BG Magazine DISCUSSION WITH ALISTAIR COLLIER FROM THE JOHN COLLIER SURVEY JC: You are on record as saying that the sport of golf needs to be aware that environmental and governance-related legislation continues to be promulgated, at an ever-increasing pace, with the regulatory authorities building capacity to enforce compliance. In this same context, you have also said that it would be better to be ahead of the requirements in terms of compliance, as opposed to sitting on our hands now, and then trying to play catch-up, when we hear the inevitable knock on the door. In terms of environmental awareness and governance, as a sports community, in a summarised form, where are the key areas that you feel we need to ‘up our game’? AC: In the 2021 John Collier Survey for South African Golf Courses, the research indicated that in terms of good governance and environmental compliance, the level sat at just under 31%. The results for 2022 are due to be published shortly, and it will be very interesting to see where this number will be. Notwithstanding, that many of South Africa’s golf clubs have started the ‘journey’, and in fact are already well in step with the requirements, I feel that the summary would be best pitched at its most basic level, within which, I think that the following elements are key. First, club management needs to put in place a rigorous process that monitors, records and reports relevant data in and around the course. The mantra is; that which is not monitored cannot be managed. The second is participating in an independent third-party review of the aforementioned data. JC: We hear much said about the need for transparency, especially in terms of corporate and government activities. Where does this need fit into the golf sector and how important is it? AC: Simply put, and irrespective of the business sector – transparency is a cornerstone of good governance. It is therefore vital for golf, as this transparency builds confidence in the management team, and builds trust in the brand (i.e., the golf club) with its members, potential members, the general public and regulatory authorities. JC: We have covered this point, albeit in a fragmented form, through various FAQs segments within the John Collier Survey’s section, in previous issues of BGM, but I think that it would be well worth revisiting here, and possibly in more detail than we were able to before. In phrasing the question, it is from the perspective, as per your previous comment, of those golf clubs that might not have started the process at all, or who are behind where they should be. The question is in two parts: AC: The response to your two-part question above is; when last did your club management, and or board, sit down and carry out a formal risk assessment of the club? Risk management is an enabling process that supports management, and the board or governing body, in meeting its strategic and business objectives. Notwithstanding the size of a club, in terms of membership numbers, and or budgets, clubs need to make strategic choices, and the implementation thereof requires certain risk-taking. The risk management process is therefore an integral part of strategy setting requirements, and management process, as the information produced through it, along with other sources of information, informs management decisions. To underpin the risk management process, principles 11, 12, 13 and 15 of the King IV Report on Corporate Governance for South Africa 2016 (“King IV™”), issued by the Institute of Directors in Southern Africa, encourage all entities (including golf clubs) to adopt a risk management policy and framework that is based on best practices. It is this strong governance process that can help lead golf club management teams, to discover their own solutions to the aforementioned questions.

SA Golf Trader – 14th Annual John Collier Survey

Industry News, John Collier Survey, Media Article / By

By Alistair Collier | From SA Golf Trader JOHN COLLIER SURVEY The 14th annual edition of the John Collier Annual Survey on Environmental Compliance and Good Governance of South Africa Golf Courses has been sent to golf clubs throughout South Africa. We trust that you will find this edition an interesting read, but moreover that you will derive some benefit from the findings. Notwithstanding the torrid time the golf industry has experienced during 2020, what is positive is that there was an increase in the number of clubs participating in the survey and there was a slight improvement in the national environmental compliance and good governance level of 31%. One of the findings from the survey is that a lot more attention needs to be focused on good governance compliance. The survey recommends that GolfRSA review th KingIVTM principles and apply them to their business processes as a matter of course, and then in their role as acting for and behalf of amateur golf in South Africa that these principles are made applicable through the representative associations (such as SAGA, WGSA), to the Provincial Unions and through them to the clubs. 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

FROM THE FAIRWAYS – VOLUME 1

From the Fairways, Media Article / By

By John Cockayne | From BG Magazine DISCUSSION WITH ALISTAIR COLLIER FROM THE JOHN COLLIER SURVEY Our weatherproofing discussion continues with Alistair Collier (AC), who is the founder of the John Collier Survey, and the backdrop to the discussion is the need for venues, resorts and facilities to adopt a more anticipatory thinking process, and to try to be proactive, whenever possible, practical or when budgets will allow. A tumultuous 2022, in climate terms, was capped, at least for the USA, by the bomb cyclone, which literally froze huge swathes of the USA, to bring record low temperatures across many states – 46.5 in Montana at one stage! – but the lead up to this had been no easier: Storms hit Southern Africa – Storm Ana hit Malawi, Madagascar and Mozambique in January (Rijasolo/AFP via Getty Images) A third of Pakistan was under water in September (Shahid Saeed Mirza/AFP via Getty Images) The Bordeaux region in France suffered devastating wildfires (Thibaud Moritz/AFP via Getty Images) Lightning strikes Kolkata in May (Indranil Aditya/NurPhoto via Getty Images) California hit a record 116F in September (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) Typhoon Nanmadol hit southern Japan in September (Yuichi Yamazaki/AFP via Getty Images) JC: All in all, it doesn’t make for very ‘happy’ reading, does it? AC: No, it does not, and the stakes are getting higher every year. It goes to the very core of sport environmental sustainability (sport-ES), where the research is indicating on the one hand vulnerability from exposure to stresses associated with climate change and this vulnerability’s counterpart – resilience, which is the ability to absorb shocks and still maintain function. JC: We shall be returning to these shores, but at the start of the new year, and as we are about to embark on the Eco-Diary with Sabi River Sun Resort GC in the next couple of months, I’d like to take a strategic and almost dispassionate re-look at the whole question of weatherproofing, or to put it differently, the concepts of adaptation and mitigation.We have been bombarded with bad weather news almost continuously for a year, and the pick of the crop of weather-related news stories shown at the beginning of this discussion proves it. In the preamble, we talk about the need for a change of mindset, and although I know we have covered this before, please repeat what the ideal mindset should be for golf to become more environmentally aware. AC: Using the term ‘mindset’ is key, as one needs to understand that the capacity of humans to damage planet earth’s ecological systems, has been widely acknowledged. In this same context, the global scale of the impacts, on the natural environment, are now so pervasive that human activities are primary drivers of environmental change. In this same regard, sport in general, including golf, has had and continues to have a significant impact on the environment. JC: Are we not continually in danger of looking at our environmental impact from too narrow a perspective, or even one-dimensionally? In this context, I would use an example where a club golfer will tend to see golf from the perspective of his or her club, and their monthly game of golf. However, the broader picture in golf terms, shows that golf tourism (which we shall deal with in more detail later in this discussion) is set to rise to US$ 4.8 billion by early 2023, and with these revenues will come a price to be paid environmentally. The linear nature of our thinking was also really brought home to me by the volcanic eruption in Iceland (Eyjafjallajökull) in 2010, where the grounding of European flights, over that ‘no go’ period at the height of the eruption, avoided us from generating about 3.44×108 kg of CO2 emissions per day, while the volcano emitted about 1.5×108 kg of CO2 per day over the same timespan! AC: Indeed, we are ‘guilty’ (if that is the right word) of seeing things from personal perspectives. This makes these types of discussions platform so essential, in keeping everyone updated, as to the real status and the ‘bigger picture’. As for the broader activities encompassed by sport, there is a growing body of literature in sport-ES that has noted the capacity of sports activities to adversely affect the natural environment. In respect of golf, this includes, for example, clearing of land, water usage, turfgrass management, and greenhouse gas emissions, not only from golf course equipment but also the travel aspect, which you have mentioned. All this information needs to be managed, in order to get a comprehensive picture. Research in the sport-ES field indicates increasing levels of sport environmental measurement tools, certification and reporting. From a South African perspective, the John CollierThe survey tool is ideally suited for this country’s requirements, but of real importance is the trend in international research, pointing to entities starting to calculate their carbon footprint, with a goal leading to zero carbon. Embracing a programme of environmental measurement, certification and reporting, and understanding one’s carbon footprint, illustrates a positive mindset. JC: Where does the World Cup in Qatar sit in all of this, and were the bold claims about a zero impact in environmental terms, real, just window dressing, or the result of selective and or wishful thinking? AC: Ever since the 1994 Winter Olympic Games at Lillehammer, called the “green games” the International Olympic Committee have been striving to govern host cities in delivering environmentally friendly games. The research indicates that host cities fell well short of the commitments they made. This includes the so-called environmentally compliant golf courses, such as the Olympic Golf Course in Rio de Janeiro and the Kasumigaseki Country Club at the Tokyo games. Similarly, with the World Cup Soccer, FIFA has also set out environmental standards and criteria, which bid cities need to adhere to. In respect of the FIFA World Cup held in South Africa in 2010, research by Govender, S., Munien, S., Pretorius, L., & Foggin, T., they concluded that

John Collier FAQ – Environmental & Governance Matters

FAQ, Media Article / By

By Alistair Collier | From BG Magazine John Collier Survey’s FAQs section in BGM, explores answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about good governance and environmental compliance. This issue looks at environmental responsibilities and the practical application of an environmentally sensitive set of activities in terms of a board’s overall responsibilities. Question I am a club GM and we had a debate recently at the board level about what my role is and how it intersects with the board’s responsibilities in a management sense. I thought the matter would be dealt with quickly, and that we would move on, but it turned into a complex debate. So, for clarity could you offer some sort of a summary of the board’s roles and responsibilities, not just as they are in the ‘book’, but rather in a more practical day-to-day sense? Answer One of the most important things with the John Collier Survey, is that the structure will allow you to identify your own goals, and then set your own pace to achieve the objectives that your club has identifed. So, it is not a question of tackling all the challenges that your facility has at once – some of which may not even come into play at your facility – and this makes sense, because club’s budgets and staff structures vary enormously, as do the challenges that they face. In terms of the specific questions, there are certain ‘must dos’, and examples of these, would be that every club, or venue, has a responsibility, both in terms of its environmental and governance policies, to re-cycle waste oil responsibly, manage water consumption, wherever, and whenever possible, and note the presence of and then remove alien vegetation. The John Collier Survey’s dashboard, allows you to track your club’s progress in specific areas and monitor results for as a long as the data is input. The last aspect relates to costs, because the only new costs, if any in terms of the survey itself, would be related to the small amount of time needed each month for the designated staff member / members to input the fresh data. The upside of using the dashboard is that it allows you to track the progress made with interventions, such as collecting and storing run on water more efficiently. Over time, activities such as the modification in fertiliser programmes, the reduction in the areas of maintained turf, will all make an impact on the bottom line and show as savings in terms of expenditure. The club’s board has an overarching responsibility and duty of care to ensure that the club is a good corporate citizen, which includes the need for it to be active in helping to protect the environment.

John Collier Golf FAQ – Board Responsibilities

FAQ, Media Article / By

John Collier Survey’s FAQs section in BGM,
explores answers to some of the most commonly asked
questions about good governance and environmental compliance.
This issue looks at governance and its practical application in
terms of a board’s responsibilities

Serengeti Mashie Course

“Mashed Potatoe…” A shout-out to the Mashie Course

Media Article / By

Golf fans, in general, are a pretty respectful bunch, but every so often they ditch the reverential silence of the course to shout completely random nonsense. According to Metro News in the UK, the ‘mashed potato’ shout was made famous by golf fan Andrew Widmar, who was identified by The Golf Channel as the man behind the epic outburst at the Chevron