Silver Lakes Golf & Wildlife Estate in Pretoria has been named one of the world’s 10 most eco-friendly golf courses by the website Golfscape.com. Silver Lakes is one of Africa’s biggest golf estate developments, with 1700 homes, yet it is rich in wildlife and birdlife, having its own game reserve.
Indigenous trees and natural rocky outcrops give the golf course an African look and feel. A river running through the estate feeds into dams and a large central lake, providing open water and marginal wetland habitat.
Water conservation is important at Silver Lakes, as is limited use of fertilisers, while energy usage is minimised in the clubhouse.
Golfscape praised Silver Lakes for conserving the environment through recyclable waste, organic fertilisers, and the use of variable speed drive (to improve water consumption).
Silver Lakes in 2016 was the first South African course to be awarded golf’s highest sustainability accolade, GEO Certified. The certification is administered and assured by the Golf Environment Organisation, the Scottish-based not-for-profit group dedicated to sustainability in the golf industry.
The other nine most eco-friendly courses are listed as Arabella Mallorca (Spain), Al Hamra (UAE), Osprey Point at Kiawah Island (USA), Mission Hills (China), Sentosa (Singapore), Emirates (UAE, Dubai), Laguna (Vietnam), Handara (Bali), Troia (Portugal).