Royal Dublin

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Course Status

Monday January 20th. Links open for Play. Practice ground open and Buggies are permitted. Updated: 20th Jan 2025

Sustainability

The Royal Dublin Golf Club - Bull Island Nature Reserve

Ethos

At the Royal Dublin Golf Club, we are committed to protecting the rich and diverse wildlife that exists in and around our club grounds in addition to reducing our carbon footprint and striving to be a positive influence on the local community. Bull Island, which has been the home of Royal Dublin since 1889, has the most designations of any site in the country, which includes a National Bird Sanctuary, a Biosphere Reserve, a National Nature Reserve, a Special Protection Area under the EU Birds Directive, and a Special Area of Conservation under the EU Habitats Directive, while also being the subject of a Special Amenity Area Order. For this reason, we feel it is our responsibility to be custodians of nature in such a unique and awe-inspiring location as Bull Island.

What Have We Done?

Native Irish Honeybee Conservation Area

In 2023, the Royal Dublin Golf Club was designated as a native Irish honeybee conservation area by The National Irish Honey Bee Society (NIHBS). This designation requires the club to only keep native Irish honeybees in order to produce our honey. The European dark bee (Apis mellifera mellifera), also known as the native Irish honeybee is one of the only remaining pure blood population of bees in the whole of Europe meaning that it is perfectly adapted to survive in Ireland’s particular climate and floral habitats, a result of thousands of years of natural selection. It is however under threat of extinction due to hybridization with imported bees which has been the case with bee populations across the rest of Europe. This is why Royal Dublin has become one of the first golf clubs in the country to be classed as a bee conservation area and we hope we can lead by example for other establishments across the country to follow suit and make a meaningful impact on the ecological integrity of Irelands insect populations.

Lesser Centaury Protection Area

The Royal Dublin is home to the Lesser Centaury (Centaurium pulchellum), which is an extremely rare and threatened flower that is legally protected under the Flora Protection Order 2015. After several surveys carried out over the years, certain areas have been flagged as areas or potential areas where the plant proliferates, most notably around the nursing area. In order to ensure the revival of healthy populations within the club, we are in the process of ecologically managing these areas based on the recommendations of our consultant ecologist, Faith Wilson. This consists mainly of applying the correct hydrological regime in addition to recreating the ideal soil conditions that help the Lesser Centaury thrive. We are hopeful that through this process, Royal Dublin can do its part in bringing this magnificent flower back to life.

Sustainable Water Resource Management

With water management becoming a growing issue each year across all sectors, it is vitally important that businesses find ways that help reduce their water consumption. And golf is certainly no exception to this. This is why we invested in alternative modes of water usage. Luckily the course sits on large reserves of water that are replenished every year. In addition to this, the club practices sustainable methods of water usage when irrigating the course.

Wildlife Surveys

Over the years we have conducted a number of ecological assessments on the golf course to identify any ecological sensitivities that we may have and subsequently, we have modified our work practices to ensure we work in harmony with our environment while promoting the ecologically diverse wildlife that exists here. The recommendations based on these surveys have been the impetus that has driven many of the achievements that have been made at the club in recent years.

Habitat Creation – Dune Slacks

Within nature, the greater the number of diverse habitats in an environment, the greater the possibility of biological variance that can occur within that area. That is why this year we embarked on creating dune slacks on what would have otherwise been grassland of little biological importance. As Royal Dublin is located in a dune habitat, it made the most ecological sense to create a dune slack. Dune slacks are home to interesting types of vegetation and can be a haven for different animal species including birds and amphibians. We look forward to examining how the habitat evolves over the years.

Invasive Species Management

The removal of invasive species is a fundamental aspect of safeguarding the stability of a robust ecosystem. At Royal Dublin, we are determined to eradicate as many invasive species as possible over the coming years. Although there are quite a few invasive species, the most notable are Sea Buckthorn, Holm Oak, Butterfly Bush, Cordyline, and Winter Heliotrope. We have made significant progress over the past few years, but it is an ongoing battle. We are also doing our best to eradicate them without the use of herbicides which although more time consuming is much better for the surrounding wildlife. The photo is of sea buckthorn that was removed in 2019 by digging out the bushes/trees in their entirety and the material was subsequently chipped and removed off-site.

Awareness and Communication with Membership

At Royal Dublin we think it is important to inform our members of the progress the club is making on its sustainability journey. This is primarily achieved through sustainability articles in the clubs newsletter. In these articles we like to inform the members of any projects we are undertaking as well as articles about various ecological and environmental topics. These are intended to encourage golfers to pay more attention to some of the rare and wonderful habitats and the species contained within them.

Brent Geese Haven

As Bull Island is considered an area of international importance, the club has been nestled within a bird sanctuary since 1931. This brings a number of remarkable Winter visitors to the club every year. One of the most prevalent visitors are the large number of Brent Geese that can be seen feeding on the fairways throughout the Winter months. A recent study has shown that Royal Dublin has one of the highest Brent populations in all of Dublin.

Tee Gift to All Visitors

Reducing our Single-use Plastic

In a further step to minimize the club's waste output and carbon footprint, we have started an initiative to reduce the need for single-use plastic. We have done this by giving guests free water containers on arrival that they can then fill up on the course with our new solar-powered water stations. We have also brought in compostable coffee cups in the Pro Shop. Going forward, we plan to expand this programme so that the club can be free of single-use plastics.

Solar Powered Water Station

Natural “Bug Hotel”

Insects and other kinds of invertebrate species play a pivotal role in all ecosystems and due to a number of factors, many species populations have reduced significantly in the last few decades. For this reason, it is important to help wild populations in any way we can. One common trend is to make bug hotels out of used materials. At Royal Dublin we decided to try and recreate the natural habitats that invertebrates tend to thrive in. We did this by simply designating one or two areas and placing discarded twigs and branches that had been collected during Winter cleanup. Though a somewhat rudimentary approach, this method is as close to a safe and natural environment for invertebrates as can be created, which is the attitude we prefer when it comes to safeguarding biodiversity at Royal Dublin.

Finalist for International Environmental Golf Course of the Year

We are proud to be nominated for the International Environmental Golf Course of the Year and making it to the final four at this years Environmental Golf Awards at Harrogate, England this year.