There are six main reasons why golf clubs are the perfect host for a BNG project which were outlined in an article by Stephen Cirell in Golf Business Monthly in December of 2025. These were:
1 - Land
Golf clubs own and occupy large tracts of land. A decent sized 18 hole course is usually well over 100 acres. The land is already covered in biodiversity, but crucially, not all of this is usually in good condition. It is a trend in golf clubs for the maintenance money that is available to be spent on the playing surfaces (greens, fairways and tees) not the surrounding trees or rough grassland areas. It is actually an advantage that the poorer the condition of these areas the greater the gain possible from enhancement.
2 - Principal Purpose
Equally important is the fact that a BNG project does not affect the principal purpose of the land in any way ie the playing of golf. This is because nothing happens to the greens, fairways or tees; all the action is in the surrounding areas, such as trees, hedges, ditches and so on.
3 - The 30 Year Tie Up
For many large land owners who have looked at BNG opportunities, the fact that the enhanced biodiversity on the land has to be maintained for a period of 30 years is a distinct disadvantage. This is because that owner may want to sell or develop that land at some stage in the future. However, many golf courses have been in play for generations and that is unlikely to change.
Many are protected by covenants in their title deeds which prevent the land from being sold for development. In most cases, the chances are that this land will still be a golf club in 30 years time, meaning the maintenance obligation has much less of an impact.
The average golf club is struggling financially and any source of additional income will be welcome. What most clubs don’t appreciate is that the values of the BNG units that can be created are often in millions of pounds.
5 - Maintenance of the Enhanced Biodiversity
As mentioned above, the new biodiversity on the land has to be maintained for 30 years after the enhancement works are carried out. However, golf clubs have another advantage here, in that they all employ their own horticultural personnel, in the form of the greenkeeping staff.
If a contract for 30 years maintenance of the new biodiversity is tendered out, the costs will be extensive. In house, a golf club could take on one or more new members to its greenkeeping staff and then the work can all be undertaken in house. This will save a huge amount of money that would otherwise be lost from the value of the BNG deal.
6- Member and Public Support
Most golf clubs in the UK are member based clubs and have a variety of different governance arrangements in place. Usually this might mean some form of Committee of members who decide strategy and promote projects. In this instance it is likely that the wider membership of the club will be in strong support of a BNG project, particularly if it delivers benefits to the course or perhaps just a position whereby the club is getting its head above water, financially speaking, for the first time in a while.
Similarly, local developers will welcome purchasing their BNG units from a local source and one that is dedicated to the maintenance of biodiversity over an extended period. The general public are also likely to be supportive and adverse press comment is unlikely.
It is for these reasons that golf clubs across the land are starting to wake up to the potential value of BNG projects and many have already started progressing projects.