Fife Golf Trust has increased its commitment to green golfing by enrolling its seven public golf courses – including Kinghorn and Glenrothes – in the Golf Environment Organization (GEO) sustainability scheme.

The Scottish trust is following St Andrews Links by registering its facilities on the GEO OnCourse programme and working towards becoming GEO Certified, the international ecolabel for sustainable golf.

Paul Murphy, new head of golf course management for the trust, confirmed the commitment and said: “The seven courses we oversee across the Kingdom of Fife are fantastic recreational resources, very well used by local people of all ages and backgrounds. Our vision is to make them even better by deepening the positive impact in their communities, for golfers and non-golfers, to make them as ecologically rich as we can and to be even more efficient in our use of resources such as water, energy, fertilisers and pesticides.

“We considered a number of ways to achieve our vision and quickly agreed that the GEO OnCourse programme is far and away the best means to help us plan and coordinate the effort, encouraging and making it easier for greenkeepers and other staff to make improvements that bring practical results,” Murphy said. "Fife Council’s policies on sustainability – covering biodiversity, waste, climate change, pollution prevention and social inclusion are very strong and our golf facilities are well placed to meet them."