They are world travellers due to their golf profession and amongst the best in the world. But what role does the environment play in the life of a professional golfer? Seven LET professionals give us their thoughts on climate change and the greenhouse effect.

How much eco-consiousness do you expect from others, friends, family?
If I see them doing something bad then I will tell them but most of my friends and family are pretty good and respect nature.

Is there a limit, where eco-consciousness comes to an end for you?
I guess there is always a limit. As long as you respect nature as much as possible then that is a start. Some people buy biodegradable clothes but I haven’t taken that step yet. I guess there is always more you can do.
Johanna Westerberg (Sweden)
Every day you are seeing news about climate change – of course I am worried about the planet. Every day you are seeing news about climate change so I am a little bit worried. I would say that I am a little bit of a green person. I think about little things that I can do like trying to use less electricity and trying to use the car less. I buy environmentally friendly products and food that is produced closer to home and stuff like that. Being a golfer it is hard because you fly all the time so in that way we are not that environmentally friendly. You have to fly in order to be able to work but we could be environmentally friendly in lots of other ways. I think it is great in Australia where they don’t use water bottles on every hole. They put a container with water on every tee and you can fill up your bottle at every hole. It eliminates a lot of plastic and a lot of litter so I think more tournaments should do that. I suppose there are limits. If it would mean not travelling to tournaments then I’m sorry but I would not be able to do my job. I could ride my bicycle more often than I do but sometimes I choose to take the car instead. Of course there is a limit to how much you can do. You can’t really go anywhere with your golf clubs without taking a car, which is a shame.

Stefanie Michl (Austria)
It’s a very good thing that the Deutsche Bank Ladies Swiss Open is making an effort to protect nature. Nowadays it is good to make a statement that you are positive and you want to change something. I think all in all it is a good thing to do. I try to do my best for the environment but obviously I need to drive my car and I waste a lot of water. I could do a lot more but I try to help when possible. There are a lot of poisonous substances used by greens staff on the golf course so it is not perfect for the environment. When I practise at Champions Gate in Florida I see the maintenance staff using a lot of blue and green substances on the golf course and I am sure it is poisonous to the ants and small creatures that live there. I am happy that Golf Gerre Losone avoids using such substances.

Bronwyn Mullins-Lane (Australia)
I take public transport where I can I partake in recycling. I think golfers can be environmentally friendly to an extent but because we are on airplanes all the time it’s a little bit difficult. I think we all try and do our little bit at home and that’s the best we can do. I am a little worried about the planet, especially at the moment when it’s snowing in England and there are heat waves in Melbourne. There is also flooding in Northern Queensland so we’ve got extremes of weather. I think if everyone does their little bit it helps. For example there are recycled, biodegradable tees that you can buy. Every little bit helps, I suppose.