The Players: How tournament officials are trying to make the event more sustainable than ever | Golf News

Watch The Players throughout the week live on Sky Sports Golf; Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler are among the PGA Tour stars in action at TPC Sawgrass, where efforts are being made to make the tournament more sustainable than ever

The world’s top players are in Florida this week for The Players, with the PGA Tour focused more than ever to make their flagship event as sustainable as possible.

Tournament officials are working with its partners, officials and volunteers to reduce the environmental impact of hosting such a huge event, with tens of thousands of people on-site each day at TPC Sawgrass.

Fans are encouraged to bring their own empty bottles, with water available at designated refill stations located around the course, while spectators are also asked to consider alternative transportation to the event to reduce their carbon emissions.

The Players is focusing on sustainability more than ever before for the 2023 contest

Players will rehydrate from new aluminium water bottles as opposed to plastic ones, with aluminium also being used to serve the tournaments signature drink – the Sawgrass Splash.

“We’ve taken a look at all the materials that we bring into the tournament,” said Brazos Barber, the PGA Tour’s Sustainability Director. “Last year for the first time we were sorting all of the recycling on-course, as it was the only way to ensure a 100 per cent clean recycling stream.

“We were going through the trash, we came across a lot of Sawgrass Splash cups and they were made out of this hard plastic that was not recyclable. That was one of the first things we took a look at – how we change this iconic drink.”

There are more recycling bins around the course for spectators to use, with excess packaging collected and recycle in the fan shop, with all tickets published digitally to reduce paper wastage.

What about on the course?

Director of Golf Course Operations Jeff Plotts also has sustainability high on his agenda when looking to maintain the Stadium Course’s pristine condition, with water usage looking to be reduced whether possible.

“I think one of our big things is water quality which is part of water conservation,” Plotts said. “The better quality water we have, the more conservative we can be with our water usage.

The agronomy team focus

“Additionally, we’re doing a lot with native plants, as they don’t require as much water and they’re more adaptive to weather swings or weather changes

“Then finally is the electric autonomous mowers, as we’re really taking a close hard look at that. That’s helping us with the environmental and labour shortages we face from time to time.”

How else are tournament officials trying to make The Players more sustainable? Click on the video above to see Henni Goya’s behind the scenes guide from TPC Sawgrass! Watch The Players throughout the week live on Sky Sports!