The ‘Coastal Change and Golf Links Research Project’ is established to identify current levels of coastal management understanding and engagement across links and cliff top golf courses.
The study aims to establish the levels of awareness, understanding and engagement of coastal change that are held by the relevant golf courses, national governing bodies for golf, professional golf associations and key stakeholders. The research will provide a clear account of overall levels of coastal change awareness and support this with a consideration and appraisal of existing management measures.
At the conclusion of the project the findings will demonstrate how prepared golf clubs are across the British Isles for the challenges that lie ahead and how the more proactive golf clubs are providing sustainable coastal management within their course management.
This research project (officially named ‘Coastal change project 1: Links Survey in Great Britain and Ireland’) is one of a suite of three projects funded by The R&A as part of their Golf Course 2030 programme. The three projects are managed and coordinated by Royal Haskoning DHV, an independent, international, engineering, design and project management consultancy. The research activities are led by Rev. Paul Rooney in the Department of Geography and Environmental Science at Liverpool Hope University.
As project 1, the Coastal Change and Golf Links Research Project’ will pave the way for two further projects, funded by the R&A and managed by Royal HaskoningDHV, which will build on the findings of this project to provide mechanisms to foster the uptake of intelligent and robust approaches to managing golf courses on changing coastlines
The issue to be addressed, in line with The R&A’s ‘Golf Course 2030 Coastal Change Action Plan’, is the limited awareness of coastal management with coastal golf courses, which hampers pro-active management and associated risk and opportunity.
The objective is to establish levels of awareness and activity in regard to how coastal courses are dealing with coastal change.
The project will research not only coastal clubs, but also key stakeholders and agencies to:
- establish their levels of understanding of the research theme
- understand how risk related to coastal change is being assessed and considered
- identify and summarise the best approaches to management that have been taken
The deliverable is a structured overview in the form of a report supported by a database.
All research is subject to ethical and risk assessment requirements used at Liverpool Hope University.
The research tools are:
- expert consultation employing focus group[s] at scheduled golf events/conferences along with direct one-to-one virtual contact using semi-structured interview techniques
- an on-line survey of all of the coastal links golf clubs (dune and cliff) in the British Isles
The results of the expert consultations will be used to form an on-line survey of golf clubs. Anonymity of participants will be maintained in both the expert consultations and on-line survey, but where best practice or innovation is identified, this will trigger an approach to the clubs in question for permission to showcase that work.
An interim draft report will be provided to The R&A, and then a final report will be provided to include the results of the on-line survey. Findings of the survey, once agreed by The R&A, will be selectively shared with key stakeholders and agencies to ensure that the emerging picture accurately aligns with the observations of other bodies.
The intention is that the summary findings of this research project will establish:
- levels of understanding of coastal change and risk
- the degree to which clubs/courses are actively addressing this challenge
- levels of engagement with the wider coastal management community
- whether the course is part of a coastal management plan
- levels of understanding of coastal management planning and strategy provision
- specific examples of responses to coastal management issues
- an expression of best practice in terms of informing and engaging golf clubs
- how examples of best practice can be shared and showcased
The team for this ‘Coastal Change and Golf Links Research Project’ combines Royal HaskoningDHV’s world-leading UK-based coastal management team with Rev. Paul Rooney, Head of Geography and Environmental Science at Liverpool Hope University who has unparalleled experience in stakeholder engagement in the coastal dune golfing/management field. Additionally, the project involves some of the best respected academics in the field of sand dunes and coastal golf courses. The team is also supported by The Crown Estate (England).
The research activities for this project are based at Liverpool Hope University in the Department of Geography and Environmental Science. The department hosts the UK Sand Dune Network.
Key personnel for the project are:
Liverpool Hope University
- Rev Paul Rooney - Head of Geography and Environmental Science / Director of the UK Sand Dune Network rooneyp@hope.ac.uk
- Jaap Flikweert - Project Director and Coastal Management expert
- Victoria Clipsham - Project Manager
- Christine Adnitt - Coastal Environment expert
- Mat Cork - Coastal Environment expert
Royal HaskoningDHV
Academic expert team:
- Dr James Hansom - Honorary Research Fellow, Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow
- Members of the UK Sand Dune Network
- Staff from Liverpool Hope University
Supporting partner
The Crown Estate (England) – represented by Dr David Tudor, Head of Minerals and Coastal
Coastal Change and Golf Links Research Project
c/o Department of Geography and Environmental Science
Liverpool Hope University
Hope Park
Liverpool L16 9JD
e-mail: dunes@hope.ac.uk
