It is imperative that St Andrews Links switch from single-use plastic bottles to more sustainable alternatives. This move towards environmental consciousness is commendable and essential in the current global climate.
Fortunately, many golf clubs have switched to reusable steel bottles and water refilling stations, reducing single-use plastic waste. Here are just a few examples:
- Carnoustie Golf Links,
- Arabella Golf Mallorca,
- Saadiyat Beach Golf,
- Yas Links Abu Dhabi,
- Oaks Prague, etc.
Bluewater is not a new sustainable water purification and beverage solution in leading golf clubs, and St Andrews Links is about to introduce it.
You could have met with it at the 2019 Open Championship and the 2021 AIG Women’s Open. Anyway,
St Andrews Links Trust has appointed sustainable water and purification experts Bluewater as its Official Hydration Supplier to provide a next-generation drinking water solution for golfers and visitors to the Home of Golf.
As part of the agreement, Bluewater will provide purified drinking water across the St Andrews Links estate through its innovative refill stations, supporting a commitment to the removal of single-use plastic bottles from the Trust’s facilities.
The stations utilize the Swedish company’s advanced SuperiorOsmosis treatment process, which removes more than 99% of known contaminants from water to provide locally purified and chilled drinking water at the point of consumption.
The refill stations will initially be installed in both the Old Pavilion next to the first tee of the iconic Old Course and at the Halfway House serving the Old, New, and Jubilee Courses, with further installations at the Links Clubhouse, Golf Academy and Castle Course Clubhouse.
Each unit will provide free-of-charge refills of chilled and purified water. The units also feature high-bright digital TV screens to communicate key information to visitors concerning wider sustainability initiatives across the world-renowned venue.
To commemorate the agreement, Bluewater has produced a special-edition line of co-branded stainless steel refillable bottles – with free lifetime warranties – which will be launched for sale within St Andrews Links Trust’s official retail program.
Golfers and visitors will then be able to collect a unique purpose-driven souvenir to enjoy chilled and purified water while also taking home a vessel that has been designed and built to last a lifetime.
In addition to the on-course refill stations, the system will also be rolled out in the Trust’s restaurant facilities with Bluewater Mineralizer TM HoReCa systems installed in the Tom Morris Bar & Grill in the Links Clubhouse.
Marking the world-first deployment of the new system, the Bluewater Mineralizer infuses a concentrate of naturally sourced Swedish minerals – tailored to Bluewater’s own research-backed blend for optimal taste and hydration – into local water purified with SuperiorOsmosis.
The premium and sustainable table water solution will be available still or sparkling according to guest preference and will be delivered in iconic co-branded borosilicate glass bottles in 500 ml and 1,000 ml options.
The glass bottles are re-washed and re-used on-site to enhance the system’s sustainability credentials further while ending the need to transport water from distant locations along with continued glass recycling and re-ordering cycles.