Valencia region golf course La Galiana has been named Sustainable Golf Course of the Year for Europe, the Middle East and Africa in the prestigious 2016 IAGTO Sustainability Awards, which are awarded by the world’s golf tourism trade body IAGTO in conjunction with GEO (Golf Environment Organization).

GEO-certified La Galiana was honoured at a gala dinner marking the annual IAGTO Awards, the golf tourism industry’s top accolades, on the final night of the International Golf Travel Market at Siam Park, Tenerife.

In its citation, GEO remarked: “La Galiana wins the IAGTO Sustainability Award 2016 for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region due to their exceptional commitment throughout their operations and course and club management to the three pillars of sustainable golf: nature, resources and people.

“Since opening in an abandoned orange plantation in 2011, the club has actively promoted the environmental recovery of the area and brought employment into the region. Some of the highlights from the club’s sustainability initiatives include a 15% reduction in water use and €20,000 saving on energy bills. This has been achieved through monitoring and adjusting irrigation methods, and reduction in the management of 3000m2 of out-of-play areas.

“The introduction of native plant species has provided increased wildlife habitat and further reduced water use, leading to a 20% reduction on the course management budget.”

Located in the municipality of Carcaixent, 35 minutes from the city of Valencia, La Galiana was the first solo project of Felipe Rodriguez of Spanish design company Moon Masters and has taken part in projects at national and international level. The fact that he is also a golf pro has given him that extra vision of what a golf course should be. La Galiana is a good demonstration of this extra vision: a demanding golf layout, adaptation to natural surroundings, environmentally friendly and a commitment to high-level maintenance.

La Galiana is surrounded by the Corbera and Las Agujas mountain ranges, a natural wilderness of high environmental value. It has been very successful in regenerating areas of vegetation (returning areas to surrounding forest and integrating the planting of native species), recovering fauna (favouring the creation of habitats most suited to every type of bird and mammals as well as a wide presence of reptiles and amphibians) and the efficient management of water coming from its own spring to strengthen wet areas and lakes, which are the biological engine of our course and environment.

La Galiana Director Rafael Martinez, who accepted the award, said: “La Galiana Golf would like to thank IAGTO and the Golf Environment Organization for honouring us with the prestigious award for Sustainable Golf Course 2016 (Europe, Middle East and Africa region).

“This is an award which reinforces our benchmark status as a global golf course, a course benefitting from an unrivalled natural environment together with first class maintenance and upkeep which makes the players who visit us able to enjoy their sport to the full.

“In view of this and with the upcoming development of a hotel, this project continues to grow thanks to all the golfers who have visited and supported La Galiana.”

For more information about the 2016 IAGTO Sustainability Awards, visit www.iagto.com/awards