St Andrews Links Trust’s new move to end use of single plastic water bottles

The pioneering agreement will see Bluewater, a global leader in sustainable water purification and beverage solutions, provide purified drinking water across the St Andrews Links estate through its refill stations. They utilise the Swedish company’s advanced 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. The system will also be rolled out to the Tom Morris Bar & Grill in the Links 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 mark the deal, Bluewater has produced a special-edition line of co-branded stainless steel refillable bottles which will be launched for sale within St Andrews Links Trust’s official retail programme.

Neil Coulson, chief executive of St Andrews Links Trust, said: “As a global venue and destination with sustainability and innovation embedded into our organisational DNA, we are always looking to collaborate with like-minded organisations who can bring world-class solutions to the Home of Golf.

“The sport of golf is intimately connected with the natural world, and for us as an iconic Links venue, the need to help protect our oceans and coastlines for future generations is paramount. We are all well-aware of the terrible impacts single-use plastics cause to our environment and so we are delighted to announce this new relationship with Bluewater which will bring state-of-the-art and sustainable hydration solutions to St Andrews Links.

“Keeping our golfers and guests well hydrated out on the courses, and providing premium mineralised waters to complement our world-class dining experiences in restaurant service, is a perfect and fitting solution for our estate and our whole team is very excited to see this initiative launched.”