Golfers are a curious species. They’ll spend £600 on a driver that promises an extra four yards, but ask them to carry a reusable water bottle and suddenly it’s as if you’ve suggested they play left‑handed. Yet here we are, in 2026, still watching bins overflow with single‑use plastic bottles at clubs that pride themselves on immaculate fairways, pristine greens and “environmental stewardship” printed in italics on page three of the annual report.

It’s time for golf clubs to install more water machines. Not just one lonely dispenser hidden beside the locker rooms like a shameful secret — but proper, accessible, visible hydration stations across the course. And yes, we can have a laugh about it, but the message is serious: golf can’t keep preaching sustainability while fuelling a small mountain range of discarded plastic bottles beside every tee box.

Let’s start with the obvious. Golfers drink water. A lot of it. Eighteen holes is essentially a four‑hour walk punctuated by emotional turbulence, light swearing and the occasional athletic explosion from a bunker. Hydration is not optional. But the traditional model — buy a bottle in the pro shop, finish it by the 7th, buy another at the halfway house, repeat — is outdated, wasteful and increasingly out of step with what modern members expect.

Water machines solve this, and our partners Bluewater and Water Stations are ideally placed to help. They’re simple, clean, cost‑effective and, crucially, they stop golfers treating plastic bottles like confetti at a wedding. Install them at the clubhouse, the practice area, the halfway hut and a couple of strategic points on the course, and suddenly you’ve cut single‑use plastics dramatically without asking anyone to make a heroic lifestyle change. Just fill, drink, refill, repeat. Even the most change‑averse traditionalist can manage that.

And let’s be honest: golf clubs love a chance to show they’re ahead of the curve. They’ll invest in GPS buggies, robotic mowers, swing‑analysis bays that look like NASA mission control — but a water machine? “Oh, we’ll look into that next year.” Meanwhile, the recycling bins are auditioning for the role of Mount Vesuvius.

But here’s the thing: members notice. Guests notice. Younger players definitely notice. Sustainability isn’t a marketing slogan anymore; it’s a baseline expectation. A club that can’t provide something as basic as a refill station looks out of touch, especially when every gym, airport and motorway service station has already figured it out.

There’s also a financial angle, and golf clubs never ignore those. Water machines reduce waste‑management costs, cut purchasing of bottled stock and — whisper it quietly — can even be branded. Yes, your club logo can sit proudly on the machine, reminding everyone that hydration is brought to them by the same institution that once banned denim in the dining room. Progress comes in many forms.

And if you really want to win hearts, install chilled dispensers. Nothing earns member loyalty like cold water on a hot day. You could announce a new short‑game academy and it still wouldn’t generate the same excitement as a perfectly chilled refill on the 14th tee.

Of course, humour aside, the environmental case is undeniable. The golf industry talks constantly about protecting landscapes, reducing carbon footprints and being responsible custodians of the land. Installing water machines is one of the simplest, most visible, most effective steps a club can take. It’s not radical. It’s not expensive. It’s not complicated. It’s just common sense.

Golf has always been a game of tradition, but it’s also a game of evolution. Metal woods, electric trolleys, rangefinders — all once controversial, all now standard. Water machines will follow the same path. In a few years, we’ll look back and wonder why we ever relied on plastic bottles in the first place.

So let’s get on with it. Fewer bottles. More hydration. Happier golfers. Healthier planet.

And if that isn’t a win‑win, someone’s been drinking from the wrong fountain.