Christina Macfarlane reporting for CNN (November 10, 2009) in an article entitled "Golf balls: 'Humanity's signature litter' "writes that, “Research teams at the Danish Golf Union have discovered it takes between 100 to 1,000 years for a golf ball to decompose naturally. A startling fact when it is also estimated 300 million balls are lost or discarded in the United States alone, every year.”
What are Golf Balls Made of?
The Scots who devised the infuriating game started out using balls made of wood. The so-called featherie, which came along in 1618, was deemed a huge improvement. It was a stitched leather pouch stuffed with feathers.
Through design changes and improvements the modern golf ball has evolved. Casual golfers, the ones probably most likely to lose their balls, use what howmade.com describes as, “A two-piece ball...made of rubber and plastic.”
The plastic comes from surlyn or urethane blends, and that’s the reason the golf balls take so long to biodegrade.
The market is huge; howmade.com says it “is worth around $550 million in annual sales, with over 850 million golf balls being manufactured and shipped every year.”
Heavy Metals Found
In carrying out its study the Danish Golf Union came across an “analysis of a damaged golf ball which showed high concentrations of, in particular, zinc and other damaging heavy metals. The result of the test only shows what is in the ball, but not what environmental impact it may have.”
The Union also submerged used golf balls in water to simulate their lying in a water hazard. The water was then tested and found to contain small amounts of lead, cadmium, chromium, and copper, in addition to benzene, toluene, xylenes, and arsenic.
The study concluded that “The washing out of heavy metals has an effect on the bottom vegetation in lakes and waterholes on golf courses.” And, the problem is not restricted to golf courses.
Golf Balls Found in Loch Ness
The CNN story recounts how scientists were looking for the mythical Loch Ness Monster. They were using a submersible vehicle called SeaTrepid to probe the depths of the loch. They didn’t find Nessie but, according to The National Ledger (October 13, 2009), Mike O’Brien of SeaTrepid explained they found something else: “At first we thought they were mushrooms, there were so many. But when we lowered the camera, we were surprised to see that they were in fact, golf balls.”
The Scottish Sun (April 2, 2009) says “It’s thought locals and holiday-makers have been using the tourist hotspot as a driving range for many years.”
Golf Driving Practice on the Ocean
Whacking golf balls into the ocean used to be a favourite pastime on cruise ships between ports. The New York Times reported (August 21, 2007) that, “The fun ended in 1990 when the International Maritime Organization prohibited the dumping of plastic waste into the sea, which included those little white balls.”
However, the computer technology industry came to the rescue in 1997, when a company in San Diego, California developed Full Swing Golf. This is a simulator that allows golfers to experience the driving range experience without thumping untold numbers of golf balls onto the seabed. It uses real golf balls that the player drives into a screen that picks up the trajectory and shows how it would have landed on a fairway or, more likely, the rough.
The system has been installed by most cruise lines.
Biodegradable Golf Balls now Available
At pristineplanet.com, the environmentally concerned golfer can find details about water-soluble golf balls. There are also biodegradable golf tees
The Dixon Earth Ball is one biodegradable product that decomposes in water and leaves no residue. Eco Golf Balls are said to have the same properties. Meanwhile, Wilson makes a golf ball out of recycled tires, but it is not biodegradable.
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