It’s true. Golfing can have a negative impact on the environment. While the most significant environmental concerns associated with golfing include the use of pesticides and fertilizers to maintain the golf course greens and the excessive use of water resources for irrigation, there’s also the use of traditional golf balls that are often made of plastic. These golf balls can take hundreds of years to decompose in landfills. When golf balls are lost or discarded in bodies of water, they can contribute to pollution and harm wildlife. Fortunately, eco friendly balls made from biodegradable or recycled materials are becoming more widely available and can help to reduce these negative impacts, like the ongoing plastic pollution problem.
While I’m not a golfer myself, I come from a family of golfers. I created this blog post mostly for myself, because I wanted to be able to find the most eco-friendly golf balls to suggest to my friends and family members. If they’re going to participate in this support, I want to encourage them to use golf balls that are better for the environment. I love to gift sustainable gifts, so I’m putting these golf balls on my gifting list for next year. In this post, I’ve compiled the very best eco friendly golf ball brands!
Why Should I Use Eco Friendly Golf Balls
There are several compelling reasons to consider using eco-friendly golf balls instead of traditional golf balls:
- Environmental impact: Standard golf balls are made from non-biodegradable materials that can take hundreds of years to decompose in landfills. When golf balls are lost or discarded in bodies of water, they can contribute to pollution and harm marine life.
- Performance: Eco-friendly golf balls are designed to perform just as well as conventional golf balls, so you don’t have to sacrifice performance for sustainability. In fact, some eco-friendly golf balls may even offer additional benefits, such as improved aerodynamics or reduced spin.
- Social responsibility: As awareness of environmental issues grows, many people are making an effort to reduce their personal impact on the environment. Using eco-friendly golf balls is one way to demonstrate your commitment to sustainability and social responsibility.
- Innovation: The development of eco-friendly golf balls is an exciting area of innovation in the golf industry. By supporting these products, you are helping to encourage further research and development of sustainable technologies in golf.
This post contains Amazon affiliate links. I make a small commission from purchases made through my links.
Ecobioball Eco Friendly Golf Balls
I wanted to share this brand first, because it’s definitely the COOLEST! Ecobioball, produced by Albus Golf, is the first ever biodegradable golf ball to contain fish food in its core! This makes it the perfect choice for golfing near marine environments. You can use these biodegradable balls on cruise lines, beaches, at seafront hotels and resorts, oil rigs, boats, yachts, etc and feel comfortable knowing these balls won’t harm wildlife.
Eciobioball makes dissolvable golf balls using non-contaminating materials and is certified biodegradable and non-toxic.
When these golf balls touch water, their external layer biodegrades in less than 48 hours, releasing the fish food contained in its core into the surrounding water. It’s a single-use product made without harmful substances.
Dixon Wind Eco Friendly Max Distance Golf Balls
The Dixon Ecofriendly Golf Balls are a step above the Ecobioball, in my opinion. They’re not 100% biodegradable BUT they are made of 100% recyclable materials. They are high performance golf balls that are also better for the environment in comparison to traditional balls.
Dixon Golf Balls come packaged in 100% recyclable packaging as well.
If you are a golfer with a slower swing speed (like junior players, new players, or senior players), the Dixon Wind is the perfect golf ball for you! Expect a more modest trajectory and maximum roll with this style ball, providing the longest possible shot from a slower swing.
You might also want to check out Dixon Earth Golf Balls – another high performance eco friendly golf ball by this brand.
Nike Recycled Mix Golf Balls
Another awesome sustainable option — choosing secondhand golf balls! Nike sells a pack of gently used golf balls. In this way, you won’t sacrifice your golf performance but can also feel good in keeping these gently used balls from going to waste. These balls usually have been used for a few holes but are still in good shape. You will see slight cosmetic blemishes, discoloration or loss of luster on some of these balls.
How wonderful to be able to purchase high quality golf balls at a great price!
Biodegradable Golf Balls
Another safe option for marine flora are these biodegradable golf balls. Just like Ecobioball, these eco golf balls are water soluble. They can dissolve in water in just a matter of weeks.
This is a Canadian company based out of Vancouver, B.C. These are some of the best biodegradable golf balls — perfect for use on a boat, beach front property, or resort.
Regular golf balls are frequently coated in zinc oxide, zinc acrylate, and benzoyl peroxide – two heavy metals and an acne cream. These chemical coatings wear off golfballs in saltwater, damaging marine life and irreversibly leeching into the water supply.
In comparison, this brand makes their balls with natural materials. They use only two simple non toxic ingredients: corn starch and polyvinyl alcohol.
The only downside to these eco-friendly balls is they’re really not intended for professional use. These balls probably aren’t the best choice for a serious golfer.
Fun fact – while researching biodegradable golf balls, I also learned about the University of Main creating biodegradable golf balls using crushed lobster shells, a byproduct of the lobster canning industry. Pretty interesting!
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Get 10% off your first zero waste order and all the latest Tiny Yellow Bungalow news!Can You Recycle Traditional Golf Balls?
Normal golf balls, which are made from a combination of rubber and plastic materials, can be recycled in certain cases. However, it is important to note that not all recycling facilities accept golf balls. You will need to check with your local recycling facility to see if they accept them. In my town, we have CHARM – the Center For Hard to Recycle Materials. This is where we can drop off our used golf balls.
If your recycling center does not accept golf balls, there are other options for recycling them. Some companies specialize in collecting and recycling used golf balls. These ball can then be sold to golf courses or other businesses that use them. You can also consider donating your used golf balls to organizations that collect them for charity events or other purposes.
Conclusion
While golfing isn’t the most environmentally friendly sport, there are steps that golf courses and individual golfers can take to minimize their environmental footprint, such as choosing eco-friendly options when it comes to golfing equipment. We hope you have found this list of sustainable golf balls to be useful. By being mindful of the impact of their sport and taking proactive steps to minimize it, golfers can enjoy their game while still protecting the environment.
