Golf does not have a reputation for being particularly eco-friendly.
With water-guzzling greens, deforestation to construct courses, and the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, it can be hard to play a round sustainably.
Not to mention, golf balls themselves can have a major environmental impact, as well. According to reporting from CNN, an estimated 1.5 billion golf balls have been lost in the U.S. every year since 2020.
“If those balls were laid in a row, they would extend around the Earth’s circumference more than one and a half times,” CNN explained.
Plus, traditional golf balls often use synthetic materials, like rubbers, polymers, and plastics, meaning that it can take anywhere from 100 to 1,000 years for a golf ball to decompose naturally.
With golf balls mainly ending up in lakes, rivers, and other waterways, this kind of contamination certainly doesn’t help the ocean’s plastic crisis.
So — Albus Golf, a Spanish golf ball manufacturer, came up with a solution.
The company designed the Ecobioball and Ecocoralball, golf balls that dissolve upon contact with water and release fish and coral food within 48 hours.
“I thought it would be great to have a ball that not only does not pollute the waters, but also gives something back,” Albert Buscato told CNN.
The Ecobioball is made of a recyclable plastic polymer, which dissolves completely within 48 hours, revealing a dense inner ball of natural fish food.
The company says the product is “100% safe for marine flora and fauna, manufactured with non-polluting materials and with certifications according to OECD methods for a biodegradable and non-toxic product for fish or marine microorganisms.”
With that in mind, Albus Golf said that the single-use nature of the balls makes them difficult to market to regular players. Nevertheless, the design remains useful for beachfront courses, yacht and cruise decks, or other golf areas close to marine environments.
The Ecobioball weighs just slightly lighter than the average ball, meaning they do not travel as far when they are hit — about 70-80% of the usual distance of a traditional golf ball.
Ideally, they are used during driving practice or over water and aren’t exactly a replacement for competitive golfing.
In fact, Ecobioballs are not approved for use on traditional golf courses, and Albus Golf specifically recommends using them on cruise ships, beaches, piers, hotels, and resorts.
That said, the cost of the Ecobioball is similar or cheaper than the average golf ball, with boxes of 24 or 100 balls clocking in at $58 or $196 respectively.
For recreational players, those who want to be more sustainable during practice, or resorts that offer golfing at sea, these could be a solution to swing for.
“Albus Golf was created out of the wish to protect our planet without having to stop partaking in some of the activities that we enjoy,” the company shares on its website.
“[We] are continually researching and developing innovations to improve our existing products and launch new ones, always based on the principle of respect for the environment.”
Header image courtesy of Albus Golf
