Golfers often lose golf balls after hitting them into the water. However, most golfers don’t think about how long the golf ball will be in the water. Sure, golf ball divers on the course can pluck them out of the better. However, in smaller or less popular courses, they often stay there forever. As a result, many golfers are playing their part in saving the environment by switching to biodegradable golf balls.
In this post, we’ll share the environmental issues associated with traditional golf balls, the benefits of eco-friendly golf balls, and the best biodegradable golf balls in the market right now.
Read on to learn more!
The Problem with Traditional Golf Balls
The world is dealing with many environmental crises, and plastic is among the biggest contributors to this problem. At the rate we’re producing and wasting plastic, there will be more of it in the oceans, lakes, and rivers than fish in the next few decades. Most golf ball manufacturers use polyurethane and synthetic rubber polymers to make golf balls.
As a result, traditional golf balls are no different from the single-use and disposable plastic products that end up in our oceans to poison the eco-systems and harm marine creatures. The golf balls release harmful quantities of metals during decomposition, including dangerous levels of zinc.
If you’re wondering how golf balls make it to the ocean, rivers, or lakes, many golfers like to hit balls into them from shores, cruise ships, and cliffs. These balls take centuries to decompose and slowly break down into microplastics that poison the environment and even harm us as well when we consume fish and other seafood.
Benefits of Biodegradable Golf Balls
If you’re prone to losing golf balls on the course or love to hit them into a body of water just for fun, why not use biodegradable golf balls instead? Several companies have started to address this plastic problem, and some even have commercially available eco-friendly golf balls in the market.
The following are the three main benefits of biodegradable golf balls.
Water Soluble
Biodegradable golf balls break down and dissolve after a few minutes of submersion. Some even contain ingredients that can feed local wildlife or clean the water. As a result, dissolvable golf balls are practical for:
- Lake, ocean, and riverside golf
- Driving ranges with water bodies
- Yacht and cruise ships
- Gifts for eco-friendly golfers
Eco-Friendly
Traditional golf balls result in thousands of pounds of microplastics entering the ecosystem. Biodegradable golf balls allow golfers to be more environmentally conscious and responsible. Regular balls are great for professionals and competitive golfers. Even they can use eco-friendly golf balls, especially during practice.
Non-Toxic
Most traditional golf balls contain Zinc Oxide, Benzoyl Peroxide, and Zinc Acrylate. These are all heavy metals that not only damage marine life upon breaking down in the water but also leech their way into our water supply causing further damage.
The Best Biodegradable Golf Balls in the Market
1. Biodegradable Golf Balls
Biodegradable Golf Balls is a Canadian company that offers top-quality eco-friendly golf balls for yacht and resort owners, events, parties, cruise, and boaters. The company mainly focuses on biodegradable alternatives for golfers to play their part in saving the oceans and marine life. Their 100% compostable balls are non-toxic and predominantly made out of corn starch and a polyvinyl alcohol coating.
This coating is fully water-soluble and is commonly found in medicines and food. So, they’re 100% non-mutagenic and non-clastogenic. For beginners and amateurs who regularly lose balls in water, this is a great alternative to hiring a golf ball diver to retrieve your balls.
2. Albus Golf Balls
If you’re about to run out of fish food at home in a couple of days, you could manage by dropping in an Albus Golf biodegradable ball. This eco-friendly golf ball not only protects the environment from damage but plays a part in sustaining it by transforming it into fish food once it reacts with water. The golf ball fully dissolves in just two days, leaving behind a nutritious and safe food for fish in different marine conditions.
This biodegradable golf ball is now available in over 50 countries, allowing golfers to improve the biodiversity and sustainability of the marine environment while playing their favorite sport. Since it is a single-use ball, it makes it possible for environmentally conscious golfers to play golf on beaches, boats, yachts, or near lakes, rivers, and other water bodies.
3. Dixon Wind Golf Ball
Dixon Earth Golf Ball is unlike any other golf ball brand. Not only does Dixon avoid harsh heavy-metal pollutants like zinc oxide, tungsten, and lead, their biodegradable golf ball outperforms even some of the best three-piece balls on the market. It composes of proprietary polymer that is 100% recycled. So, using this ball, you can contribute to saving the environment without compromising on your performance.
Furthermore, Dixon doesn’t stop there. It uses 100% recycled materials from packaging to production to set a new standard in environmental consciousness. Most beginners and amateurs have swing speeds less than 100 mph, making the Dixon Earth golf ball a cost-effective option for improving their game.
Our Final Thoughts
The bottom line is that everyone needs to play their part in saving the environment. There are hundreds of thousands of submerged golf balls in different marine environments today. The three options on our list are all worthy options and suitable for golfers at any level. For maximum performance, we recommend you look no further than the Dixon Earth golf ball.
For multi-purpose, try out Albus Golf’s fish food golf ball. Whichever biodegradable golf ball you choose, you’ll be making a difference.
