The golfing world…
The golf world ramps up this week in more ways than one - the PGA Golf Show takes place in Orlando so Social Media is awash with new product hype and inventions.
The PGA Tour reaches Torrey Pines which is Tiger’s usual first foray into tournament golf and the European Tour desert swing continues at the iconic Dubai Creek golf club.
One of the coolest product launches at the golf show is an ECO-Friendly model from a shaft brand that we have used for a while - Canada’s ACCRA Golf. They are well known for their graphite shafts and are in use on the worlds tours by Gary Woodland, Matt Kuchar, Like Donald, Scott Piercy, Natalie Gulbis and Tony Finau but they have just launched their first steel shaft. Whilst there are hundreds of graphite shaft manufacturers in the world, there are only a handful of steel shaft manufacturers as it is a much more complex process - ACCRA are owned by the biggest of these manufacturers and they have done away with applying a layer of nickel and a layer of chrome which every other shaft uses to produce the shiny finish. After applying these chemicals, the shaft needs to be dipped in water and it’s the resultant sludge that has environmental effect. Instead they have a special matt grey finish which looks really cool and could pave the way for the future of steel shafts.
Continuing the ECO theme, if you recall, we’re ceasing selling plastic tees as we run out of the current stock. Instead we’ll be selling wooden tees in brown paper bags at the same cost as the plastic ones and I’m currently getting samples from a contact who is producing bamboo tees. The benefits of bamboo is that it is harder wearing than wood, because it’s a grass it grows to full strength in 4 months and therefore is more sustainable and absorbs 5 times more carbon dioxide than wood.
I’ve also requested the manufacturers send us our products with minimal packaging, I’d rather items were slightly marked rather than covered in plastic wrap and Callaway have begun ‘Project Green’ which is their commitment to reducing their carbon footprint. Initially, golf may not seem like the best sport environmentally as the balls don’t biodegrade, we use lithium batteries and leather shoes but the counter argument is all the worlds courses are maintaining green belt areas, it’s a great sport for maintaining participants health and if a lot of money spent on golf gets directed into sustainable areas then it’s healthier for everyone involved.
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