Pollution from Golf Tees

 

Golf tee remover (left) and golf tee (right)

Hi

For part of this year, I have been engaged with finding golf balls washed up on and in our local river bank, and making art and structures with them, for example here. A chance sighting of a random golf tee had me thinking "are golf balls the only direct pollution caused by golfing?", and the answer seems to be a resounding "no".

Golf tees (small platform for raising a golf ball above the grass, so it can be hit more easily) seem to be another source of pollution from golf courses. About 7 (see here) tees can be broken per round of golf. Some of these are made from plastic, but some from biodegradeable organic materials , while others are designed not to break and therefore should never be left behind. Whatever the tee, they are likely to float and so take a different path to golf balls when washed away. Bouyant tees seem more likely to float away and reach the open ocean than golf balls which sink.

The harm golf tees cause in the ocean has been documented anecdotally, but a widespread survey would be hard to do and involve examining the gut contents of thousands of birds and sea creatures to reach scientific conclusions. Nevertheless, some anecdotal evidence is strong such as: 

Golf tees and other plastic pollution implicated in seabird deaths, Los Angeles Times, 2006 

Shearwater bird ingested golf tee, Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society o/Tasmania, Volume 142(1), 2008

Turtle ingested golf tee, A citizen's guide to plastics in the ocean: more than a litter problem, 1988

Beachcomber Matt is on Instagram and is a UK collector of ocean pollution, who picks up golf tees and other pollution and uses the hashtag #golfteeatsea  . As well as golf tee pollution, he has recently highlighted Australia's recent banning of disposable vapes as a good move. That is not for the health of Australians but the health of the planet!  We just don't need more plastic crap (disposable vapes) that end up as non-recycled items in rubbish and in the rivers and oceans.

An Australian golf publication recently reported on golf tee pollution issues and posted about a club banning plastic tees. It would be good if more golf courses followed their lead, better still, Australia could ban plastic golf tees.

Regards

Steve Nurse