Fox News covers "Green Golf"

A basic review of solar powered golf carts, solar powered irrigation pumps and Dixon Earth Golf Balls.

Dixon Golf Commercial

Don Cheadle can now add "Dixon Golf Commercial" to his list of performances which includes Oceans 11/12, Traffic, Hotel Rwanda and of course his role as a cowboy porn star Buck in Boogie Nights. But of course this isn't Cheadle's first role where he is doing good for the earth, check out this video where he portrays Captain Planet.

Used Ball Performance Comparison

Although this video is from 2009, it's still appropriate under our current economy - reselling used golf balls is big business and still growing it's market share. The overly dramatic CNBC report (enough with that sound effect!) interviews Gary Shienfield of Toronto based Knetgolf, explaining why used isn't so bad. Be sure to check out Knet's performance comparison of New vs Refinished vs Recycled Mint vs Recycled A and B grade golf balls.

GolfStinks: Golf Ball Hell

I could talk about sustainable practices in the golf industry until I'm green in the face, however golfer and industry understanding and acceptance is the deciding factor on whether these see the light of day. The hackers over at Golfstinks.com are an honest bunch, Turfhugger will be posting a number of environment related articles produced by the guys at Golfstinks who seem to understand that golf is in a transition.

You can have a nervous breakdown trying to pick out golf balls. I hope I'm not alone in this assessment, but I can literally stand in front of a wall of golf ball boxes for like an hour, trying to figure out which ones I should pick.

Golfstinks: Can You Golf Eco-Friendly?

I could talk about sustainable practices in the golf industry until I'm green in the face, however golfer and industry understanding and acceptance is the deciding factor on whether these see the light of day. The hackers over at Golfstinks.com are an honest bunch, Turfhugger will be posting a number of environment related articles produced by the guys at Golfstinks who seem to understand the transition our sport is going through.

Can You Golf Eco Friendly?

Greg D'Andrea

Let's face it, regardless of whether you believe in global warming or not, as a golfer you should be doing all you can to help protect the environment we live in. After all, golf is a game that, aside from the cart paths, is played in nature's entire splendor. And if we inadvertently ruin nature, it wouldn't be much fun teeing-off from a driving range mat and hitting onto a green made of AstroTurf, would it?

Sean Fister on Dixon Golf Balls

Sean Fister talks about the environmental initiative of Dixon Golf and the advantage of playing Dixon golf balls.

iPhone Apps For Golf Course Superintendents

While many criticize Apple’s products for their limited keyboard options, iJunkies reply “just turn it in to landscape mode”. Other points of criticism include lack of customizable themes, basic camera and Apps are only available through iTunes. Despite what hang-ups you have over Apples products, you can’t argue against their durability and lightweight making them not get in the way, and sometimes that’s the best feature of all. Apple has done a great job promoting its App’s as they do have the largest collection of all the smart-phones… for now.

Some of the “not yet Android” Apps for supers include:

Lean & Green - Golf’s future

What an excellent article!
"One issue may not have been discussed, at least not in the vain of increased environmental management concerns, since the 1980s. The source of this concern? The game’s fervent embrace of equipment technology, especially the golf ball. The ball is going so far now, golf architects – if they ever get a chance to design a new course again – must be making their courses 15-25% longer and wider. "
Golf Course Industry Magazine : Lean & Green: Golf’s future




 

Who is Dixon Golf?

Recently I had the opportunity to ask Dixon Golf Executive VP William Carey to explain why Dixon Golf chose to create a fully recyclable golf ball. I was very curious to learn what the motivation was and how their program worked.

Out of Play, Out of Mind - Where is my golf ball?

It is estimated that approximately 2.5 Million golf balls are lost per day in the US alone, requiring for over one billion to be manufactured each and every year. Totally crazy! One of my favorite factoids found on the net was that a single palm tree from the Olympic Club in San Francisco in 1999 had over 200 golf balls lodged within it! Ha!

If our sport is going to make a unified commitment to the environment we must consider and support various "green" efforts throughout the industry, and golf ball use is an easy place for all of us to start. So...what are the options and are they truly "green"?


There are a few manufacturers creating some interesting products. Dixon makes a golf ball that is 100% recyclable, the only one on the market! They will also give you a collection box where customers can return their old balls for a discount on Dixons products. Wilson's Eco-Core product uses recycled tire rubber within the core, but I can't find much more info on them. I'm waiting for a reply from Wilson.

Meanwhile, there are a few that aim to mean well, but fail at being truly "green". My least favorite option is the biodegradable eco-golf balls . These are made from Corn grown in the US, shipped to China for processing/manufacturing and then shipped all the way back here to be shot in to a pond? I fail to see whats"eco" about that. Another common "green-washing" trend amongst ball manufacturers (and most competitive consumer product markets) is the use of recycled cardboard within their packaging. Don't get me wrong I like the use of recycled cardboard but even Mc Donalds is doing that! Look at Nike's "Karma" product for example. You'd think with a name like "Karma" the product would consider it's environmental impact, before and after it's boxed life. Nope.

Of course re-used balls have been popular for years. There are numerous websites where you can purchase previously loved golf balls.

I'm a fan of this guy. Besides whats better than 12 cent golf balls? Check out his site/store here.



Golfers can do their part from the beginning and use products to help track and find golf balls with ease. Some high tech options include the Ballfinder Scout, Radar Golf and the numerous types of Glasses.

There are a number of great articles out there that discuss golf ball loss, here's a few:
BizNet - Where have all the Golf Balls gone? A Billion a year find all sorts of resting places.
Associated Content - Top Three Eco Friendly Golf Balls

Who Is Dixon Golf?

Recently I had the opportunity to ask Dixon Golf Executive VP William Carey to explain why Dixon Golf chose to create a fully recyclable golf ball. I was very curious to learn what the motivation was and how their program worked.

We have made golf balls for many years for other companies. A few years ago, it became obvious to us that golf balls presented and eco problem. We looked up the stats and found that between 200-300 million golf balls are discarded each year. That is enough balls to make a line from LA to London and back, in other words, a lot of garbage and landfill space. Also, nobody seemed to be willing to do anything about it.
We tested different products for nearly a year to find the right formula for performance as well as recycling because the whole concept doesn't work unless the ball performs as well or better than the competition. When were finally happy with the ball, we had a product that performed extremely well for the golfers and that we could grind up and recycle to make other products out of the material such as field turf and playground equipment.

We also had to go through a few changes with the recycling program. Originally, an envelope came with each box of balls so golfers could send them in. The problem with that option was that it was a bit of a hassle to take it to the post office and mail off. Earlier this year, we launched our current program where recycle bins are placed at pro shops and golf stores.
Every golfer has old balls that aren't usable for golf. Now there is a place to take them. We pay golfers to recycle all their old balls as a way to incentivize more people to participate. We give a credit of $.50/ball for any brand of ball and $1.00/ball for any Dixon golf balls toward the purchase of new balls. We recycle the Dixon balls and use the other balls in our R&D. Our goal is to eventually be able to recycle every golf ball and truly make a difference in this industry.

We are not one of the big companies in this industry and as such, we have a competitive disadvantage in the amount of money we can spend to let people know that there is an eco friendly option out there and that the ball is as good or better than the one they are currently playing. But, we are the first company to do anything like this and feel that with enough people helping our grass roots marketing, we can make a difference.

People can help the cause by simply raising awareness. They can tell their friends and ask their golf shop if they have a recycling center. The more demand there is, the bigger difference we can make.

To find a retailer or recycling center near you, visit the Dixon retailer locator.

Impressed by the efforts of Dixon Golf, Turfhugger.com has decided to hold a monthly contest using the Dixon tag line "Get On The Green". Each months contest will focus on your solutions to environmental concerns in a specific area of golf course management. Each months contest will be posted on the Right Column of Turfhugger.com and the winners, choosen by Turfhugger.com and Dixon Golf, will be awarded One Dozen of Dixon Earth Balls.