Golf balls take 1000 years to decompose -- will this replace Global Temperature Change?

[Viking Prince]

Golf balls take 1000 years to decompose

Golf balls are becoming a "major litter problem", according to scientists who have discovered that it takes between 100 and 1,000 years for one to decompose naturally.

In America alone, an estimated 300 million are lost each year and when scientists searched the bottom of Loch Ness searching for evidence of the monster they were startled to discover hundreds of thousands of the plastic balls. Now the Danish Golf Association has conducted research into the environmental impact of the litter.

The scientists found that golf balls release a high quantity of heavy metals during decomposition, including dangerous levels of zinc found in solid core balls. When submerged in water, the zinc attached itself to the ground sediment and poisoned the surrounding flora and fauna.

Torben Kastrup Petersen, course manager for the Danish Golf Union, said the scale of the problem is unknown.

"There has been very little research on the environmental impact of golf balls, but it's safe to say the indicators are not good. We are planning to collaborate with environmentalists in America to conduct more tests to fully explore the extent of the problem," he said.

Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, said: "From the moon to the bottom of Loch Ness, golf balls are humanity's signature litter in the most inaccessible locations. "Keep your balls on the fairway or invest in a stock of biodegradable balls."

Patrick Harvie is concerned about the environment. He wants me to change my ways and keep my balls on the fairway or else. I am not good enough to keep my balls on the fairway. I need the rough as part of my playing area. I also walk the rough to find my supply of balls. A few minutes on a public links and I have more balls than I will need for the day. So does this mean that I am a green golfer?

So what are we supposed to do? Are environmentalists foolish enough to take an effort on this (and all other products of modern technology) and ban the use of anything that if dropped into the water can poison the environment? Now hundreds of thousands of gold balls sounds like a lot of golf balls in the Loch Ness, but that does not mean this is a problem for the environmentalists to worry about. I will continue losing my balls in the woods and the ponds of America.

[Ishoss]

There has to be balls which are environmentally friendly, and if it ain't, we just invent them.

If it's a problem, it's a problem. To be honest, it shouldn't too damned hard to solve it. It's only golf balls, how hard can it be to make it the correct size and the correct weight and all that jazz, with stuff that doesn't pollute the soil? Even worse is it if it lands into dams, although I don't see why a golf-course would be near drink-water anyways.

[MadBurgerMaker]

I do my par...oh wait...we're NOT supposed to lose golf balls?

[Justinian]

There has to be balls which are environmentally friendly, and if it ain't, we just invent them.

If it's a problem, it's a problem. To be honest, it shouldn't too damned hard to solve it. It's only golf balls, how hard can it be to make it the correct size and the correct weight and all that jazz, with stuff that doesn't pollute the soil? Even worse is it if it lands into dams, although I don't see why a golf-course would be near drink-water anyways.

Well, if the "poison" from golf balls were to spread from a golf course's water trap to the surrounding watershed it could very easily seep into other water sources, but please, you would surely need billions of golf balls to effect any kind of change.

Everything we do kills the planet, I guess.

[priam11]

but please, you would surely need billions of golf balls to effect any kind of change.

You have not seen me play that bloody game.....

[hellheaven1987]

Great, time to ban Golf.

[Viking Prince]

There has to be balls which are environmentally friendly, and if it ain't, we just invent them.

If it's a problem, it's a problem. To be honest, it shouldn't too damned hard to solve it. It's only golf balls, how hard can it be to make it the correct size and the correct weight and all that jazz, with stuff that doesn't pollute the soil? Even worse is it if it lands into dams, although I don't see why a golf-course would be near drink-water anyways.

From the article:

When submerged in water, the zinc attached itself to the ground sediment and poisoned the surrounding flora and fauna.

The enviromentalist hard core are not worried about our drinking water, but the poisoning of any flora and fauna. You laugh, but when the new environmentally sound $5 golf ball is mandated....

Look what the enviromentalists did with legislating the compact fluorescent light (cfl)? All the most logical reasons were given and then pow! The good old incandescent bulb is in the trash dump of history. I had a party recently and needed some colored bulbs -- rather than be able to purchase a selection at a reasonable price, the local Home Depot now only stocks the much more expensive colored CFLs. The packaging touts the envronmental advantages and the cost savings. Surprise -- the wasted resource for a 3 hour party is not the same as an everyday bulb use. Now perhaps my wanting party bulbs was a horrible enviiromental crime to some, but I do not look at it in that manner. It was my money for a party and ....

[Justinian]

From the article:



The enviromentalist hard core are not worried about our drinking water, but the poisoning of any flora and fauna. You laugh, but when the new environmentally sound $5 golf ball is mandated....

Look what the enviromentalists did with legislating the compact fluorescent light (cfl)? All the most logical reasons were given and then pow! The good old incandescent bulb is in the trash dump of history. I had a party recently and needed some colored bulbs -- rather than b able to purchase a selection at a reasonable price, the local Home Depot now only stocks the much more expensive colored CFLs. The packaging touts the envronmental advantages and the cost savings. Surprise -- the wasted resource for a 3 hour party is not the same as an everyday bulb use. Now perhaps my wanting party bulbs was a horrible enviiromental crime to some, but I do not look at it in that manner. It was my money for a party and ....

Hosting a rave VP?

Honestly, though, it must have been a slow news day. I mean, no one really cares about golf to begin with. Even Tiger Woods thinks it's just a good way to get some fresh air and kill time.

[MadBurgerMaker]

Even Tiger Woods thinks it's just a good way to get some fresh air and kill time.

And make a billion dollars.

Fff. Poor people.

[Erik]

You laugh, but when the new environmentally sound $5 golf ball is mandated....

Because after paying $800 for some clubs, $2000 annual membership fee to join a club, and $60 per hour to play a game....you can not afford to pay $5 for a ball.

how many golf courses are actually withinn 500 mts of the loch ness lake? i reckon those balls came from one person/family

They obviously came from many thousands of tourists who think it's fun to hit a few golf balls into the lake.

[CDMan477]

For a case of Pro V1's your looking at $50 to $60 usually, so you're already paying as much as 4 dollars a ball anyway. The problem with any kind of enviroball is that you're probably going to lose out on quality (i.e. distance, spin, control).

Because after paying $800 for some clubs, $2000 annual membership fee to join a club, and $60 per hour to play a game....you can not afford to pay $5 for a ball.

Most golfers aren't members and who pays $60 an hour to play golf? Do they pay by the hour in Europe? I can pay well under $60 for greens fees and a cart on an above average course in the Mid-West U.S.

[Don in the North]

They obviously came from many thousands of tourists who think it's fun to hit a few golf balls into the lake.

links or it doesnt happen

[hellheaven1987]

Because after paying $800 for some clubs, $2000 annual membership fee to join a club, and $60 per hour to play a game....you can not afford to pay $5 for a ball.

Which comes to another point - why waste so much money just doing an useless sport that would not benefit your health?? Seriously, I never get the idea why Golf is popular; it is just an excuse for old men to say he is doing exercise.

[MadBurgerMaker]

Which comes to another point - why waste so much money just doing an useless sport that would not benefit your health?? Seriously, I never get the idea why Golf is popular; it is just an excuse for old men to say he is doing exercise.

Apparently different people find different types of things fun. Stunning, I know. Also, have you ever heard of walking for exercise? Just curious.

And you can also count me as one of those who has never heard of paying for golf by the hour. Erik's numbers aren't really representative of what the average golfer spends. It can be an expensive sport, but not everyone is a club member, owns a set of custom Callaway hybrids, etcetcetc.

[Erik]

Which comes to another point - why waste so much money just doing an useless sport that would not benefit your health?? Seriously, I never get the idea why Golf is popular; it is just an excuse for old men to say he is doing exercise.

I'm sure a big part of the appeal is exactly that it is expensive.
It makes it exclusive, and stops peasants from spoiling their fun.

And once you make a certain amount of money, it really doesn't matter how expensive something is.
You have to spend your money somewhere, and golf is probably one of the less silly ways of burning cash.
I think it can be fun, especially when you're no longer fit enough to do other sports.

[justicar5]

Which comes to another point - why waste so much money just doing an useless sport that would not benefit your health?? Seriously, I never get the idea why Golf is popular; it is just an excuse for old men to say he is doing exercise.

people enjoy it? Hell I go to LARP events, no point in them apart from buying armour and hiting each other with fake swords. Having some real swords as well I am noticebly less concerned about home security than the average person... 'oh nice you have a stanley knife? This is the English long sword, lets see who wins this fight'....

[alhoon]

Which comes to another point - why waste so much money just doing an useless sport that would not benefit your health?? Seriously, I never get the idea why Golf is popular; it is just an excuse for old men to say he is doing exercise.

Which obviously brings up the point:
Why waste so much money on useless computer games that would not benefit your health??

Because it's fun.

[Wilder]

The enviromentalist hard core are not worried about our drinking water, but the poisoning of any flora and fauna.

So am I not supposed to care about plants and animals now? The world is more than just humans, people can call me an fringe extremist for recognizing that, but I simply call that honesty.

Of couse I DO care about our drinkin water, and it would be a rare eco nut that does not.

[Viking Prince]

So am I not supposed to care about plants and animals now? The world is more than just humans, people can call me an fringe extremist for recognizing that, but I simply call that honesty.

Of couse I DO care about our drinkin water, and it would be a rare eco nut that does not.

i humbly disagree -- the eco nut blocks water development in the west. They are indeed concerned about water purity, but not about water purity for human consumption. We have an idiotic mouse in Colorado:

Preble's meadow jumping mouse - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Apr 24, 2009 ... Preble's meadow jumping mouse (Zapus hudsonius preblei) is a subspecies of jumping mouse, endemic to the upland habitats of Colorado and ...

This mouse is not even been proven to be geneticly differant as a sub-species and yet the eco-nuts use it to stop development. The same story can be told about the snail darter as well -- it was never truly endangered:

Snail darter controversy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sep 24, 2009 ... The snail darter controversy involved the delay of the construction of the Tellico Dam on the Little Tennessee River in 1973. ...

Now the snail darter is indeed under threat of extinction, but such things happen when a species is squeezed out by competition all the time. It is only now threatened by man after losing the population and volutionaty battle for the past millenia. The fact that the snail darter or the jumping mouse is rare is only a happy coincidence for the eco-nuts fighting development. The battle with the TVA did not begin with a fish and would not have ended if the darter did not exist.

If the eco-nut raise a fuss about the golf balls in the Loch Ness, it also will be to fight development and not about the drinking water.

So no, I do not agree that the eco-nuts are concerned about my drinking water.

[Don in the North]

So no, I do not agree that the eco-nuts are concerned about my drinking water.

come to australia and we give you an education on drinking water, why everyone should be concerned and just how precious and rare it really is.
alot of "eco-nuts" per se; are in the water conservation industry, and represent the complete opposite of what you are inferring