Closing the Loop: Circularity & Golf, Together, Feeling the Flow
Part I of Single-Use Plastics, Recycling and the Golf Industry Series
Mention the phrases ‘closing the loop’, ‘circularity’ or ‘end of life solutions’ in some golf circles and people will think you are either speaking in caddie tongue or retiring to Florida to play golf. I’m generalizing for an easy laugh but this lack of understanding presents an opportunity for the golf industry to join the larger discussion regarding the circular economy.
The golf industry has long wed itself to a linear economy, the ‘take, make, dispose’ philosophy can be seen everywhere, especially within the golf equipment sector. From golf balls to clubs to apparel and accessories, market competition among manufacturers creates the mentality that we must annually purchase the new ball or club that increases accuracy or improves distance by 5 yards. However, it seems very little thought is given to what happens to these products when the manufacturers convince consumers that last year’s model is obsolete. This leads to the biggest issue with a linear economy: waste, both in terms of literal waste and the loss of money and capital.
The circular economy, on the other hand, aims to create a production system in which resource loops are closed because manufacturers are able to recover and reuse vital resources. A circular economy is based on three principles, courtesy of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation:
Design out waste and pollution
Keep products and materials in use longer*
Regenerate natural systems.
*One key to the second principle is establishing new partnerships to fill gaps within the product life cycle and supply streams so the effective life of a product or material is extended.
Graphic by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Circular Economy Meets the Golf Industry
Here are just a few aspects of the golf industry where we think further investment into circular systems should be made:
Golf Balls
Modern golf balls are constructed mostly from inner cores and layers made of rubber and synthetic rubber, and a protective outer layer made most popularly with Surlyn (a DuPont created material used as a coating or packaging material) or urethane.
The design principles of the outer layer make sense: significant resistance to water, weather, impact (have you seen long drive champ Kyle Berkshire hit a golf ball?), hot and cold temperatures, other chemicals, fungus and bacteria. This means that I can conceivably play many rounds with one golf ball but it also means that every golf ball I’ve ever lost will be around for the next 1,000 years.
Over 300,000,000 golf balls are lost or discarded in the US every year. Applying principles of a circular economy, there is a tremendous amount of value left on the table with every single one of those lost balls. There are numerous businesses that specialize in golf ball reclamation that have been in business for decades, capitalizing on the inadequacies of the average golfer. Desert Golf Ball Recyclers is one such company as they collect, process and ship over 12 million recycled golf balls annually across the US and the world.
However successful this aspect of the business is and despite its circular nature, this system is just not sustainable for the future. If and when the time comes for major golf ball manufacturers to consider their place among a net-zero emissions future, they will need to seriously reconsider how their products will interact with the natural world. The only golf balls I keep are the ones I never use because every golf ball at some point will be lost in the wild.
Golf Clubs
According to the National Golf Foundation, the golf ball and club market totals almost $3 billion annually. Thanks to a consolidated industry emerging from the great recession, competition among the leaders in the equipment industry is high. Manufacturers are continuing to innovate their clubs to help golfers play better and hit the ball farther. They dump truckloads of money into R&D programs to seek further innovation as well as marketing campaigns designed to convince us their products are better than others.
Golf clubs are made of very precious natural resources and metal composites like steel, titanium, graphite, tungsten, beryllium nickel, beryllium copper, and aluminum. If you were wondering why golf clubs are so expensive, it’s because of how intensive the research, development and production process is to accumulate all these materials and turn them into a mass produced finished product.
Applying circular logic here is not easy. Yes, like golf balls, there is a prevalent secondary market for used equipment and some manufacturers have buy-back programs but again that doesn’t solve the end-of-life stage of the clubs. Little to no information is available about how golf clubs are recycled or if the inputs can even be recaptured for use in other products.
Major golf club manufacturers (most make golf balls too) will need to overcome a significant lack of transparency if they want to be a part of a net-zero emission future. Many manufacturers have stated ethical supply chain policies and procedures but that is not the same as expressing just how much virgin material goes into the making of each golf club. These manufacturers are going to have huge challenges ahead of them to meet net-zero emissions goals if they cannot find a way to create the world’s first fully recycled golf club.
Packaging
Packaging is not just a golf issue, it is a problem across the economic spectrum but that means solutions are available. Many global consumer-brand heavyweights like Unilever, Evian and The Coca-Cola Company have set aggressive goals for their packaging to be 100% recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025. Once this trend is established and organizations begin to achieve their packaging goals, I predict manufacturers in the retail golf industry will be relatively quick to follow (golf does have a pace of play issue when it comes to progressive business practices).
No More ‘Passing the Buck’
Lastly, one notion missing from the three principles outlined above is accountability. Who is responsible for the management of any product through its lifecycle? The initial answer is obvious, it is whoever has the product currently. But shouldn’t the producer inherently hold the most responsibility because they brought the product to life from ideation to consumer’s hands? Shouldn’t they be responsible for educating downstream and end-of-life consumers on how to dispose of or extend the life of the product?
Adidas is one brand that is coming around to accept more accountability. They announced last week their commitment to being “the most progressive brand in golf” with increased attention paid to creating apparel and products from recyclable materials like plastic water bottles and polyester. There are many other small businesses that seek to support aspects of a circular golf economy, some you’ve maybe never heard of like FlagBag, Expleco, EcoWOW and garage2green*.
For golf to truly be accountable for its waste and the opportunities to minimize it, leadership must come from the top of the golf manufacturing food chain. Full and total commitment to a circular economy across the economic universe is going to rely heavily on our ability to no longer ‘pass the buck’.
*None of these companies are partners of Driving the Green and are listed solely as examples of companies in the golf industry supporting a circular economy.
