Positive story in today’s Golfshake.com about golfers moving away from plastic tees to use bamboo alternatives

Plastic golf tees have become a major talking point as the game looks to become more ecologically sustainable. Historic Royal North Devon is among the clubs that have taken the bold step to outright ban plastic tees. Golfshake Ambassador Andy Picken wanted to learn more about the impact of this decision.

A group of 25 golf clubs in 2020 imposed a ban on the plastic tee. These included Prince’s and Royal North Devon.

I was interested to get the views of the clubs and Mark Evans, the General Manager of Royal North Devon, confirmed that in the main all golfers using the facility fully embraced the ban as they understood the importance of the venue and its significance to the North Devon Biosphere.

Mark explained that one hundred thousand bamboo tees had been provided by Ocean Tees and were given out to visitors and supplied in the club shop. Only a handful of broken plastic tees have been found since the ban and were quickly recycled.

Mark disclosed that he manages the course through an ecology agreement and partnership with Natural England.

The course sits on common land and is as natural as the day it was formed with sheep and horses roaming around whilst you are playing golf and enjoying the fantastic surroundings. Discarded and abandoned plastic tees offer a hazard to those animals and other elements of the North Devon Biosphere.