A Biodegradable Golf Ball? Yep!

Did you know that the Danish Golf Union recently figured out that it takes between 100 to 1,000 years for a golf ball to decompose naturally?

Not sure how they nailed such a specific time frame, but they did. Imagine being able to narrow it down to a tiny 900 year gap. The Danes are something I tell ya.

Considering us hackers in the United States lose an estimated 300 million golf balls each year – that’s a lotta balls, in a lotta lakes… for a lotta time.

But have no fear, help is on the way…

It’s called the "Ecobioball."

This biodegradable golf ball has an outer layer made of a recyclable plastic polymer and it degrades completely within 48 hours.

So what does it degrade into? Fish Food, of course. See the happy (and well-fed) goldfish below:

It slowly releases a high quantity of the heavy metal zinc as it disintegrates in any pond, river or lake that was fortunate enough to swallow your ball and cause you to curse like an angry sailor.

This nifty little golf ball is the brainchild of Albert Buscato, CEO of Albus Golf.

Buscato has spent over a year (and a boatload of money no doubt) working with a Spanish laboratory to determine the best option for a biodegradable golf ball.

When did he first come up with the idea for a biodegradable golf ball?

I’ll let Buscato tell you, "I was on a cruise several years ago and was frustrated not to be able to play golf… cruise lines have alternative ways for passengers to practice their swing, like in cabins with video simulators or netted cages, but I thought, 'we should be able to do the real thing’… I thought it would be fun to be able to practice golf without damaging the environment and by returning the favor… [with] a ball that not only does not pollute the waters, but also gives something back."

Since these are single-use balls, they will not cost as much as the regular golf balls we spend so much darn money on. Buscato is confident these "goldfish-friendly" balls will be a hit with golfers.

But here’s the problem, at just 50.5 grams, the golf balls are lighter than the average ball.

This means they won’t go as far when not into water.

Will biodegradable golf balls become the rage? Are golfers going to stop playing HV1’s and start hitting fish-food balls? Are the fish of the world going to get too fat?

I don’t have the answers. I wish I did, but I don’t. Only time will tell.