Why I worry about golf balls on Gabriola beaches
One morning a few years ago I found over five dozen golf balls on a Gabriola beach. Some were lodged between rocks, some were half-buried in sand, some were tangled in seaweed. Lots were just perched on the sand.
The tide had brought them in, but from where? I had visions of a flock of golf balls, bobbing across the sea to Gabriola from some golf course many miles away. Puzzling.
I collected all those golf balls and took them home. I don’t play golf, but I was worried that some bird or animal might eat a golf ball and die as a result. Was I worrying too much? I wondered. But anyway, golf balls all over the place don’t make for a natural-looking beach.
It’s happened many time since, the golf-balls-on-Gabriola-beach thing. (From Whalebone all the way to Sandwell.) Somebody told me that it’s all due to a guy who has waterfront property on Gabriola, and a love of golf. Apparently he likes to hit golf balls into the sea for fun and relaxation. Huh. What does he think will happen to all those golf balls?
Today I came across some photos I’d like to show to our waterfront golfer. If you’re concerned about wildlife and the environment, take a look at [link removed; see note below].
The birds in the photos aren’t the kind we have on Gabriola, but the shots show that at least some kinds of creatures eat stupid stuff made by humans — and suffer for it.
Note: This blog post used to link to the page at http://chrisjordan.com/current_set2.php?id=11 , which showed the skeleton of a bird on the sand. The bird’s stomach contents were visible, and alarming. A golf ball was one of the things the bird had eaten; perhaps that contributed to the bird’s death. I’ve removed the link to that photograph, because the photographer has re-organized his website, and – apparently – removed the photo.
Filed in birds,Gabriola Island,sea creatures 10 Comments so far
10 Responses to “Why I worry about golf balls on Gabriola beaches”
Clive on 07 Jan 2010 at 7:51 pm #
The fifth picture from the top looks like it has a golf ball – a burnt sienna colour of the core with white dimples.
The photographer in your blog mentions gyres, which are areas where winds and currents collect anything that floats, and are typically doldrums with little wind, and once floating objects enter, then don’t come out. To my knowledge there are 5 large gyres on the ocean. They have become giant swirling flotillas of plastic and waste.
Our Gabriola sea-side long ball hitter may want to consider using the nice range on the island golf course, donate his balls to the club instead of wasting them, where balls can be re-used and kept away from sea life, and stay after for a beer and darts and feel good about maybe helping out a few birds.
Gabriolan on 07 Jan 2010 at 9:45 pm #
Thanks, Clive — that does indeed look like a golf ball in the fifth photo, and I’d missed that.
I’ll mention all this to the sea-side golfer guy, if I ever meet him. I have no idea who he is. I’m hoping that one of his neighbours might see this and have a chat with him, but that’s rather a long shot.
Andrea on 08 Jan 2010 at 8:43 am #
You might also mention to golfer guy that his golf balls take 100-1000 years to decompose and while decomposing they release toxic heavy metals, especially zinc, but also tungsten, cobalt and lead. These metals get into the sediment and can poison local fauna and flora.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/SPORT/11/04/littering.golf.balls/
Dumping golf balls into the sea is specifically prohibited under an international convention called MARPOL V (International convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships) that addresses the problem of marine litter. I think the MARPOL is only binding on dumping of litter into the ocean from ships, but ethically it seems to me that people on shore should be held to the same if not higher standards.
There are apparently special biodegradable golf balls that have been developed for driving into the ocean. (May I get ahead of you, gabriolan.ca, and say “who knew” at this juncture? :)
http://www.ecogolfballs.com/
Gabriolan on 08 Jan 2010 at 10:03 am #
Oh, Andrea! Thanks so much. You’re a very handy encyclopedia. :-)
Stetler on 09 Jan 2010 at 11:33 pm #
Do golf balls float? I don’t think they do. But I’ve also found balls all along the north-side beaches. They must roll along the bottom somehow – or the golfer must stroll along the shore.
Gabriolan on 09 Jan 2010 at 11:54 pm #
Stetler — I don’t know if golf balls float or not, though a quick peek at a google search for floating golf balls seems to indicate that some golf balls float. I don’t know how these particular balls move up and down Gabriola beaches, but I don’t think the golfer is strolling along the shore. From what I heard, it’s more like he’s standing at the edge of his property and thwacking balls out into the sea.
I’m sure golfers have a more impressive term than thwacking, though.
Sue on 17 Jan 2010 at 8:25 pm #
My neighbour two doors down on Berry Pt. Rd. drives golf balls into the ocean regularly. One day I had to duck as the sun was in her eyes and she didn’t see me walking on the beach nor did she hear me yell. My neighbour on the other side loves collecting the golf balls when she’s out snorkelling. The pictures of the birds are very distressing.
Gabriolan on 17 Jan 2010 at 9:03 pm #
Gosh, Sue, that’s alarming. Do you think your golfing neighbour thinks about what happens to those golf balls? I’d love to show her the pictures of the birds.
Below Horseshoe on 19 Jan 2010 at 11:45 pm #
Hey, Gabriolan, I don’t know how many of these people there are, but I certainly know of a retired engineer (and probably his wife) on Horseshoe who love to drive balls from their lawn off of the cliff. Yes, birds and ocean are a big concern, but what about the kids and others in the Sandwell parking lot?!
Gabriolan on 20 Jan 2010 at 7:55 am #
Below Horseshoe — That’s alarming. I thought it was just the one waterfront golfer. Now we know of two waterfront golfers driving balls into the sea, and the Horseshoe engineer driving balls off the cliff. And yes, what about the people, dogs, horses, and deer below the cliff?