A season-long mission to collect used and unwanted golf balls and give them a second life in grassroots golf projects around the world has succeeded in gathering over 130,000 balls.
The 10-month initiative, which was organised by shipping and logistics company DP World, title sponsor of the DP World Tour, saw DP World create a special shipping container that has been steadily filling with golf balls from various stops across the DP World Tour season. Along its journey, the container has stopped in Belgium, Holland, Sweden, France, the UK before arriving back in Dubai, where it started its journey in January, for the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
The 130,024 golf balls have been collected in numerous ways, with donations from DP World Tour players, fans, professional golf ball divers, ball-collecting dogs, and children’s golf ball hunts.
The DP World has joined forces with several golf organisations to support initiatives that provide a platform for the game of golf to grow around the world, making golf more accessible to all. These organisations that include the South African Disabled Golf Association and the European Disabled Golf Association, as well as projects to encourage juniors to take up in Kenya, India and the UAE. All will now receive a proportion of the balls.
Daniel van Otterdijk, Chief Communications Officer at DP World, said: “Through our sponsorship of the DP World Tour, we wanted to find both a meaningful and memorable way to give back to the sport. This initiative has been a great way for DP World to showcase our logistics and supply chain capabilities and expertise.
“Now the collection has come full circle we are delighted to support organisations that need them most, helping share the joy of playing golf and celebrating that here in Dubai. We look forward to hearing about how the balls have been put to good use in growing the game around the world.”
