A keen golfer and entrepreneur has invented a new lightweight and environmentally-friendly paper golf tee to prevent damage to fairways during the winter months.
Nigel Nangreave, from Lichfield in England, made the prototype Divot-Stopper to protect his own lawn when practicing at home. Now his local club in Birmingham has ordered 10,000 of the innovative ‘green tees’ and he hopes other clubs – keen to avoid costly excess damage to fairways in winter – will follow suit.
Nigel, who trades as Nangreave Green Tee Golf, said, “I invented the Divot-Stopper to simulate playing a golf ball off the perfect lie and to elevate the ball away from the ground just enough for the player’s club to reach any part of the ball’s surface.
“The Divot-Stopper allows golfers to achieve maximum shot control without taking a divot. And as each Divot-Stopper costs just 2p, they are a very cost-effective way for a club to preserve their fairways.
“It is estimated that every time a player takes a chunk out of the fairway turf it costs a club 5p to repair. There are 46 potentially damaging shots in every round of golf played and, with up to 200 golfers a day using a course, these costs rapidly mount up. At just 2p each the Divot-Stopper is a great investment.”
The paper Divot-Stopper is 100 per cent recyclable and surprisingly durable. The tee also has plenty of room for printing – allowing clubs and corporate sponsors to use it as an advertising medium.
Nigel also wants golfers to take an eco-friendly approach to their golf. Eighty per cent of the 5 million regular golfers in the UK are using plastic tees which are not environmentally-friendly.
“The Divot-Stopper could wipe out unnecessary use of plastics and being biodegradable, is more eco-friendly,” added Nigel.
The R&A has awarded Divot-Stopper Rule 14.3, making it legal for use as a Competition Golf Tee, and also stated that any club wanting their players to use the product on fairways can apply a ‘local rule’.
Golf professionals from Nigel’s local golf club, Aston Wood in Sutton Coldfield, have already tested the product and the club has ordered 10,000 Divot-Stoppers. Now Nigel is inviting other golf clubs to discover the benefits to fairways and players by investing £10 for a sample pack of 400.
Nigel has launched a website www.divot-stopper.co.uk which demonstrates the UK manufactured product, and is also a secure on-line shop.