Wood for the tees as oldest English golf club does its bit for the birdies

Royal North Devon first to insist on wildlife-safe pegs over fears of harm to animals on the course

ENGLAND’S oldest golf course has become the first to ban plastic tees over fears they are being eaten by wildlife.

The Royal North Devon Golf Club, near Bideford, took the decision at a recent committee meeting to allow only wooden tees.

It said “plastic tees are more likely to harm the birds and animals we share our wonderful course with”.

The golf club is located on common land that is grazed by sheep and horses, and it adjoins Westward Ho! beach.

From Jan 1 the shop at the club will only sell wooden tees and extra “tee bins” are being provided on the course.

A statement from the club said: “We have all seen golf tees lying around the course, both wooden and plastic. The simple fact is that plastic tees are more likely to harm the birds and animals we share our wonderful course with.

“The greenkeepers will also tell you that they can do a great deal more harm to their equipment than a wooden tee.

“So from the start of the new decade we would like all golfers to only use

‘Birds pick up the tees and they drop them all over the place, including on the beach and in the sea’

wooden tees and the pro shop will only supply wooden tees.

“If you see a plastic tee (or a wooden one for that matter) that has been discarded please place it in one of the ‘tee bins’ provided. There will soon be more of these for the other tee areas.

“Look after our environment and hopefully it will be there for many years to come.” Part of the course, that was founded in 1864, was washed away after a storm last year.

Richard Hughes, a committee member, said: “We want to keep the golf course as clean and natural as possible.

“Nature has been giving us a hard time recently and we want to placate nature to some extent.

“Birds pick up the plastic tees, that are often garishly coloured, and they drop them all over the place, including on the beach and in the sea. We have found tees in birds’ nests before.”

Tees have always existed in the game, but the first reusable tee was invented in 1892, when a rubbertopped peg was sold commercially as the “perfectum”.

Amateur golfers typically prefer using plastic tees because they don’t break as easily. Wooden tees are usually white or wooden coloured, meaning they are not so attractive to birds and decompose over time.

The national Golf Club Managers’ Association said it believed this was the first club to have banned plastic tees.