A BBC video imagines a Masters golf tournament with putt-putt hazards. Credit: BBC; You Tube.

What I know about golf would not fit inside the head of a putter. In fact, the only club I can name is the putter because it’s also used to play miniature golf, a game that I enjoy but excel at failing.

I must not be alone, because the BBC recently imagined what a “major mini” might look like, that is, what if the US Open or other major golf tournament were played in putt-putt format? This video I can relate to!

Also on the subject of golf, I came across this brief radio broadcast on the National Academy of Engineering’s website about biodegradable golf balls made from lobster shells. University of Maine (where else?) professor, David Neivandt, grinds the shells into powder and mixes it with a biodegradable polymer binder to make the core. The core is coated with another ecofriendly material and a ball is born.

Aside from traditional golf course water hazards, Neivandt suggests the lobster balls would be useful, for example, on cruise ship driving ranges.

In the broadcast, Neivandt says, “In a period of a week or two weeks or so the entire ball breaks down and releases the lobster back into the ocean.”

Hey Peter – I’ll be taking some time off soon to run some experiments in the Caribbean on those golf balls. I should be able to pop one into the ocean.

Hat tip to Kent Anderson and The Scholarly Kitchen.


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