Essay by Reece Witters
Breaking with Tradition: Why Golf Needs a New Mindset
Golf has always been a game of tradition, but the future of the sport may hinge on how willing it is to break with old habits. The real story isn’t in the equipment getting longer or faster, but in how we deal with the mess left behind. Waste, overproduction and greenwashing have quietly become par for the course. But Vollē isn’t here to patch over the problem. It’s here to rebuild from the ground up - pairing high-performance gear with low-impact thinking. Not for applause, but because the game - and our ‘home of golf’, planet Earth - deserve better.
The New Zealand Ethos Behind Vollē Golf
Vollē Golf was born in New Zealand, where rugged terrain and deep cultural ties to nature shape how people live - and how they play. That ethos has become Vollē’s North Star. But instead of simply claiming the green label, the brand treats sustainability like a design challenge: to build better gear that performs harder, lasts longer and leaves less behind. It’s golf, reimagined with green utility.
The Hidden Cost of Tees: Reimagining the Everyday Essential
Start with the humble golf tee. Every year, the industry uses an estimated 4 to 5 billion pegs. To meet that demand, approximately 140,000 trees are cut down annually - yet many players still believe wooden tees are a ‘nature-aligned’ option. Bamboo tees, while often marketed as a solution, are frequently coated in synthetic lacquer containing pesky microplastics. These coatings not only pollute the soil but can jam up course equipment. And plastic - that’s out of bounds.
This is where Vollē’s Coffee Tee shapes new shots. Instead of drawing from forests or industrial plastics, it’s made from upcycled coffee grounds combined with plant-based biomaterials like sugarcane, vegetable oils and calcium carbonate. Designed to break down naturally within months, it’s a guilt-free addition to your golfer’s pocket - one that leaves no trace but a subtle aroma of a fresh morning brew. Under the right conditions, it can even encourage grass growth.
Range Balls: The Waste No One Sees
Then there’s the matter of range balls - quietly racking up a serious environmental tab. An estimated 600 million range balls go missing every year, lost in long grass, water hazards and the occasional backyard fence. Each one’s a synthetic time capsule - rubber and plastic compounds that can take up to a millennium to break down. It’s the kind of waste no one sees - until you do the math.
Enter the Vollē R, a practice ball designed not just to perform but to persist with conscious-free purpose. Made using upcycled cores and outer layers, it extends the life of what would otherwise be waste. When it’s worn out, it doesn’t get binned - it gets reborn into another. This is more than recycling. It’s rethinking the lifecycle of gear and closing the loop on one of golf’s biggest blind spots.
Mythbusting the Eco vs. Performance Debate
A common myth in the industry is that environmentally responsible gear must sacrifice performance. But that’s no longer the case. Today’s gear is built for the modern golfer - discerning, data-savvy and unwilling to compromise. There’s a growing movement of players and course operators who want more from their gear - more accountability, more transparency and values that actually line up with how they live. Vollē is answering that call by offering real alternatives and advancing the conversation. No greenwashing. No guilt trips. Just straight talk, honest materials and smarter product design.
Common Sustainability Myths in Golf:
- Bamboo is automatically better: Not if it’s mass-farmed and lacquered with synthetic coatings.
- Biodegradable always means harmless: It depends where - and how - it breaks down.
- ‘Eco gear’ means ‘less performance’: Not if it’s built from the ground up with purpose.
- Waste is a given: Not if you design to eliminate it from the start.
Aotearoa Roots, Global Mission
Vollē’s roots in Aotearoa give it a perspective that’s rare in a sport that has plenty of work to do to shake its eco-harmful perception. It’s a company proud to be pushing global boundaries while grounded in the values of its origin. It might show up on courses worldwide, but the spirit stays close to home - care, respect and a refusal to follow the auld playbook.
The Real Takeaway: A Shift in Attitude
This is about more than a better tee or a smarter range ball. It’s about a shift in attitude. One that invites every golfer to take small steps toward a bigger change. Ask better questions. Make sharper choices. And most of all, play it forward.