For most of us, we're spending more time indoors sheltered from the winter weather with the holiday season casting a tranquil spell over the usually bustling Scottish greens. In the final few days of 2023, moving past the shortest day of the year, our minds start to ponder what the 2024 season holds. Perhaps a record low score or a trip to that bucket list golfing destination?
2023 has been an interesting year for the golf industry as a whole, from the ongoing saga of LIV vs. PGA tour to the recently announced golf ball roll-back plans. For better or worse, golf has certainly been a topic of conversation this year. From our own perspective, 2023 will be remembered fondly, with some exciting developments, collaborations and continued growth, of which we look forward to carrying momentum into 2024.
We've taken the opportunity to reflect on a great year and note some of the highlights below.
Hope you all had a great 2023 and thank you for your continued support.
All the best
Kevin
Products for the Genesis Scottish Open
It was a great honour to provide a range of recycled ocean plastic headcovers for Genesis ahead of the Scottish Open this year. Particularly with it being our home national open, it's fantastic to see this event receiving the support from both the DP World Tour and PGA Tour, with one of the best fields outside of the major championships.
What a memorable finish this year too, with the grandstand finishes from Bob MacIntyre and Rory McIlroy, with 2 of the best shots of 2023 on the 18th hole. A huge thanks to Graeme Russell at Genesis for making this collaboration possible - a real highlight for us.
A Host of New Clubs and Customers
2023 was a busy season, with the introduction of 8 new clubs stocking Tidal Links products across Scotland, England and Northern Ireland. It's fantastic to have so many high profile golf clubs onboard, looking to expand their pro shop offering with sustainability focussed products.
Environmental Recap for 2023
At Tidal Links, we developed products that were more environmentally conscious than what is in the market. But we also look across our entire operations and supply chain to be sustainable, such as labels, signage and packaging. Sustainability is threaded throughout our company and we aim to voice change in the industry. There's still a very long way to go, but we've highlighted a few areas of focus inside and outside of the golf industry.
Golf Club Sustainability Initiatives: One example of a golf club that is really focussed on their environmental impact is Carnoustie Golf Links. From irrigation upgrades to improve water efficiency and control to promote native grass species, to their collaboration with the R&A and the Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI) in producing their own environmental guide. It's extremely encouraging to see more initiatives and transparency, as more and more clubs are increasing focus and resources in this area.
COP 28: The recent summit resulted in a compromise agreement, which encouraged all signatory countries to shift away from carbon energy sources in a just, orderly and equitable manner. The positive spin on this is that the deal marked the first time in COP history that a global pact explicitly mentioned the need to move away from all types of fossil fuels. The negative spin on this is that the deal lacks a clear commitment to either phase out or phase down fossil fuels, and for not providing a clear financial plan to assist developing countries in transitioning away from fossil fuels. Lets hope that this is a significant step in the right direction, with further progress in the future.
Sustainability at Christmas: Sustainability and the festive periods don't typically go hand in hand, but we've summarised some simple tips towards a more environmentally conscious holiday season:
Reduce Packaging Waste: take care in the selection of wrapping paper, as often the paper that appears higher quality is lined with plastic. As a rule of thumb, if you scrunch up wrapping paper and it returns to its original shape then it cannot be recycled. Reusing packaging is a great way to avoid additional waste, or as a minimum try and source wrapping paper that can be recycled.
Mindful Planning and Shopping: plan your meals and shopping to avoid overbuying and overcooking. Food waste can often be a challenge over the festive period, particularly when cooking for larger numbers; however, a more measured approach with plans around how to reuse leftovers is a great way to reduce waste and cost.
Tidal Links in 2024
2023 was very much focussed on our wholesale offerings, as we gained interest from golf clubs across the UK, as well as events and corporate gifting. In 2024 we will continue to develop this area, but the intention is to focus more on the website and product offering within, with some new products that are outside of our current range.
We also have some new collaborations that we are excited about, with new clubs and businesses looking to stock Tidal Links for 2024.
Our new range of headcovers will be launching early January 2024. Keep an eye out for our announcement very soon.