Rose Grows Green
Professional golfers have the reputation of being more interested in green jackets than green issues, but that is starting to change.
In the week that the European Tour announced a 2009 calendar that will take its players to more than twenty different countries all over the world, the winner of last year's Order of Merit has revealed he has become as environmentally friendly as possible.
Justin Rose has committed to a scheme that carbon offsets all the travel he makes as well as that of his caddie, coach and fitness trainer.
"Obviously there's been a lot of talk about the environment recently and it's something that my wife and I are very much aware of," Rose says in an interview for Five Live Golf.
"Basically it's through the help of Tradition, (a financial services company) who are one of my sponsors. After I won the Order of Merit last year they said they'd like to congratulate me by giving some kind of gift.
"Kate and I suggested a tree planting programme. They then came back way bigger and better than that and said to us that they would not only offset all the carbon emissions produced by our travel but that of my whole team.
"All the ground transportation and air travel that all of us do is all offset by us investing in carbon credits or investments that give back to the atmosphere."
By European Tour standards Rose plays a relatively restricted schedule, basing himself in the US and adding mainly British and European dates.
There are also trips to South Africa, but unlike many of his Tour colleagues he does not tend to play many of the events in the Far East.
The 28 year old is not sure exactly how many air miles he racks up in a year, but knows that when you include his entourage it is a significant number.
"Obviously it's a lot of flights. I think all of us take over 100 flights a year collectively," he said.
"People say if you're concerned about the environment then don't travel. That's not really an option doing what I do.
"But there are some great projects to get involved in. One I'm going to visit down in South Africa later this year is a factory that will produce bio-mass bricks which are clean burning and a replacement for coal. I want to show my support for these kinds of projects."
Rose and his wife Kate are expecting their first child in March and the baby will be born into London and Florida homes where environmentally friendly attitudes are a big priority.
Rose said: "It goes as far as recycling at home and the little things that go on around the house and to save energy as well. Obviously with all the problems in the world right now it seems like everybody is going to be forced into these kinds of changes.
"Golfers are notorious for fast cars as well, so all these things do add up to obviously your carbon footprint being bigger than a lot of other people. Therefore probably you do have a responsibility to give a little bit back.
"A lot of us are fortunate to be in a position where we can do that just through simple schemes like tree planting. There are many ways you can go about it, but I think the first thing is just to be aware and contribute whichever way you think is fit."
Rose is one of the first golfers to go public on such issues and it is refreshing to hear a player expressing a point of view that extends beyond the accumulation of birdies and bogeys.
The temptation here is to finish with some cheesy line saying he'll never have any problems with greens again, but maybe not.......
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