Greens getting greener

Play your game. Feed the poor. Save the earth. With just one stroke.

That rather ambitious slogan is the introduction to a company that is introducing environmentally friendly and cost-effective new golf products to the Philippine market.

About a year ago, Dutch real estate developer Ferdinand Van Der Spoel moved back to the Philippines after having lived in Bulacan more than a decade ago, and was looking at business opportunities in the Philippines. His obvious choice was property, and he did venture heavily into that. However, he was also looking at ways to help poor communities here. After all, his teen daughter is half-Filipino.

“This is such a beautiful country, you can’t help but fall in love with it,” explains Van Der Spoel, who formed the Dutch Philippines Company (Duphilco) to service his real estate clients. “I am so glad to be able to live in such a beautiful place that I wanted to be able to give something back.”

One thing that struck Van De Spoel, who was also an athlete growing up in the Netherlands, was how much golf is played in Metro Manila alone.

It impressed him that foreigners flew into the country by the thousands just to be able to play more of the game for a lower cost.

Van Der Spoel was approached by a countryman living here with the idea of using deadwood and driftwood to make golf tees. However, the finished product looked rough, and was not sturdy.

“Now, everyone’s using those oversized titanium driver heads. Those wooden tees would just shatter,” Van Der Spoel thought then. “I realized we could use bamboo, instead. It’s stronger and lasts longer, and it will not hurt the environment.”

Technically, bamboo is a grass, from the poaceae family, and can be found practically anywhere in the Philippines. Van Der Spoel realized that very little was needed to make the tees, and that if you planted one bamboo, several would grow in its place. Besides, the craftsmanship needed would benefit the less fortunate. Thus was born Greentee Products (www.greenteeproducts.com).

“There is so much room for growth with these products, it just makes for an exciting working environment as well,” says Ronald Arevalo, manager of Greentee Products. “We’re also working to make the game of golf accessible to more and younger people just as it is in Europe.”

Greentee Products is also marketing golf accessories and apparel, veering away from the staid and conservative golf clothing found on the market. But the biggest project is yet to come.

Van Der Spoel and his creative team were shocked to learn that a high-end titanium driver cost upwards of P30,000. And yet, it was not fit to the customer’s height, reach, and other needs.

“We will pioneer in customizing golf clubs,” Van Der Spoel said. “Early next year, you will be able to pick the club head, the type of shaft, the length, and the grip, and we will assemble it to your specifications.”

According to Van Der Spoel, Greentee Products will still be able to make custom golf clubs more affordable than those ready-made branded clubs on the market. And they will be measured to the specifications of each client, at the same quality. In that way, more people will be able to play with clubs made specially for them, instead of buying second-hand equipment they may not really be happy with. And a percentage of all those products earn will also benefit the less fortunate.

So Greentee Products is sort of like Robin Hood, without having to steal.

Greentee products are available through Duphilco at 856-7746 and 468-0483 or throught the website, www.greenteeproducts.com.

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This writer would like to thank Isuzu Philippines for their assistance with a recent out of town coverage.