St Thomas’ Priory Golf Club, located on the prestigious Hawkesyard Estate in Staffordshire, England, has become the first course in Europe to install the Flexi-Pave cart path surface, developed in the United States. 

The first 40 yards of Flexi-Pave, which is manufactured from old car tyres, gravel and a patented compound, has been laid on the tenth hole at St Thomas’s with plans to upgrade the paths around the whole course.

Richard Thwaites, the course’s head greenkeeper explained why he chose Flexi-Pave ahead of asphalt or concrete. “It’s environmentally friendly and it’s a great surface to drive golf buggies on,” he said. “From a maintenance point of view, its flexible, so tree roots don’t damage it, its resistant to frost so doesn’t crack, it doesn’t let weeds through and; it’s extremely porous.”

Flexi-Pave is more usually found at war memorial sites, in children’s playgrounds and in the grounds of old people’s homes. Phil Gibson, St Thomas’ director of golf, said: “We were really impressed by the environmental credentials of Flexi-Pave. The entire Hawkesyard Estate is committed to using green resources and recycled products. We’ve learned that the recycling of car tyres is difficult, and Flexi-Pave’s manufacturing process consumes vast quantities of tyres, which is great for the environment. We are delighted to be the first golf club in Europe to install this state-of-the art surface on our buggy paths and we’ve already welcomed the green’s staff from two nearby world famous golf clubs to take a look!”