The revolutionary coronavirus protection that could be coming soon to your clubhouse
It might sound like something out of the pages of a science fiction novel, but it’s the technology that’s giving one golf club an extra layer of protection against Covid.
Wimbledon Common, in south-west London, have become the first club in the country to use Nanospike – a special antimicrobial coating they believe is helping to keep staff, members and visitors safer.
Applied to virtually any surface, including equipment, furniture and touch points, it’s claimed it creates an “inhospitable environment for viruses and bacteria by impaling them on microscopic nanospikes, which penetrate and destroy membranes.
It’s said to last for 90 days and isn’t affected by regular cleaning cycles – with only abrasion able to remove it.
The treatment echoes an alternative method of utilising technology to ensure virus-free services developed by BioDecon.
Emma Pope, Wimbledon Common general manager, said: “We have taken every step we can to ensure that our club house is Covid-secure, and this seemed a logical extra level.
“We got the whole bar area treated; the process was very simple and it dried quickly. The coating is so thin you can’t actually see it’s there.”
Chris Hutber, one of Nanospike’s founders, added: “This is a really exciting technology that will make our clients’ equipment and premises safer for them and their customers.
“Unlike disinfecting, Nanospike provides protection for up to three months, and so gives people confidence that the surfaces they are touching are being kept hygienic. It’s not just a once off clean, the microorganisms continue to be eliminated all day every day.”
The company say the technology is mechanical, rather than chemical, and that nothing leaches into the environment. It’s also colourless, odourless, and does not stain fabrics.
What is your club doing to stem the threat of coronavirus? Let me know in the comments, or tweet me.
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Steve Carroll
A journalist for 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A's prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.
Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men's Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.
A part of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He currently floats at around 11.
Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.
Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.
What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; TaylorMade Stealth 2 irons; TaylorMade Hi-Toe, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.
