Teenager creates innovation to make golf safer during the Covid-19 pandemic

Ethan Wittman, a 15-year-old highschool student, is also a member of the Norsk Golf Club. To help his club get back to normal operation during the Covid-19 pandemic, while keeping the players safe, he created two hole cover models.

The problem he identified was the fact that every player had to put their hand inside the holes in order to retrieve the ball – a practice that could lead to a potential spread of infection. The cover Ethan created prevent the balls from completely entering the hole, so each player can retrieve their own ball without touching anything else.

Ethan created the cover holes from his own home, using a 3D-printer he got as a present for Christmas. He called them Holey Ballz. "It probably took a week to finalize the idea and then it only takes five and a half hours for me to print one of those," said Wittmann.

He presented his invention to the General Manager at the golf club, who immediately approved of them and put them to use at the club. "It was really cool. I was pretty impressed when especially when he told me he made them on a 3D printer," stated Mike Woodward.

Due to the success of his invention, he set up a website where he is selling sets of his hole covers. As it states on the website, “A large portion of the proceeds are going to Feeding America, (..) to help out the community”, and they have been able to donate more than 1500 meals to that organization.

Adapted from: https://wkow.com/2020/06/20/mount-horeb-teenager-designs-multiple-golf-h...
https://golf.com/news/teen-make-golf-safer-covid-19/amp/

More information: https://www.holeyballz.com/

https://youtu.be/RlxmziRtpkA