Ball Finding Tips - Page 3

Do they work?
 

 

Unknown, but I'd rather spend the money on some more tour yellow z-stars, which are basically impossible to lose unless you hit them right off the reservation. Only once in maybe 100 rounds has another golfer given my ball the "this might be mine" looking over in the rough between our two fairways and, yes, it was an older lady. 

 

My thoughts exactly. I'm a ball hawker (runs in the family I think...) and if you hold up play while searching, you're doing it wrong. My record number found in one round is over two dozen. I play on a private course, where the majority of balls found are of the premium variety so it's usually worth signing up for the last tee time on the tee sheet  I haven't purchased golf balls in years...

Remind me not to play with you (ha, ha).  I can't stand playing with the guys that 'meander' their way up to the green.  They're more concerned with finding balls than hitting shots or playing good golf.  One guy liked to stop and make little 'rock stacks' like you often find created at the beach, that guys was really annoying!

I'll pick up a lost ball in the woods if I find one - but it almost always goes into the practice bucket.  Don't spend time looking but if I happen to find one when, ummm, errrr, I'm helping a "friend" find their ball I'll pick it up.  When I was young (and new balls were a luxury) I used to love the firm outing - lots of drunk, bad golfers leaving new Titleists all over the place.  Ah, those were the days.

There is clearly a time and a place where ball hawking is appropriate. If I'm matched with a random player, I won't ball hawk. But usually I'm with family when I'm looking for balls during the final tee time. And to repeat, the practice runs in the family ;)

I don't just because I like hitting the same kind of ball all the time so I would not use them anyways.

walk.  I find at least a couple without looking.  If I hunt, its b/c I'm looking for my ball.   I really don't want to find a ton, as it makes my bag heavy.

I do at times.  But not a regular event and when I do find a good ball I try to make sure it was indeed abandoned before I pick it up.  Nothing is more annoying than having someone "find" your ball while you're still on the tee and then having to chase them down and get it back (that is why I always mark my balls with a unique mark).

If I am vacationing near a nice course, I will sometimes take a stroll with the family on the course after the last group goes out (with the mmgt's permission), primarily for an evening enjoyment, but also to collect golf balls.  The kids and I love to do this.

 

I remember one course in N. Carolina my wife and I were walking and it was late-dusk, almost to the point that you couldn't see very well.  We went over this small bridge and I spied three balls in the shallow water.  I went down to pick them up and the last one was sitting next to a coiled up piece of rubber tubing.  I cursed under my breath about people leaving trash on such a nice golf course and what in the world would be piece of rubber tubing be doing out here anyway when as I picked up the ball I realized that it was in fact a copperhead.  My hand shot back pretty quick and I declared my ball colecting complete for the night.

Guys...think you will all called me a nut..but in my club, NSRCC Changi location, where every 7 minutes a flight ( 701am to 430pm) will be teeing off in our 3, 9 holes course. Ball will fly all over the places and if you know where to find them.....Titleist, Noodle, Srixion etc....average i will find around 20 a round as we have to wait for the front to clear. A round of 18 holes on buggy will take around 5 hours to finish. Even will traffic marshal chasing .....

 

My record find is 68 a day. All balls i passed to my uncle group (average 60 to 75 years old)

 

This photo is only after 9 holes ball picking.....

 

http://i742.photobucket.com/albums/xx70/aquareef12345/IMG00585-20100906-1206.jpg

The #2 rated course in our state is right in our backyard.  I go out there either at night or in the fall when the rough has all been mowed and have found over 1500 balls since May.  Approximately 500 of these have  been Pro V1 or V1x's.  My record for one day is somewhere in the 60's and I have hit 50 numerous times.  I have uncles with second homes in SC who golf religiously and I sell the Pro V1's, NXT Tours and DT Solo's to them for at least $1 a ball.  Easiest money I've ever made.

IMO dont hold up play, i have collect close to a 100 one time, they go to the horse stables to shank in the farmers field. (btw courses was empty when i found those) i have been out with my uncle and cousin, dude you would think the blue light was flashing at each water hole, i would not wait, take my shot and move forward (hopefully not sideways lol) they would get the hint and move along., again course is not that busy.

A year or so after my parents retired to Florida, I was down visiting when we got invited to play at a local course with a friend of my Dad's. Nice course, plenty of woods and swamp. It wasn't 'crowded', nor was it empty. A full sheet you could say with 10-12 minutes between times. First hole was fine- on the second hole, my Dad's friend got out of his cart and walked along the woods/swamp with his ball retriever. Well, "walked" would be an overstatement. 2 steps, poke around the under growth with the retriever..2 steps, poke around. Meanwhile, we're working our way up the fairway. Dad wasn't exactly a great player but he didn't waste time, and I was booming out those drives you do as a younger man. Every hole was like this- 2 steps, poke around, etc...Oh, and his golf game sucked. We were falling behind by quite a bit, and I saw (and he saw, obviously) the Ranger coming down the fairway from the green and he hopped into the cart and started off. While my Dad was taking his shot, the Ranger had a little chat with "Pete", and then I took my shot into the green. "Pete" comes over and says: "Ranger said *you* guys have to pick up the pace, we're falling behind". I nearly had a stroke. My dad was about to burst. I calmly had Dad go back to the cart and I told "Pete"- "Look, don't give me that crap- you better not get out of that cart for anything OTHER than to hit your ball and I'll TAKE that retriever now." He got all blustery and making excuses about how he's a member and entitled to do what he wants. I said "fine- then we will leave you here because we want to play golf." We decided to not finish and only went the 9 holes and we left. Turns out, he was on their list, which is why he didn't do it on the first hole. A little while later we found out he was banned for quite some time because of it. Several YEARS later after he suffered a stroke, his wife asked if we could help figure out what to do with his golf stuff in the garage. We went over and found dozens of milk crates FILLED with balls he found on the course and never actually used or sold as far as we could tell. In his golf bag were all NEW or hardly used Titleists, so he wasn't using them. Maybe it started with a couple here and there, then a few more and then you're "that guy" at your local who nobody wants to be paired up with- then they ban you unless you stop. He obviously never stopped, but must have done something to amass all those balls and still play at his course. So, don't be that guy...

My record.

72 holes of golf in days on vacation at the course Salishan on the Oregon coast = 120 balls

18 holes that took 5,5 hrs to play waiting at each hole on Chateau Whistler course = 48 balls.

31 in 9 holes at my secret stash, mostly water balls. I know they have only been in there a month or two. I always go super early morning and play, automated card system, and I always pay to play first, never hold anyone else up.  The ones I find are not top model as it is a short exec course, but I need more balls to lose myself. One weekend I visited 3 times, and got over 50 total because a drought has caused the lakes to go low, and found them by scuffing around the edges.

 

Some stories here are amazing, 1000 balls!

 

This must be a popular pastime, paying and playing is better than the couples I see hawking at dusk without paying, though sometimes they throw down mid range balls for people to find. I feel they keep all the good ones. And most courses I play are clean in the rough, hardly find any. I feel people come and hawk consistently through the year in the rough, and don't bother with the water balls.

Oh, and thanks to RayG, my new rule is to only hawk when playing by myself, that guy would suck to play with.

I do all my hawking before or after my round, as I live on a couple holes of my home course.  I've had days where I've found hundreds (especially after the numerous scrambles the course books).  I clean them up, separate them and sell them on the Bay.  Bought a lot of equipment with the proceeds over the years.  I estimate I've sold 20,000 balls in the last ten years. Exercise and virtually free equipment.  Yeah, baby.