Why don't golf balls float??

[DirtCheap]

Honestly...
With the massive R&D; they put into golf balls, why can't they make a quality ball that floats in water??

I would spend $4-5 per ball if I knew I wasn't going to lose any to water.

[klaymon]

Because they would have to reduce the density too much. Think about this: You can have your choice to hit a marble or a cork off the tee (same size and shape). Which one do you think will go farther and by what margin? Would you pay $4 a ball for one that floats but reduces your distance and playability by 1/2 or more?

[JaY_B]

So after you pay $5 for a ball that floats how do you plan on retrieving it when you hit the ball in to a lake and you can not reach the ball.... hmm plan failed and $5 wasted

[jamesbei]

  JaY_B said:

So after you pay $5 for a ball that floats how do you plan on retrieving it when you hit the ball in to a lake and you can not reach the ball.... hmm plan failed and $5 wasted

also i lose most my balls in rough rarely in water, so i also agree $5 or £2.50 to me wasted

[underparnv]

Actually, there are golf balls out there that float already.

A range here in Reno, Nevada at the Grand Sierra Resort is actually all water and you hit to island greens. The balls fly about the same distance as normal golf balls, and they do in fact float (so they can retrieve them).

Not sure where you would go about purchasing said golf balls though...

[jmurdock]

  JaY_B said:

So after you pay $5 for a ball that floats how do you plan on retrieving it when you hit the ball in to a lake and you can not reach the ball.... hmm plan failed and $5 wasted

Exactly. Well said.

[blackxpress]

Today I would have settled for golf balls that fly! I had the hardest time getting my iron shots in the air. It was maddening I tell ya. Maddening.

[hawkeye]

you'd see plenty more of those aquaman shots if they floated! it would turn some water hazards into bunkers - making them less penal

[michaeljames92]

to answer the original question, golf balls are more dense than water and do not contain enough air, therefore do not float

[Jack_2251]

  hawkeye said:

you'd see plenty more of those aquaman shots if they floated! it would turn some water hazards into bunkers - making them less penal

If everyone had a flat, floating platform that would stay still when they swung, then yes, you would see those shots. I guess everyone will have to go and get one?

But seriously, if golf ball floated, in the middle of a lake, you would be waiting 2 hours for it to float back into you anyway... Rounds would be a bit longer?

[DirtCheap]

  michaeljames92 said:

to answer the original question, golf balls are more dense than water and do not contain enough air, therefore do not float

Wood floats.. Ducks float... Therefore, ducks are made of wood..

Thank you Mr. Science.

[Mats++]

I remember back in the days when I first started to play golf... well it's about 17 years ago. My sponsor (read parents) thought that these floating balls were economical - enough said we lost them all in the middle of ponds.

[Fourputt]

  DirtCheap said:

Honestly...

It would completely change the playing characteristics of the ball. It would fly a shorter distance, be far more affected by the wind, and would be generally useless to most golfers.

[ERC7.5]

I think it'd just be easier to take the water hazard out of the golf courses....

[Avid Golfer]

  Fourputt said:

It would completely change the playing characteristics of the ball. It would fly a shorter distance, be far more affected by the wind, and would be generally useless to most golfers.

I agree that floating golf balls will have different properties that will not necessarily be beneficial to you. Among things that would be altered to your disadvantage would be drag on the golf ball.

Floating golf balls would be likely to skip across wather hazards in some cases, and course designers and people without floating golf balls wouldn't be too happy with other golfers using them. Beyond that golf companies like to make money, and the more golf balls you loose the more you have to buy, and the more money the golf ball companies make.