Pond Picking

[trebmalenad]

My brother and his friend went to an old golf course that closed a few months ago and raided one of the par 3 ponds. They came back with 4 dozen golf balls. Do golf balls get waterlogged or anything from being in the water? The course closed at the end of last year. So they have at least been in there for 4 months or longer.

[Dent]

Yes they definatly get waterlogged, lose their colour and become brown if they are in there long enough. Not the best balls to use, but still useable.

[bflat450]

Yeah sometimes you will find a ball that has been half-submerged, and you can really see the line between the discoloration and normal ball. Not balls you wanna be using to shoot your best, but make for great practice balls.

[cbaileyau]

I believe the balls turn brown from algea and what not. You can usually just wipe it off. Do they actually absorb moisture though? It wouldn't be a hard expiriment: weigh some balls, put them in water, weigh them at different time intervals, see if there is a difference.

I have an intrest in this since I pull balls out of ponds and creek frequently a play with them. I have never been able to tell a difference...but thats not saying alot.

[Craig Mac]

"Testing by Golf Digest in 1996 found a golf ball submerged in water loses six yards after one week, 12 yards after three months and 15 yards after six months."

From this article http://www.g-forse.com/archive/news259_e.html

[cbaileyau]

Better just use them for practice then. I wonder if there green side behavior is affected too? Doesn't seem like they would be.

[golfunit]

I read that article in Golf Digest, too, makes sense.

I like balls found out in the woods, though.

[ganjagolfer]

"So is a ball inferior, if it has been submerged in a body of water? 'Yes' says an U.S. Army Research Laboratory study."

why is the u.s. army researching golf ball performance?

[Shindig]

"So is a ball inferior, if it has been submerged in a body of water? 'Yes' says an U.S. Army Research Laboratory study."

You don't think they set up a driving range that aims out to the desert for nothing, do you?

On a more serious note, the armed forces research divisions sponsor various forms of research that may or may not pay off at some point in the future. Whether this was a waste of army funds or might have some relevance to aquatic materials engineering isn't something I can answer.