Lets talk about ball retreivers :)

[hkmp5]

So I had a gift certifcate at my local pro shop and ended up buying a Igotcha xl 18 ft compact stainless steel pall picker upper , this one is only 20 inches long so I can hide it in my golf bag so I don't look like a total idiot (lol)

I lost a brand new pro v1 under a fence last week and almost cried so I thought I would give this a try (I went back and got my pro v1 by the way)

So this evening I had nothing better to do and wanted to try out my new gadget at my local coarse water hazard, I have to admit I had a blast picking up over a hundred balls.

16 were pro v1 in like new condition a ton of callaway, nike , e.t.c.

I felt like I was picking dollars bills out of the water, But a lot of them came out of the bushes near the water .


How many other do this and have you had any problems with the coarse complaining about doing this? I could see picking up tons of balls while playing as long as no one is behind you.


am I a complete golf ball geek or what? flame suit on!

[Big_M]

I grab an occaisionally ball here and there if I can grab it with my hands or a wedge... but they always go into my shag bag.

I usually decide on a brand of ball and buy several dozen at a time, and will play those until they are gone, then buy the same, or switch.

I NEVER play a found ball... partially because I'm superstitious, partially because I like playing the same ball at all times.

[Awsi Dooger]

I've carried one for decades. Wouldn't dream of being without one. In fact, for years I lugged only 12 clubs but made sure to have the retriever.

Gotta be 18 feet, or longer. My orange plastic headed one broke this summer, smacked around in a car wreck, so once home I returned to my trusty metal head.

I'll walk the water line or fence line, just checking, if my shot is in great shape ahead but my playing partners are struggling. But I won't lull while looking for my ball, if the group behind is close.

The key is identifying your number. They should have range finders for retriever purposes. You don't want to be reaching for a ball 22 feet away when your potential is only 18. Fairly basic but I see rookie errors all the time.

Another must is to master the flip. No need to pull back all the way if you can toss it back to yourself from long range. That also allows a quicker rinse of the retriever in the lake. Can't afford messy retrievers in the bag because it potentially soils the nearby iron covers.

True story: I was booted from a junior golf tournament in Miami when I was about 14, before teeing off. The practice putting green at then-Crooked Creek Country Club in the '70s was surrounded by a moat-like area, at least 6 feet wide. While practice putting and waiting for my tee time I noticed several balls, partially hidden in the muck. I grabbed my retriever and no longer cared about the putting. It was a bonanza, more than 15 and counting. Finally a big shot at the course walked over to me and told me to stop, that the course had a contract with a company that had rights to the golf balls in their lakes. What a crock. I could tell he was serious but it was so absurd -- and myself so greedy -- that I continued to retrieve after he walked back across the street to the clubhouse.

Apparently he had tipped off the guys running the adjacent first tee of the junior tournament. They marched over to me and told me I was disqualified. I had to call my dad to pick me up, about 5 hours early.

[is2linda]

The key is identifying your number. They should have range finders for retriever purposes. You don't want to be reaching for a ball 22 feet away when your potential is only 18. Fairly basic but I see rookie errors all the time.

HAHA good stuff. Hm... my dad has one and i only use it for balls i dropped in the water. For me i dont believe in hitting balls i found under water. Its just that i believe that they are rotting balls and will potentially screws up my game. Not only that i have like a huge bucket of balls i bought from the flea market like 2 years ago.

[microcrayfish]

There's not a lot of water on the course I usually play at and what little water there is doesn't usually have many balls in it. It's all pretty clear water and relatively shallow so you can usually get your ball back easily. I never play balls I find anyway so there's not much need for me to have a ball retriever. One of my regular playing partners carries one so if I ever need to get one out of the deeper stuff I just ask him to do it.

I don't really have anything against ball retrievers as long as people don't hold up play fishing around for balls instead of playing golf.

[Fourputt]

I carry one (I've used the same one for 20 years), but I only use it to retrieve my water balls, or those of my playing companions. I don't go "fishing" with it. I don't use found balls, so it's a wasted exercise for me.

The course has contracted with a guy who makes his living by doing this. He contracts with several local courses and dives for the balls, cleans and restores them then sells them back to the courses for $.50 each. The course resells them at $1.00 each. Lots of people playing our par3 or executive 9 courses buy them, often returning them to the ponds to be recycled yet again. One has to wonder how many times he has made a profit on the same ball?

[Bullitt5339]

I don't carry a retriever yet, but I've been thinking about getting one. Whenever I find a ball on the course, it comes back home and gets put into a 5 gallon bucket that I use to practice my pitching and chipping in my yard.

[Jell0b0y]

I have one that extends to 6ft that I keep in my bag. there are 2 many people at my local muni that just go out to search for balls so getting more than a few is a good score. I mainly use it to get my chunked drives out of a couple water hazards i hit over but if I see one and not holding up others then i snag it for the shag bag.

[denver_nuggs_15]

True story: I was booted from a junior golf tournament in Miami when I was about 14, before teeing off. The practice putting green at then-Crooked Creek Country Club in the '70s was surrounded by a moat-like area, at least 6 feet wide. While practice putting and waiting for my tee time I noticed several balls, partially hidden in the muck. I grabbed my retriever and no longer cared about the putting. It was a bonanza, more than 15 and counting. Finally a big shot at the course walked over to me and told me to stop, that the course had a contract with a company that had rights to the golf balls in their lakes. What a crock. I could tell he was serious but it was so absurd -- and myself so greedy -- that I continued to retrieve after he walked back across the street to the clubhouse.

My dad played on a course where there is a hole that is very similar to the 17th at Sawgrass. He talked to someone there (course manager or something) and he said you actually had to be in a union to pick balls out of the water (people go in with scuba gear). So, that's probably the reason. I'm not sure if this is the case anymore since he went to this course like 20+ years ago.

I have a ball retriever, but rarely if ever use it. Mostly I can get my balls out with a club and that's easier than taking out my retriever from my bag. It's a good thing to have IMO as long as you don't fish with it (and hold up play).