Hitting Golf balls in the Lake

[mcecki]

Does anyone know the environmental effects of hitting balls into the lake?

Do they release pollutants after a while or do they just sit at the bottom of the lake like a rock would and not harm anything.

I ask because my tree-hugger aunt got mad at me for hitting a few in the lake, and I couldn't see how it could be bad just sitting there at the bottom of the lake.

[Shindig]

Does anyone know the environmental effects of hitting balls into the lake?

The balls lose some of their compression, so don't play a ball that's been in the lake for more than a few days. Unless the lake is seriously acid (like, Bond-villain's dunk tank type acid), the ball won't cause any harm. They'll likely be fished out by maintenance before too long anyway. Tell your aunt (correctly) that golf has been one of the great saviors of the environment and will continue to be for generations to come.

[thehillgolfer]

there is a course on a river near where i live and me and my friends go kayaking down the river to pick up balls hit into the river sometimes, and from what i've seen they seem to be beneficial to the river, unfortunately, most of the balls have become the homes of snails and other such aquatic life, so i would say it doesnt hurt the lake

[The Rambler]

from what i hear, when you hit balls into a body of water that contains zebra mussels, the mussels will attach themselves to the balls and not more important things

[dwsell]

I just did this the other day.

I got some new irons and never had a chance to take them out on the course because we were headed down to our lake. I brought about 20 bad balls and proceeded to hit them in the lake (very well I may add). I hope it doesn't cause any damage to the wild life, never put much thought into possibly hurting anything.

[gaz d]

The balls lose some of their compression, so don't play a ball that's been in the lake for more than a few days.

What does this do/affect? i wouldnt say they do anything bad down there.

[Golf_Relocation]

i dont know, but i went down about 5 times to get some ballS :D

[disneyninja]

you might nail a fish or other such animal, but if the lake is clear and used for fishing anyway i couldn't imagine that beside it technically being considered litter (since its plastic) that it would cause much damage.

[loki]

Does anyone know the environmental effects of hitting balls into the lake?

I don't see how it would pollute or anything, however i can see why she'd get mad if you did it on purpose (didn't see if you ever made that clear or not) because it's sort of like throwing trash in the lake, that is if the trash is plastic, but i can understand how it'd touch a nerve. I still think she's silly for making a fuss.

[Hacker]

I read an artical about two guys that where on a cruse and where asking the same thing. Did the golf balls hit off the back of the ship do any harm? They ended up developing a seaweed core golf ball that is bio degradable. Sold off the idea and made millions. Tell her they are 'special seaweed balls'.

[dmz]

the only thing i can think of...the plastics in the balls could have the potential to contaminate the water. but you might have to hit a million balls or more depending on the size of the lake to cause a noticeable problem.

[MeazlesGolf]

If you don't know the answer, that's OK, but please don't suggest lying to people.

[boogielicious]

If you don't know the answer, that's OK, but please don't suggest lying to people.

Welcome to the forum.  You responded to a post from 2007.  The post date is in the upper left hand corner.  Many of us did this when we first joined, so no worries.

[Moxie Dawn]

I like hitting golf balls into the ocean and PETA can just suck it up.

[Hammer 4]

I like hitting golf balls into the ocean and PETA can just suck it up.

Not to be that guy, but there's enough crap in our water ways as it is, and adding more, imho isn't a good thang, both salt, and fresh water. I did a ton of fishing up until about a year ago, and have seen more junk in both water ways than you can imagine. Yeah, I know, it's only a golf ball, but how do we know there aren't things that get released into the water that could do some harm..?  We don't, I'd rather go to the range, or if you ahve one, a big ole field and hit balls.

As for PETA, I treat them as if they don't exist, they lie, they cover things up, ect. They don't do much for the good of any animals.

[Moxie Dawn]

Not to be that guy, but there's enough crap in our water ways as it is, and adding more, imho isn't a good thang, both salt, and fresh water. I did a ton of fishing up until about a year ago, and have seen more junk in both water ways than you can imagine. Yeah, I know, it's only a golf ball, but how do we know there aren't things that get released into the water that could do some harm..?  We don't, I'd rather go to the range, or if you ahve one, a big ole field and hit balls.

As for PETA, I treat them as if they don't exist, they lie, they cover things up, ect. They don't do much for the good of any animals.

OK. [kicks dirt] Fair points.

[Hammer 4]

OK. [kicks dirt] Fair points.

Thank You....