I wrote a blog called “What kind of golf balls should I buy?” a few weeks ago and I addressed the use of used balls. Since then I have stumbled into a few articles that made me curious enough to do some more research, and here’s what I found.
Adam Barr of the Golf Channel
Adam Barr of the Golf Channel gives a statement that is totally predictable. He says that used (or recovered) golf balls sell better during recessions. Wow! Who could have seen that coming? It’s no surprise that the subject gets extra attention at this time, as the Tournament Players Championship is currently taking place at Sawgrass, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, just south of Jacksonville. The 17th hole there is famous for its green, which is almost totally surrounded by water.
Used golf balls are a big business. With many premium balls costing in the area of $4.00 apiece, it seems that many golfers, if not the majority, are spending a little more time and effort looking for the ones that go into the brush or woods. I always hesitate to look in dense brush or the abundant palmettos here in Florida having heard many stories about encounters with snakes. I hate snakes and in that respect I am by no means unique. I have seen skin divers in many of the water hazards here in Florida. One of these days I’ll talk to somebody that does this, because alligators are an issue here. Now, I like alligators just fine – from a distance. At one of my favorite courses gator sightings are, if not commonplace, certainly not unusual.
Barr recounts a conversation with Jim Best, who says he pulls 120,000 balls per year out of the water at that 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass. Best says he’s been doing this for 10 years, and it took time to develop a successful technique. Not something I ever thought about. The silt at the pond bottom is very fine, and it has a tendency to rise up and destroy visibility. He’s also had some close encounters of the first kind with gators. Some start getting aggressive when they reach eight to nine feet in length. A fourteen footer came with in four feet of him, but that wasn’t at TPC Sawgrass.
I saw an episode of “How It’s Made” about golf ball manufacturing. It came as a surprise to me that golf balls are painted. I guess I has always assumed that the color came from the suryln or composite material itself. The show was pretty interesting, but then I like that show.
And, who knew, there are specific differences in used balls. Recycled or refinished? (Tastes great or less filling?) Patrick Daniels of Second Chance Golf Balls says that recycled means that a “lake ball” has been fished out and allowed or encouraged to dry. Refinished balls, though, are sometimes sold by companies that buy these recovered balls, repaint them and put somebody else’s name on them. So mavbe you bought a used ball that says Titleist on it, but it actually was originally manufactured as a Pinnacle. And the ratio for sale is roughly 10 recycled balls to 1 refinished.
Stay tuned for More about Golf Balls Part 2, folks!
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Dave's Divots 
More about Golf Balls Part 1
Posted in Commentary, Golf Analysis, Golf Commentary, tagged "How It's Made", 17th hole, Adam Barr, alligators, big business, close encounters, Florida, gators, glof golf balls, golf, golf ball manufacturing, Golf Channel, golfers, green, Jacksonville, Jim Best, lake ball, Patrick Daniels, Pinnacle, Ponte Vedra Beach, premium golf balls, recycled golf balls, refinished golf balls, Sawgrass, skin divers, snakes, suryln, Titleist, Tournament Players Championship, used golf balls, water hazards on May 8, 2009| Leave a Comment »
I wrote a blog called “What kind of golf balls should I buy?” a few weeks ago and I addressed the use of used balls. Since then I have stumbled into a few articles that made me curious enough to do some more research, and here’s what I found.
Adam Barr of the Golf Channel
Adam Barr of the Golf Channel gives a statement that is totally predictable. He says that used (or recovered) golf balls sell better during recessions. Wow! Who could have seen that coming? It’s no surprise that the subject gets extra attention at this time, as the Tournament Players Championship is currently taking place at Sawgrass, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, just south of Jacksonville. The 17th hole there is famous for its green, which is almost totally surrounded by water.
Used golf balls are a big business. With many premium balls costing in the area of $4.00 apiece, it seems that many golfers, if not the majority, are spending a little more time and effort looking for the ones that go into the brush or woods. I always hesitate to look in dense brush or the abundant palmettos here in Florida having heard many stories about encounters with snakes. I hate snakes and in that respect I am by no means unique. I have seen skin divers in many of the water hazards here in Florida. One of these days I’ll talk to somebody that does this, because alligators are an issue here. Now, I like alligators just fine – from a distance. At one of my favorite courses gator sightings are, if not commonplace, certainly not unusual.
Barr recounts a conversation with Jim Best, who says he pulls 120,000 balls per year out of the water at that 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass. Best says he’s been doing this for 10 years, and it took time to develop a successful technique. Not something I ever thought about. The silt at the pond bottom is very fine, and it has a tendency to rise up and destroy visibility. He’s also had some close encounters of the first kind with gators. Some start getting aggressive when they reach eight to nine feet in length. A fourteen footer came with in four feet of him, but that wasn’t at TPC Sawgrass.
I saw an episode of “How It’s Made” about golf ball manufacturing. It came as a surprise to me that golf balls are painted. I guess I has always assumed that the color came from the suryln or composite material itself. The show was pretty interesting, but then I like that show.
And, who knew, there are specific differences in used balls. Recycled or refinished? (Tastes great or less filling?) Patrick Daniels of Second Chance Golf Balls says that recycled means that a “lake ball” has been fished out and allowed or encouraged to dry. Refinished balls, though, are sometimes sold by companies that buy these recovered balls, repaint them and put somebody else’s name on them. So mavbe you bought a used ball that says Titleist on it, but it actually was originally manufactured as a Pinnacle. And the ratio for sale is roughly 10 recycled balls to 1 refinished.
Stay tuned for More about Golf Balls Part 2, folks!
Read Full Post »