Ball Retriever does not make Financial Sense

So shock of shocks, yesterday I actually considered buying a ball retriever. As low cap guy (I used to be scratch) I never thought I would ever buy a retriever.

However yesterday I hit a shot that rolled into the water, it was about 5' away and I asked if anyone had a retriever. Some one had this one:

It weighs in at 8oz and worked great. I thought - what the heck, suck up my pride and save a few bucks on lost balls.

Then I ran the numbers:

It is rare I lose a ball - I have bags full of beat up balls that are to worn out to play. I might lose 50 balls a year (or about 1 every 2.5 rounds)

It is even more rare I lose a ball in water, and even more rare that it would be lost where it could be retrieved. I also don't play found balls unless they match the model I choose to play that year, so retrieving other balls is not a factor.

The retriever is $40 and my balls cost $5 each ***new***. So after 8 balls the retriever pays for itself, right? Not really as I don't lose new balls, I lose used balls. It would be safe to say the balls I lose would have 50% of their useful life gone before they are lost. Used ball go for $2.00 or less. So now I need lose 20 balls that can be retrieved to pay for the retriever. That would take me about 2 years. From the reviews the retrievers seemed to last around 2 years before they break.

So as hard as it is to believe it make financial sense to protect my vanity!

Using this math, I really need to get a ball retriever:). I actually had that retriever and it broke the second time I used it (fully extended the top just snapped). I generally don't look for balls lost in water, esp in the south.

The teasing and crap you'll receive from your regulars is enough to say no.

I had one of those gotchas, as expensive as it is, it broke quickly. ( I received it at an outing)

Last week I was in the same scenario as you, the ball was juuuuuuuust out of reach and nobody had a retriever.

I bought a retriever at a thrift store for $2, I don't carry it often, but when I do, if there's time, I will play Huck Finn and get a few balls out of the water and usually whack them away. My $2 retriever is a telescoping aluminum shaft that reaches about 20'. It's club-sized when retracted. For $2 it's well worth it to fish out some shaggers (and damn, I could have used it last week)

This analysis is more detailed than many of our potential next presidents' plan to fix the economy. lol

back on topic. I've never bought one but I wouldn't be scared to carry one. I don't lose a ton of balls. but I don't play much and $5 per ball is kind of silly really. It's also nice to fish out a few decent shag balls to screw around with. From a vanity standpoint, I already have a club brush on a lanyard on my bag. So I'm already out of the club! A ball retriever isn't going to do any more damage to my rep. lol

Do any of you guys buy an iPhone? Or bottled water?

If so you're paying about 60% mark-up on the iPhone and about 3,000% markup on the water.

Did you pay for college or grad school? Are you still paying the loans? 20 year pay off maybe?

Makes the ball retriever look like a bargain! ??

I couldn't buy one simply because of how it would look in the bag and the loads of crap I would get from playing partners, using a push cart to try and save my back is bad enough

I have a collapsable one from target for 12.00 fits in a pocket in my bag. I have it not so much for retrieving water balls but occaisionally a ball will be in a ditch and just out of reach or under thick pine tree and no way to get at it.. I may retrieve my own ball from the lake but not interested in others... and who cares what people think? I certainly dont.

So shock of shocks, yesterday I actually considered buying a ball retriever. As low cap guy (I used to be scratch) I never thought I would ever buy a retriever.

 

However yesterday I hit a shot that rolled into the water, it was about 5' away and I asked if anyone had a retriever. Some one had this one:

 

 

It weighs in at 8oz and worked great. I thought - what the heck, suck up my pride and save a few bucks on lost balls.

 

Then I ran the numbers:

 

It is rare I lose a ball - I have bags full of beat up balls that are to worn out to play. I might lose 50 balls a year (or about 1 every 2.5 rounds)

 

It is even more rare I lose a ball in water, and even more rare that it would be lost where it could be retrieved. I also don't play found balls unless they match the model I choose to play that year, so retrieving other balls is not a factor.

 

The retriever is $40 and my balls cost $5 each ***new***. So after 8 balls the retriever pays for itself, right? Not really as I don't lose new balls, I lose used balls. It would be safe to say the balls I lose would have 50% of their useful life gone before they are lost. Used ball go for $2.00 or less. So now I need lose 20 balls that can be retrieved to pay for the retriever. That would take me about 2 years. From the reviews the retrievers seemed to last around 2 years before they break.

 

So as hard as it is to believe it make financial sense to protect my vanity!

Financial sense to me is not paying $60/dozen for new balls...

I hate overpriced stuff so I agree, besides with my new PXG irons I rarely hit balls off line anyway

Lol. I paid $29 for my ball retriever. It fits nicely in the side pocket of my bag. A few years back I was playing down in San Antonio, and I finished the round with 36 Pro V1's. The course included a sleeve with the price of the round, and they were everywhere. The course had a ton of thorny Texas scrub, so the only way to get many of the balls was with the retriever. Pro V1's are also the preferred ball at my home course, and I generally retrieve several per round. I haven't purchased a ball in years.

There are certain places where you don't want to stick your hand....snakes could be in there!...Don't play Russian Roulette with snakes, especially in Florida... :russian_roulette:

Play with a guy that shoots 110 or above regularly...he has to have the best though...see him burn through 3/4 to a full case of proV's every round. Problem with the retriever is...you can't reach balls that go OVER the house! Maybe if he gets good enough to start losing balls closer to retrievable I will buy him one haha!

Play with a guy that shoots 110 or above regularly...he has to have the best though...see him burn through 3/4 to a full case of proV's every round. Problem with the retriever is...you can't reach balls that go OVER the house! Maybe if he gets good enough to start losing balls closer to retrievable I will buy him one haha!

Lol. How about one of these?

Play with a guy that shoots 110 or above regularly...he has to have the best though...see him burn through 3/4 to a full case of proV's every round. Problem with the retriever is...you can't reach balls that go OVER the house! Maybe if he gets good enough to start losing balls closer to retrievable I will buy him one haha!

 

Lol. How about one of these?

 

Man as soon as the whole pace of play movement dies down I am all in for one of these for him! haha!

Play with a guy that shoots 110 or above regularly...he has to have the best though...see him burn through 3/4 to a full case of proV's every round. Problem with the retriever is...you can't reach balls that go OVER the house! Maybe if he gets good enough to start losing balls closer to retrievable I will buy him one haha!

 

Lol. How about one of these?

 

 

Man as soon as the whole pace of play movement dies down I am all in for one of these for him! haha!

I think a drone would help with the pace. You could use it as a forecaddie, positioning it above the landing area. You'd get some cool "blimp" shots.

Play with a guy that shoots 110 or above regularly...he has to have the best though...see him burn through 3/4 to a full case of proV's every round. Problem with the retriever is...you can't reach balls that go OVER the house! Maybe if he gets good enough to start losing balls closer to retrievable I will buy him one haha!

 

Lol. How about one of these?

 

 

Man as soon as the whole pace of play movement dies down I am all in for one of these for him! haha!

 

I think a drone would help with the pace. You could use it as a forecaddie, positioning it above the landing area. You'd get some cool "blimp" shots.

Haha epic.

His luck, he would obliterate the thing with a massive snap hook! But, that proV has a chance of bouncing back into play after the collision...tempting...

What's the "legal" age for a ball retriever anyway. I'm 63 now. Is that still too young?

So shock of shocks, yesterday I actually considered buying a ball retriever. As low cap guy (I used to be scratch) I never thought I would ever buy a retriever.

 

However yesterday I hit a shot that rolled into the water, it was about 5' away and I asked if anyone had a retriever. Some one had this one:

 

 

It weighs in at 8oz and worked great. I thought - what the heck, suck up my pride and save a few bucks on lost balls.

 

Then I ran the numbers:

 

It is rare I lose a ball - I have bags full of beat up balls that are to worn out to play. I might lose 50 balls a year (or about 1 every 2.5 rounds)

 

It is even more rare I lose a ball in water, and even more rare that it would be lost where it could be retrieved. I also don't play found balls unless they match the model I choose to play that year, so retrieving other balls is not a factor.

 

The retriever is $40 and my balls cost $5 each ***new***. So after 8 balls the retriever pays for itself, right? Not really as I don't lose new balls, I lose used balls. It would be safe to say the balls I lose would have 50% of their useful life gone before they are lost. Used ball go for $2.00 or less. So now I need lose 20 balls that can be retrieved to pay for the retriever. That would take me about 2 years. From the reviews the retrievers seemed to last around 2 years before they break.

 

So as hard as it is to believe it make financial sense to protect my vanity!

That was very thorough cost benefit analysis there 2BGood. Maybe you'll receive

one as a present someday, lol.

So shock of shocks, yesterday I actually considered buying a ball retriever. As low cap guy (I used to be scratch) I never thought I would ever buy a retriever.

 

However yesterday I hit a shot that rolled into the water, it was about 5' away and I asked if anyone had a retriever. Some one had this one:

 

 

It weighs in at 8oz and worked great. I thought - what the heck, suck up my pride and save a few bucks on lost balls.

 

Then I ran the numbers:

 

It is rare I lose a ball - I have bags full of beat up balls that are to worn out to play. I might lose 50 balls a year (or about 1 every 2.5 rounds)

 

It is even more rare I lose a ball in water, and even more rare that it would be lost where it could be retrieved. I also don't play found balls unless they match the model I choose to play that year, so retrieving other balls is not a factor.

 

The retriever is $40 and my balls cost $5 each ***new***. So after 8 balls the retriever pays for itself, right? Not really as I don't lose new balls, I lose used balls. It would be safe to say the balls I lose would have 50% of their useful life gone before they are lost. Used ball go for $2.00 or less. So now I need lose 20 balls that can be retrieved to pay for the retriever. That would take me about 2 years. From the reviews the retrievers seemed to last around 2 years before they break.

 

So as hard as it is to believe it make financial sense to protect my vanity!

 

Financial sense to me is not paying $60/dozen for new balls...

Yes I have run those numbers too as it use to pain me to shell out for Pro V1x's. I have found used balls can be a bit irradic in terms of how far they fly,so that leaves new balls for actuall rounds of golf. The ball I want to play is $60/dozen $48/Dozen (I buy them on the 4 for 3 special). The bargain ball I would still find barely accepatable is ?$20/dozen?. Last year a ball lasted me 2.63 rounds on average (I kept track of balls used and rounds played). Playing the ball I want costs $1.40 per round. Playing the Value ball cost me $0.63 per round. So for $0.77 a round I can play the ball I want. Once I ran the numbers price was no longer an object when it came to selecting a ball.

Buying ball retriever= bad juju. That's like planning for your bad shots. My plan is to hit only good shots.

Ball that goes in the water deserves to stay in the water.

This one is $8.36 shipped. Problem solved.

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=121711854637&globalID=EBAY-US

I've got one. Primarily I use it grabbing golf balls for men with egos too big to carry one, but who can see their Pro-V three feet into the water or a blackberry bush and who want to spend 10 minutes trying to grab it back with that 3-iron they don't/can't use for any other purpose.

What kind of A-HOLES are you people playing with anyway?

You may want to rethink your supposed "friendships" if having a ball retriever in your bag is a major issue with them. And a push cart? WTF? The percentage of people that walk and carry is miniscule and getting smaller every year.

The "carry crowd" is the definite minority.

This one is $8.36 shipped. Problem solved.

 

http://pages.ebay.co...lobalID=EBAY-US

It's from China. The Donald will stop this !

What kind of A-HOLES are you people playing with anyway?

 

You may want to rethink your supposed "friendships" if having a ball retriever in your bag is a major issue with them. And a push cart? WTF? The percentage of people that walk and carry is miniscule and getting smaller every year.

 

The "carry crowd" is the definite minority.

I think the ribbing about retrievers is all in good fun (at least it is in my case). I actually carry as I find it easier than pushing a cart, but that is another story.

I have a version of this one. It holds four balls and is either 18' or 24' long, don't remember exactly

Had an Amazon gift card and it looked as good as anything else, I think it was $45. A few years back in our big season opening scramble tournament (scramble so all the big hitters are going for the big carries?), the water levels were down so balls were visible but down the steep 10' banks.

I bet I took home two dozen almost new premium balls that weekend. I isn't need them, but it was somethin fun to do while we waited. But it's pretty heavy so I wouldn't want to carry it if I walked. I have a piece of PVC pipe mounted on the back of the cart for it to ride in.

I have the same retriever and it works very well and is really compact and hides in the bag nicely.

Lost golf ball: $5

Retriever: $40

The appreciation you'll get from your playing partners when you pull their balls out: Priceless.

I usually play pretty fast and the guys I play with are fairly slow. I carry one and will regularly pass some time collecting balls. My buddies appreciate it and I appreciate playing at their country club. It all works out.