Anyone Golf Ball hunt?

[DeNinny]

[quote name='GWD' timestamp='1413809423' post='10318635']
The feeling is similar to finding an Easter egg. I guess therapy is needed.
[/quote]

LOL I always call it "going Easter egg hunting"

I haven't bought a ball in 5 years now. I play only 3 piece balls too. I have even built a shag bag of the exact same prov1.

My tips:

- Where there is smoke there is fire. Typically where you find one, there are more.

- Make a point to stroll alongside a hazard and keep your eyes peeled for "eggs". Kill time waiting by "hunting"

- Use your feet when in a hazard. If you step on something hard, chances are it is a ball.

[Mike_C]

I did a whole bunch as a young kid, really got as much interest in golf at first from ball hunting and trying to make a buck selling them as playing. I lived about a mile or so from the 9 hole muni we had in town. Holes 2 through 6 had trees on at least one side of the fairway/green, people back then just didn't seem to go into the woods and look for their balls as much. My friends and I would go all the time starting when I was about 10 years old and hunt for balls, we did it actively for a few years. First to sell, then to keep to use ourselves once playing was more fun than hunting......

[wetdogsmell]

Few weeks ago I played a round after the course hosted a scramble and there were balls left behind everywhere!

[nuthin but a hacker]

[quote name='wetdogsmell' timestamp='1414036679' post='10336835']
Few weeks ago I played a round after the course hosted a scramble and there were balls left behind everywhere!
[/quote]

Yep after a scramble is a great time to load up with golf balls.

[nuthin but a hacker]

Here's my stash of junk golf balls:

 

[MBBG]

I personally don't do it often and don't mind if people do providing they aren't slowing play or putting themselves in danger. I do occasionally play with a guy when we go to visit the in laws who loves to scrounge around for balls. It's hyper annoying because we are ready to play and he can't be found because he's pulling 10 year old ultras out of the bog.

[rjm74x]

Out here playing desert golf, you could easily take five minutes on three or four holes and find 15-20 balls without even trying. I won't intentionally go looking, but if I hit a ball I think I might be able to find, I'll take a few looking for it, and although I'm hitting them better, I'm still finding 6-10 a round...

Must. Hit. More. Fairways.

[mr_divots]

I have a big 5 gallon bucket filled with found balls I should donate to the 1st tee.
I've stopped bringing them home some time ago, as I don't play most of the ones I find. I usually throw it out into the fairway now for someone else to take if they need a ball.

Between mosquitoes and ticks, I try not to climb into the weeds much anymore. My game if OFF that day if I am.

[golf9596]

Play was soooo slow a couple weeks ago, I found 89 balls while waiting....We waited on every shot and still played in 4 hours.....

[GWD]

[quote name='golf9596' timestamp='1414251181' post='10348839']
Play was soooo slow a couple weeks ago, I found 89 balls while waiting....We waited on every shot and still played in 4 hours.....
[/quote]

Thus proving that "slow play" is relative. Perception can be soooo deceiving.

It does make for plenty of posting opportunities however. (Like mine right here!)

[jschwarb]

My parents live on a hole in Charleston SC and I'll go hunting with him on Thanksgiving Day when I visit. It's a dogleg par-4 with woods right and a creek fronting the green, so there's always a ton to be had.

But that's about the only time I'll hunt. We moved last year and I felt dumb when I handed over a big shag bag to the movers. It just went from one garage to the next, never to be touched again.

[bawk20]

I haven't gone out specifically to "hunt" but while looking for my ball that I hit just into the tall and nasty on the right side of a long par 5 I found a 1/2 dozen balls but not mine! Haha! I will probably make a quick sweep of this location next time I play there. With it getting colder in Delaware there shouldn't be anyone that I would be holding up!

[katbird]

hate hunters...hate playing with them...hate playing behind them...
I once GAVE a guy I play with 4 dozen balls so he wouldn't hunt while we were playing...and he STILL hunted....wait wait wait hate hate hate..wait wait wait ....ruins the flow...

[SixtySomePing]

I was hoping Lostgolfballs.com would respond to this

[dmblanch]

My parents live on a course with a winding creek through it. My son and I went up last night, we put him in waders and walked the creek for about 45 minutes. Came back with 77 balls, 22 of which were ProV's. So now I've got good gamers for a month an one free range session, all while waiting for dinner.

[bawk20]

[quote name='katbird' timestamp='1414838767' post='10382065']
hate hunters...hate playing with them...hate playing behind them...
I once GAVE a guy I play with 4 dozen balls so he wouldn't hunt while we were playing...and he STILL hunted....wait wait wait hate hate hate..wait wait wait ....ruins the flow...
[/quote]

Agree if people are waiting. When I played Monday it was a cool fall day and no one was in front or behind me do while I was looking for my ball and found 2 quickly I spent 5 minutes seeing what else I could find. I was playing by myself so wasn't keeping anyone waiting except the gopher I was about to kill with my next shot

[nuthin but a hacker]

I don't hunt if folks are behind me. Now if there's a slow group ahead, I'll look to keep my mind off the waiting. But when I've found a lot of golf balls, it's been on the same course in the afternoons and the place is empty.

[deadsolid...shank]

Two holes at our public course are short(ish) par fours with OB right. Most people take a stab at the green and you can guess what the results usually are. There are boatloads of balls out there.........but it's also pretty heavily infested with rattlesnakes, so the ball hunting days have ceased (for me).

It used to be cut fairly short out there but now they just let it grow natural so the native grass is pretty long. You just can't see very well what you might be close to stepping on. I know of two people who have actually been bitten in those areas (over a 20 year period, so it's not something that happens often, but once is enough), but people still head out there to look. And like others have said, after our big scramble tournament, I'm sure there are a bunch to be found.

[farmerjl2008]

I have literally hundreds of balls at home from golf ball hunting a few years ago. Kind of dangerous in so cal and rattlesnakes.

[Hutchi15]

I work at a golf course and every sunday I go out in the evenings when it is not crowded and come back with around 15-20 easily & even more if I look around the edges of the ponds!

[Hutchi15]

Also whenever I knock one into the thick brush I always come out with 2-3 so not sure if this is ball hunting or just apart of my normal shank routine

[nuthin but a hacker]

I played 9 holes Tuesday right before dark and found 22 balls including several ProV1s. Seems to be a very popular ball to lose. I have 38 new looking one hit wonders and several hundred scuffed ProV1/V1x balls in my stash. I need to trade them or something for a ball I would play.

[gaikentm]

I worked as a marshall in the summer until I was promoted and would find 100's some days in the spots its crazy. Its bad but I would see guys by a box of prov's and I would be thinking thanks for the donation. I would follow them watch them launch a few in the woods, they would never go get them and id be in there finding them as soon as they pulled off the hole.

[KrazyTrain18]

When it's quiet and I'm in an area where I know I will find many without having to search to hard, then definitely.

[SD-Golfn]

I'll keep an eye out for lost golfballs during my round, but I don't really go looking for them. I don't use them myself, but will give them to my son who just started playing a few months ago. Saves me from having to buy him balls. Ha.

[ironmikes]

I have been able to find a lot of balls on some of the places I play. my wife and I will get stuck behind of lot of slow golfers and we find our fair share. couple weeks ago we had the course alone and we picked on every hole. we walked out with 317 balls ! my wife keeps a couple of spare bags to put them in the back of the cart. that was our best day so far. I will keep the good ones and use the other ones as shag balls or just knock a few around at a local range in addition to the bucket we get. like already said find one on a hole and usually there are more. usually look for a slice area off the tee about 200-225 and there they are. other great area is where you have some tall grass right in front of the tee box, people must try and kill it and end up topping in the grass.

[wlargen]

Found 11 ProV1(x) today while walking my home course. Also found 3 Bridgestone Tour RXS 330 and a variety of Titleist NXT balls. Didn't hold anyone up and it didn't really take much extra time to find them. Good thing I was using a 3 wheel push cart.....the weight of the bag increased dramatically

[jack19]

best feeling is after a round and my bag is heavier than when i started!

[Fastboy]

I do occasionally look if play is slow but don't generally go out of my way to look for balls as I have two relatives who live on golf courses who keep me well supplied with balls. One is a normal course and yields loads of pro v's and decent quality balls which I predominantly use.

The second course which my dad's house backs onto is one of the most exclusive golf courses in the London area (Coombe Hill) for those who know it and the bit that shocks me is the balls that these people are playing !! I know you don't get rich by giving it away but FFS, barely a single titleist in whole bags of balls and several commandos!

Anyway, back to finding balls. I tend to find popular spots are straight left off the tee and also heavily wooded areas directly behind greens.

Generally I tend to find more balls in wooded areas on the left as if you think about bad amateur golf shots, a duck hook will go like a rocket ob whereas a slice is a weak floaty shot so won't go as far forward or as far in to the rough.

[LouLogsdon]

I played the back 9 at my nearby course today and the 8th hole is a 360 yard par 4 with a 20 yard deep lateral hazard right in front of the green. As you can imagine, many balls end up in this hazard. After reading this thread yesterday I decided to hunt in this hazard since there was no groups behind me. I spent about 30 minutes searching and came out with about 60 balls, 20 of which were ProV1/1x. I'm gonna give it a whirl on some of the other holes tomorrow.