Which balls do you (or not) pickup?

[Imp]

I will pickup a ball if I know without a doubt it was abandoned.

 

I only keep Callaways. Everything else, I have friends that I'll give them whatever I have found. Some I know are Titlist types, some are TM, some are Nike, and I have others that are "whatevs".

 

--kC

[ckay]

I pick up Pro Vs of either variant as long as they are the current or previous year and the same applies to Taylormade Tour Preferred if I happen to walk by them.

 

Now that my girlfriend is learning golf I'll pick up random balls to put into her bag so if she happens to hit it into the woods or we can't find it quickly we can just drop another without worry.

[cvvorst]

My course has a bucket they keep for junior golfers who are starting out. They happily take scuffed/scratched balls. I'm really picky, so if I find even a tiny smudge on one of mine I give it to them. I figure that way the juniors can play some nicer balls mixed in with the pinnacle and top flite and what not.

[ucfdad]

I pick up any balls I find, but I only keep the ones I am playing as I am trying to stick with one model of ball to see if it helps consistency. All the rest I leave next to the tee marker on the next hole so anyone behind me can use them. The one exception is Callaway Warbird. If I find them I throw them further into the woods because I don't want anyone to play that ball. It is the only ball I have hit that makes a complete 90 degree turn to the right on contact.

[kess13]

I pick up most of them but only keep the non-beat up premiums. The rest I toss around the edge of the fairway as I walk back up for others to have.

[alittleoverpar]

If it's on my direct walking path, I will go ahead and pick it up. If it's a ball that I'm not interested in using, I'll leave it on the next tee for someone else to use. I don't walk out of my way to pick up stray golf balls though.

[Imp]

My course has a bucket they keep for junior golfers who are starting out. They happily take scuffed/scratched balls. I'm really picky, so if I find even a tiny smudge on one of mine I give it to them. I figure that way the juniors can play some nicer balls mixed in with the pinnacle and top flite and what not.

This is a great idea.

 

--kC

[Greenie]

I'll pick up a ball if I come across one. When I lose more balls I find more balls. It's funny. Hit your ball offline and when you go to find it find a handful but not yours. If I'm playing in a group or the course is crowded I don't pay attention to lost balls. A lot of times I'll go out as a single on an empty course and I'll look for balls as I play. Everything goes into 5 gal. buckets when I get home unless it is the model I play. Sooner or later I'll run across someone that is more than happy to receive a donation from the bucket. I just gave a 100 balls to a beginner at work. He couldn't thank me enough.

[ray9898]

I pick up everything in decent shape. I may play some and others go into a shag bag. If they end up being bad I just hit them next time I visit the range.

[pmcuk]

What I mean is when there is absolutely no chance the ball is in play by someone else. (i.e no one on the course except you, balls in ob above a cliff.etc etc)

 

I tend to prefer Tmag balls. I love it when I find those double number balls.

 

anything 2-piece balls, stays where it is.

 

Pretty much. Needs to be a minimum of a 3 piece ball with a urethane cover. Not interested in other balls, though strangely I can play just as well with odd balls found on the course. Makes no sense. There's another thread about that.

[pmcuk]

 

My course has a bucket they keep for junior golfers who are starting out. They happily take scuffed/scratched balls. I'm really picky, so if I find even a tiny smudge on one of mine I give it to them. I figure that way the juniors can play some nicer balls mixed in with the pinnacle and top flite and what not.

 

 

Juniors should play Molitor balls. It's part of growing up......

[cristphoto]

I only pick up urethane models from Titleist or Taylor Made as these are what I will usually play. No surlyns. Plus I make certain nobody is in the area that might be the owner. I will however pick up anything orange, pink, or yellow for my wife's bag.

[Alktrio06]

I keep the premium balls and give my wife the rest. Saves me a ton!

[MarkAJones]

I only keep the balls I play, currently Z Stars. I've never, ever found one yet.

 

Not even one of my own from a previous round.....

 

Anything with "Soft" or "Distance" in the title gets thrown to my two playing partners. They love them. Anything else get thrown deeper in the rough.....

[Hateto3Putt]

The only ball I'll leave is a range ball. Everything else goes into a 5-gallon bucket at home. I must have 5 or 6 of those buckets full. Those will never be hit.

 

It is really a disappointment to come across a ball the mower has eaten. "I could have let it live!" is my thought.

 

Going all the way across a fairway to grab a ball is a usual occurrence. So is wading through a large thorn patch that is between the tee and green on one of the holes at my home course. When wearing shorts, I have to stop at the restroom on the next hole and grab some paper towels to soak up the blood. Since I'm on Warfarin (Coumadin), it is not pretty.

 

I think it is some kind of mental illness. Therapy is indicated.

 

Not sure how I missed that post, but I'm glad I found it! That's a classic!

 

Due to the location of my shots, I find balls all the time. I'll toss them into my bag and give them to one of my two buddies who's sole reason for golfing is to hit extra shots into the woods.

 

Even with my pay it forward program in place, about once a month I purge my bag of balls I'll never use.

 

I've got oodles of them.

 

I'd post a photo, but it's embarrassing. (although probably not as bad as the bloodbath some experience)

[bigbluefan1132]

I'll pick up anything....if I don't like it I'll usually leave it in the cart for the cart guys to keep if they so choose....sometimes I'll use it as a shag ball as well.

[Need2golfalot]

The most rare finds are Srixon Z Stars and Bridgestone B-330 (rx) They must be played by the best players or these fly really straight.

[madaboutgolf]

pick them all up if they look good I keep, not too good pass them to a friend who will use anything !!

[uitar9]

The most rare finds are Srixon Z Stars and Bridgestone B-330 (rx) They must be played by the best players or these fly really straight.

 

Always amazed at how many Pro v1's are either in the bushes or water. Amazing how many amateurs play them. They all get picked up, the wife loves them. I stick to cheap, two piece, yellow surlyns.

[farmer]

I pick'em all. Play the ones I like, shag bag the rest, which is stupid, because I no longer go to the range. Same with tees. I have 1,427,568 tees, and I pick up every good one I see.

[JMJM0213]

I have a knack for finding other golfers' lost balls. I usually give the non-premium balls to whomever I'm playing with. I'll definitely go into the deep woods if I spot a Titleist (and curse when I see the "DT" printed on it.)

 

Last year, I found Molitors on the same golf course in consecutive weeks. It was probably the same person...but I don't think I've gone a year without finding one of them. They can't still make those, right?

 

Coming across a lost K-Sig is going to be the holy grail of ball-hawking.

[Need2golfalot]

The Molitors were made by Spaulding who got bought out. Not sure about the exact production dates. I remember playing them in the mid 1980's. They were one of the hardest low spin distance balls you could find. Reminds me of Dunlop DDH and Golden Ram. I had a sleeve of these back in the day... http://m.ebay.com/itm/Golden-Ram-4-Two-Tone-Golf-Ball-Red-Yellow-Pro-Tour-/292015906504?hash=item43fd811ec8%3Ag%3AC7EAAOSwiDFYL4R9

[joliver233]

I pick up any ball in good shape, put it in the shag bag, or take em to the range like everyone else. I have so many I'll give em to my brother who's a 90+ golfer. Usually he'll give me any premium balls he picks up in a trade. I never buy ProVs because I find so many, but I'll use any tour ball really--I've played almost all of them enough to know how they'll play, but generally I'll stick to playing the ones from my stash of premium balls that I currently game. All the tour balls that are acceptable get sorted and played at some point or another, though I've built up quite the stockpile. I like the idea of donating them--I'll suggest that at my local course this year.

[dan360]

IF they're orphaned, I'll take all I can get. Obvious range balls get given back to the pro shop. Balls I don't decide to keep for my own use get either given away or sold, cheap.

[djcoolaid1914]

I only pick up urethane models from Srixon, Titleist, Bridgestone and Nike.

The callaway's and Taylor made's get tossed to my buddy.

 

Any others I place on the next tee box for other golfers.

[wkndhack]

I try to keep 4 or 5 decent found balls in the bag for certain situations, like water and woods right on the first tee and no want up, or partner says "bet you can't hit xxx...."

 

Real Junkers get left. Anything worth hitting over my couple in the bag goes to my buddy who requires a lot of balls.

 

A guy I end up playing with a lot will frequently hit a ball into the woods, drop immediately, hit into the opposite side woods, go look for both, and come back with 5 from each side. Not a quick round with that guy.

[thug the bunny]

I tend to refrain around the NXT tour level. I do love finding a lightly used ProV,

[mokedaddy]

I never touch another mans balls. I always play a new ball every round.

[AddisonMP]

I dont pick up any but I hide a lot of them!

[BIG STU]

I'll pick up a ball if I come across one. When I lose more balls I find more balls. It's funny. Hit your ball offline and when you go to find it find a handful but not yours. If I'm playing in a group or the course is crowded I don't pay attention to lost balls. A lot of times I'll go out as a single on an empty course and I'll look for balls as I play. Everything goes into 5 gal. buckets when I get home unless it is the model I play. Sooner or later I'll run across someone that is more than happy to receive a donation from the bucket. I just gave a 100 balls to a beginner at work. He couldn't thank me enough.

I basically do the same thing-- The thing down here is all these retirees that live on the courses "Hawk" balls as we call it. Now today I walked 9 with my 9 club set up of vintage clubs. Some tourist golfer must have had money because I found 3 brand new B330 RXs and 2 new Pro V1xs among the other stuff. Recently a friend of mine and I set an under privigaled kid up with the whole shabang as Rodney Dangerfield called it. It was through my church. I gave him some CB irons cut and fitted them for him with new grips. Gave him a stand bag and of course some metal woods. My buddy who happened to be at my shop wears the same size shoes the kid does and gave him 3 pairs of golf shoes and 3 brand new gloves. He also ended up giving the kid a sorta new Ping putter with a cover too. Heck I have so many balls and tees I filled the pocket of his bag with tees and gave him a whole 5 gallon bucket of balls. Got another buddy of mine who is a golf instructor to give him lessons for free because I am in no shape way or form an instructor. Heck I have so many buckets of balls I donated two buckets to a program ran locally that is like the first tee