Your biggest golf-ball hunting haul?

[RoyalMustang]

I've been hunting for golf balls since I was a little kid: I lived 2 blocks away from a course and as a kid, we would walk through the woods encircling the 9 holes and collect as many balls as we could. as a 9 year old, I'd get 50 to 70 and arrive home dirty and hungry. It's like an easter egg hunt out there! Of course, it was a muni in a rural town of 4,000 people, so not many Pro V1s were to be had (which at any rate, may have been a Balata back then). I also had a ball retriever and used to fish for balls, but I've heard that it's less reliable  as balls can get waterlogged.  

 

Yesterday I was out on my course on a Sunday evening and although I often grab balls when it's opportunistic for me to do so, I thought "why not spend 10 minutes and see what I can find"? Of course, right side trees are always the best, 200-250 from the tee box, and it's an added bonus if access is difficult. I found just the spot: there is poison ivy on the course side but if you walk 50 yards around, there is a small path and it's pretty clear, with just a few vines and no poison ivy once you are behind the wall. 

 

The result was 34 balls, and better yet, 19 were pro-type 3 or 4 piece balls. 15 were Pro V1s/V1x, with 13 of them being minty. 

 

I suppose I know what I am doing on Sunday evenings from now on! Even if I am playing like crap, the consolation prize will be lots of shiny balls. It's definitely my biggest "get" while playing. 

 

What's your story of a good haul? 

Edited August 14, 2023 by RoyalMustang

[HGLucky13]

Watching the Fed-ex this weekend I think they said something like 6,000 balls went into the water.( I would hope that is all this year). Thats something like $30,000 worth of the best balls made. Need a snorkel....

Edited August 14, 2023 by HGLucky13

[jdl]

Not high on volume but good quality:

 

One round on my home course I found 6 or 7 brand new Pro-V1s with the course logo. I mentioned it to the head pro and he said they had given out a dozen to each person at the "golf school" group lessons.

 

So that was nice.

[bogieboy]

Never really scored many great balls at the course, last winter though i picked up (in 3 different outings) about 5 dozen pro v1 and v1xs from a local thrift store for approx $3 a dozen... does that count? I know i feel like a pro having a whole range basket of Pro V1s sitting next to the bag...LOL 

[bcjim]

For whatever reason our course mows over the high grass around the end of the season. Last year I played on that day or the next day. This knee-to-waist high grass encircles many of the holes on the course and is pretty impenetrable May-Nov.  We could have picked up any number of balls. Most old beaters but plenty of ProV1 etc. I was tossing back scuffed ProVs by the back nine and not even looking further by 12 or 13. 

[Ghostwedge]

I also grew up a few blocks from a nice busy municipal course. The whole course was mowed but they had a couple ponds that were ball magnets and not very deep. In the summer we would "camp out" in the backyard and after parents were asleep head to the course and retrieve balls for a few hours. Then sleep a few hours and get up and clean the balls up. We would head to the course  parking lot and sell the balls back to golfers. Titleist were 50¢ a piece and the rest were a quarter. On a good night we would gather up about 100 balls. I remember once a prominent local doctor took exception having to buy his monogrammed Titleist balls back. I said " I should charge you extra because your name is on them Doc "  I think he called me a little bas#ard. lol

 

 

 

 

[SnowbirdTom]

Last night’s bounty from 15 minutes of strolling on a couple holes.  Left the Top Flites and other off brands for others to collect. 😉

Callaways, Titleist and Taylormades for the most part with a few Vice for variety.

 

[LukeDonaldsTiger]

This is the official „old men“ thread. I’m starting to like it. 

[Mikey_HACKilroy]

Most courses around here these days will send the Calvary after you if they see you ball hunting..... LOL
 

A lot of them have barbed wire at the perimeter in the woods. They can't really monitor that closely, but they try to discourage it. Mostly, they want to send their people out to get them so they can sell to a recycle company... 😄

[RSinSG]

When I was a LEO K-9 handler in the 80’s I had to give my partner a break every hour or so. His favorite place was a remote hole on a golf course where I would typically find a lot of balls in the desert while he took his break. The balls would be easy to spot when it was dark ant my very bright flashlight hit them.

 

But please, don’t be that guy with the 20’ ball retriever who goes fishing during a round. There are a couple in my leagues that I dread playing behind.

[Mikey_HACKilroy]

9 minutes ago, RSinSG said:

But please, don’t be that guy with the 20’ ball retriever who goes fishing during a round. There are a couple in my leagues that I dread playing behind.

 

My group and I were getting all PO'ed at a guy about a fishing expedition... until we saw him run away with a golf club in hand... Waving in a "Sorry" kind of way.. LOL

I wonder if he threw it in anger?? 😄 😄

[Argonne69]

My biggest haul was 36 Pro V1's. I was playing at La Cantera resort in San Antonio, and the greens fee included a sleeve of Pro V1's in a velvet pouch, 'Very posh. I was playing an afternoon round as a single behind five foursomes, so I wasn't going anywhere. Everywhere I looked I saw near mint balls. Wound up selling the three dozen to a buddy for $50.

 

Biggest haul on a single hole was 17. The finishing hole had a steep slope to the right of the green with tall grass, and water left. Hit my ball up into the junk, and came out with my pockets full. 'Never did find my ball, though.

 

[AzRoger]

3 hours ago, LukeDonaldsTiger said:

This is the official „old men“ thread. I’m starting to like it. 

I've noticed that at my club, morning weekday play mostly older retired types, for some once the golf game goes south the end of round conversation changes from 'what was my score today' to 'how many balls I found'.

[Mikey_HACKilroy]

🤣

That's going to be my dad when he and I go play golf on my Birthday. He used to be decent, but I don't think he remembers how to swing a club given his time away from the sport. So, he'll probably be hunting for golf balls half the time. LOL

[nitram]

8 dozen Pro V1X a few years ago.

 

 

The pro shop attendant was in the restroom . . .

[becoh]

Buddy topped his drive (off his new driver) into some fescue so I went looking for him. Went in with 0 balls, came in with 2 Powerbilts and a Slazenger.   #profit.

[LukeDonaldsTiger]

[MattM97]

I'm not that desperate to hunt for Pinnacles, Top Rocks and Nitro balls. 

 

Seriously when my ball jumps into the thick and I have the potential to find it I'll come out with nothing but 2 piece balls, half the time I leave them, give them to friends or leave a pile for someone else to find them. 

[doctorgriffo]

To the right of numbers 4, 5 and 6 at Pebble Beach - it drops off onto Stillwater Cove, which is a great place to run the dogs (it is a public beach, and we have 2 border collies that need to run). My kids love hunting in the rocks underneath #6 - it is like a combo of tidepooling and an Easter egg hunt - and we have found over 140 balls in about an hour. We validate the premium balls with the launch monitor and they go in the bag (it is amazing that some folks play Pebble with pinnacles, which get donated to junior beginner teams). as an added bonus, we have found a washed up salmon shark, the headless body of a sea otter that had had an unfortunate shark encounter, and parts of a dolphin skeleton.

If a ball comes in “live”, we wait for the player to look hopefully over the edge, and we throw it back to them. Can’t save them the penalty, but they always seem happy (and surprised) to get it back.

[Shankyouverymuch]

My friend and I used to go to the golf course at 2:00am and wade around in the ponds to feel for balls with our feet.  Used to come home with 250 balls a night.  All fun and games until my friend and another kid got caught one night and as they were running away one of them ran into a tree and broke his nose.

[Klubster]

I live on a par 3 hole that is a carry over the lake.  I can fish out 20-30 balls on any given evening.  I even find a couple a week in my yard although it is at least 60 yards  to the left of the green. I seldom bother fishing them out, but my neighbor does it as sport and has hundreds of balls in his garage.

[Hawkeye77]

Found a British ball once when I was young and thought that was by far the biggest "find" - haven't intentionally looked for golf balls since I was probably 13 and offer them to others in the group if I find them and they are in good shape or leave them if I'm alone (unless it's one of mine, it's happened before).

[jwhite86]

I was on vacation and walking the beach where a par 3 runs next to it... found about a dozen balls... I generally don't go looking for balls... and have a thing about lost balls having bad karma

[Argonne69]

2 hours ago, jwhite86 said:

I was on vacation and walking the beach where a par 3 runs next to it... found about a dozen balls... I generally don't go looking for balls... and have a thing about lost balls having bad karma

 

Nah. Like rescue dogs, they make great companions. They were just trying to get away from a bad precious owner. 

 

[Blaiser]

In college me and my other broke college roommate went out late at night to go hunting for balls. There were 3 holes on the course that we knew should have a ton (two dog legs and a par 3 with forced carry, both of which you would be crazy to venture into during the round)

 

We started out picking up every ball we could find, but there were so many that we started focusing on only prov1's.

 

We ended up with well over 200 prov1's in our haul.

 

Even after years of my career as an engineer, I've never (and likely never will) feel as wealthy as I did that day.

Edited August 15, 2023 by Blaiser

[RoyalMustang]

20 hours ago, jdl said:

Not high on volume but good quality:

 

One round on my home course I found 6 or 7 brand new Pro-V1s with the course logo. I mentioned it to the head pro and he said they had given out a dozen to each person at the "golf school" group lessons.

 

So that was nice.

 

Doesn't say much for the school's outcomes though

[Murphy76]

 

My home course is in the middle of Amish country.

 

On Sundays after church,  the Amish kids/teens will scout the perimeter looking for balls.  They never really step foot on the course proper.

 

Sometimes they will post up around a couple greens to watch.  Make a good putt, and you get applause from an Amish gallery. 

It's the nicest/strangest thing ever.  It's like playing in a pro tournament without beer being served. 

 

God knows what they do with the balls they find.... never see them for sale....

 

 

[jdl]

3 hours ago, RoyalMustang said:

 

Doesn't say much for the school's outcomes though

It's a pretty tough course. And if you're taking group lessons, you're probably close to beginner level.

[cardoustie]

My buddies dad hunted balls regularly looking for logo balls

 

when he passed he was over 5,000 unique logo’s

 

i read there’s a chap that’s north of 10k

 

the non logo balls were practice … which meant garbage cans of balls to try and carry the bay that the cottage was on

 

it was 243 yards .… near impossible with the older balls and a persimmon head / steel shaft combo

 

the OG big Bertha ruined the challenge 

[Rob G 89]

In Nevada environmental areas that dry out are gold mines. One hole I went found 12 balls in a minute. Of course wasn’t packed I would found probably 100