Travis A in Central VA

Is everyone aware the lostgolfballs is owned by Acushnet, the parent company of Titleist? This is all public knowledge as they are not a privately owned company. Lostgolfballs outsources their refinishing to another company in VA. Obviously, in effect, they would not want to have someone representing Titleist that produced poor results. This would reflect directly on them. Urethane is inert in H20. So, unless there are other caustic chemicals in the water hazard that a used ball has been retrieved from, then there is no effect whatsoever on a ball being in water for any amount of time. One should be concerned of the source of these chemicals if there is something that has made the cover deteriorate. If the ball is compromised by its time in the water, then it is not a ball that could have been recycled OR refinished/refurbushed regardless. These compromised balls should have been tossed out during quality control. The yellowing of golf balls in water is a result of the tannins from leaves and other items that have fallen into water hazards over time. These balls are the ones that are selected for refinishing as the ball itself has not been affected, only it's appearance. There are currently three trusted companies supplying refinished and recycled balls to retailers in the USA. Professional Golf Services in Texas (lostgolfballs.com/Reload) in Dicks and Walmart, Challenge Golf in NC (Hit Me Again, no online presence) in Walmart, and Links Choice in VA (golfballnut.com/Tee It Again/Birdie Fuel) in Meijer, Dunham's, TJ Maxx, MArshalls, Sierra. MyGolfSpy should reach out to each of these for a direct test comparison. I am sure these companies would be willing to donate several dozen balls each to dispel any false assumptions. That being said, I know there are several other companies that "try" to refinish balls using old equipment and cheap materials. This video shows a test performed using one of these other companies and you can see the poor results of the process. These balls and video UK Refinished Test give the three good companies a bad look. I compare this to off brand China reproductions of good products. The results are never going to be to the level of the companies who have invested in good equipment, materials, and trained labor to sort and quality control these balls. With over 300 million balls lost each year in the US alone, there will always be a market for this type of business. Of course, there will be better services provided by different companies. It is up to the consumer to identify and take advantage of this opportunity. Greens fees are never going down, the only way to save a buck is on equipment. Since clubs are not consumables (unless there is a mishap), naturally it falls to balls as gloves and tees are not renewable.