What do you do with all your balls?

[ncwoz]

All this talk of the MGS Hard Rock Challenge and the ball test recently has me thinking about the hardware...

I know I *should* be gaming one model, and probably one I'm fit for at that. But the cheapskate in me just can't pass up on a free wayward ball, looking for a home. Nor can I bring myself to just toss the 24 pack of two piecers I walked away from Christmas with.

So my question is this - what do you do with the random balls you might come across one way or another? Do you keep em all? Hit them into the woods? Do you have a threshold of quality that determines if it's a keeper or a leaver?

[NM01]

If my playing partner(s) Carr for them they can have them. I leave them where they are at or toss further into the woods so not to look at it again if trying to find a ball

[MDGolfHacker]

I do one of two things....I give them to a few older golfers I know that don't care what type of ball they play with or I keep just enough to practice chipping in my small back yard (mind you I'm working on technique more so then end result so any decent shaped golf ball will do).  

 

MDGolfHacker

[tony@CIC]

Use them for practice. 

[CarlH]

I used to drop them off at the VA golf course but, since that's closed now, they just reside in a bucket in my garage for the moment.

[PlaidJacket]

2 hours ago, ncwoz said:

I know I *should* be gaming one model, and probably one I'm fit for at that

I wouldn't sweat all the ball fitting stuff you hear around here. I wager for 99% and if blindfolded you wouldn't be able to tell much if any difference in your game. But, I do recommend playing a top quality ball with a urethane cover. As for the Pinnacles, Mojos, Sponge Bobs, etc, and other rocks found on the course I just leave them. The good ones with urethane covers - Titleist PV, TM, Bridgestone, Callaway, Snell, Srixon, etc, etc, I toss them in the bag and play them.

[fixyurdivot]

My old and tired stock are in plastic grocery bags in the garage.  Why I bother keeping them I really don't know. There are probably close to 100 of them.  I culled my golf bag of balls several months ago and it is once again jammed full.  I find more balls than I lose and play a variety of popular (though perhaps not necessarily better) balls. 

Can you imagine just how many golf balls sit idle in bags, boxes, and buckets worldwide - staggering. Too bad there isn't some recycled use for them.  Can you just imagine how long a highway would last made from ground up Molitors, Dunlaps, Pinnacles, and Rock-Flites. 

 

[M. Parsons]

I mostly do like @PlaidJacket, but even yesterday I came across a Titleist ??? in the middle of the biggest ant hill you'll ever see, and I just left it there. Both of my boys are in Jr league golf, so I've already dumped all my old "rocks" in their bags.

[ncwoz]

1 hour ago, PlaidJacket said:

I wouldn't sweat all the ball fitting stuff you hear around here. I wager for 99% and if blindfolded you wouldn't be able to tell much if any difference in your game. But, I do recommend playing a top quality ball with a urethane cover. As for the Pinnacles, Mojos, Sponge Bobs, etc, and other rocks found on the course I just leave them. The good ones with urethane covers - Titleist PV, TM, Bridgestone, Callaway, Snell, Srixon, etc, etc, I toss them in the bag and play them.

This might be the way to go for me. The difference between between the upper tier balls and lower tier balls is significant enough to make a difference, but I don't think there's any way my swing is consistent enough to warrant playing one model exclusively.

 

[ncwoz]

47 minutes ago, fixyurdivot said:

Can you imagine just how many golf balls sit idle in bags, boxes, and buckets worldwide - staggering. Too bad there isn't some recycled use for them.  Can you just imagine how long a highway would last made from ground up Molitors, Dunlaps, Pinnacles, and Rock-Flites. 

I betcha that sucker would go for miles!! It always amazes me the ancient Pinnacles I find, that were probably being used in the last season or two. Those things are liable to cave your driver face right in.

[russtopherb]

I drop found balls into a separate pocket of my bag and those end up in the garage for backyard practice. If it’s a newer ball in good condition I’ll give it a shot out on the course.


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[fixyurdivot]

18 minutes ago, ncwoz said:

I betcha that sucker would go for miles!! It always amazes me the ancient Pinnacles I find, that were probably being used in the last season or two. Those things are liable to cave your driver face right in.

I know many believe they were responsible for more persimmon early retirements than any other golf ball .

[Kenny B]

2 hours ago, PlaidJacket said:

I wouldn't sweat all the ball fitting stuff you hear around here. I wager for 99% and if blindfolded you wouldn't be able to tell much if any difference in your game. But, I do recommend playing a top quality ball with a urethane cover. As for the Pinnacles, Mojos, Sponge Bobs, etc, and other rocks found on the course I just leave them. The good ones with urethane covers - Titleist PV, TM, Bridgestone, Callaway, Snell, Srixon, etc, etc, I toss them in the bag and play them.

Well, you teed it up... I just had to.  

 

If I find any urethane ball in good shape, I keep them and use them for short game practice.  The rest I leave or toss in the cart for the kids cleaning carts to do with whatever they want.

[Chanchorp13]

Worst feeling in the world, is thinking that your golf ball may have been picked up by another group....

With that said, a couple years back i decided that unless the ball is mine- I'm not picking it up. Maybe generate some good karma!!

I know that doesnt answer your question lol, so Id say play them or giveaway should you have some you don't care for. 

[cnosil]

Balls found on the course are either left or picked up based in type. Good balls go in the bag.

At home i have bags of balls I’m waiting and boxes of unused balls that will probably sit there forever. Don’t lose a lot of balls so I don’t go through what I have very fast since I will play the same ball until I lose it.

[hckymeyer]

I throw them in the basket of my cart.  If someone needs to hit a provisional just grab from there.  Then if you find your ball you just leave the provisional.  If I'm running late to the tee box I'll also grab a couple from the basket and hit a couple drives in to the woods from the first tee as a quick warm up.  Last use is grab from the basket when we do our weekly drunken scramble after league.  If it's an errant shot just leave it and grab another.

I also have 5 & 8 yr old boys so any "cool" balls I give them to them.  They currently have a fascination with Truvis and any matte color ball.

[DiscipleofPenick]

Tour balls or others I like go into the bag or egg cartons. Most others around up in a milk crate in my garage for practice balls or donations. The cheapo rocks like Top Flite, Slazenger, or Nitro get hit into the woods, lakes, or just left on the course for kids.

Take Dead Aim

[TwoCoatsOfWax]

I have mostly stopped picking up errant balls on the course.  I have too many at home sitting in plastic bags & old shoe boxes.  Also, as Chanchorp13 said, maybe it's good karma to leave them.  I've considered taking a few of these old balls with me each time I play, and just throwing a few randomly out on the course in the rough or near a tee box for someone else to pick up. 

[bens197]

If I ran the world, ball retrievers would be fed to Mt. St. Helens. It slows play and it’s nice to see some private clubs have banned them.

 

If I see a ball on the ground it’ll stay there.

 

As for me, the balls that make it through the round are retired. They end up in my shag bag for chipping in my yard.

 

 

[ncwoz]

16 minutes ago, bens197 said:

Slow play and it’s nice to see some private clubs have banned them.

Amen to that. A buddy of mine seems to enjoy looking through the woods for balls more than actually golfing, and it is absolutely maddening

[hckymeyer]

1 hour ago, ncwoz said:

Amen to that. A buddy of mine seems to enjoy looking through the woods for balls more than actually golfing, and it is absolutely maddening

Also 80% of the rangers at my course.  Zero chance of them helping to find a ball while you're playing, but in the evening when it's not busy they are just walking up and down the rough and fescue looking for balls.

[pulledabill]

I pick them all and even walk edges, creeks, and ponds looking. I play ones Ive never tried. pass some on to buddies that plat certain balls, give them to high school kids that cant afford balls, and just made a big bag for a coworker whose kid just playing and is losing a few each day. 

[tony@CIC]

Amen to that. A buddy of mine seems to enjoy looking through the woods for balls more than actually golfing, and it is absolutely maddening

I think I play with his brother. Whenever we approach a water hole he takes his ball retriever out and goes fishing.


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[CarlH]

I misread the question and answered as to what I did with my older golf balls, not the ones I find .... So, to correct that -- I don't really look for them.  If I find one, I'll offer it to whoever I'm playing with if it's a decent ball or just leave it there for someone who might actually want it.  If it happens to be my brand ball and it appears in good shape, I'll hang on to it.  I have enough old balls lying around....don't need to collect more

[ED13]

All water balls stay in the water.  A decent quality ball that looks new I will give to my kids.  If they are off one day they each can lose 6+ balls per round.  If the balls are marked they get used for pitch shots into our backyard putting green.  I live on a ravine that can be a magnet for errant balls.

[chisag]

... Like others, I never take a ball out of the water because I have no idea how long it has been there. If I am positive nobody could be playing a "lost" ball from another fairway, I will pick up balls in good shape but not those scuffed or cut. I have plenty of high index friends and my son has several of his friends that are basically beginners and they can always use free golf balls since they are gonna lose more than a few every round. That said if it is a discount brand that I am unaware of, a Nitro or similar ball I just leave it where it is. 

[cynogriffin]

I never pick them up. I've filled too many ball pouches with balls I'll never use and weighed down by bag unnecessarily. I just leave them all now and play my ball that I know. Side note though: never take a ball out of the water. Golf balls are naturally hygroscopic which means that they absorb water from the environment around them. There's just too much science that shows that even balls that have just sat in water for a relatively short amount of time are significantly affected. My advice, if you're low on balls, don't care what you play, and find a clean one in the fairway or rough that looks like it was just lost that day, by all means take it if you're gonna use it. Leave all the others though. 

[edingc]

On 6/28/2019 at 10:24 AM, russtopherb said:

I drop found balls into a separate pocket of my bag and those end up in the garage for backyard practice. If it’s a newer ball in good condition I’ll give it a shot out on the course.


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Pretty much my strategy as well, though this season I've been filling bags to give to other golfers at work. We have several people who lose a lot of balls in our two yearly work outings.

Previously, I played Top Flite D2+ Feels and had three brand new 15-packs in my basement. One pack is now in my shagging tube for pitching, chipping, bunker and putting practice. I suppose the other two will sit for a while. Pretty set on playing optic yellow MTB Blacks for the foreseeable future.

[russtopherb]

1 minute ago, edingc said:

Pretty much my strategy as well, though this season I've been filling bags to give to other golfers at work. We have several people who lose a lot of balls in our two yearly work outings.

Previously, I played Top Flite D2+ Feels and had three brand new 15-packs in my basement. One pack is now in my shagging tube for pitching, chipping, bunker and putting practice. I suppose the other two will sit for a while. Pretty set on playing optic yellow MTB Blacks for the foreseeable future.

I've got a 15 pack of those in my closet too! They were a Christmas gift a few years ago. I doubt they'll ever get opened & played, but hey - it's the thought that counts. 

[Kanoito]

If I'm having a bad day and losing urethane balls, I'll play them.

Otherwise, give them to friends who don't care what ball they play.

I keep all my practice on the golf course, too lazy to collects balls