An outdoor sportsman understands the term catch and release. I mainly applies to fishing, but I am sure there are other sports where it can be used. And I have decided that golf is one of those sports. I bet you are wondering how the heck this is so, but I assure you that it is nothing nefarious, yet it does apply.

Let me lay out the situation. Jim, Rick and Blair are golfing one day and it seems to be a regular round with the usual ups and downs. As we walk the the llth tee box, we zero in our distance and select the perfect club.

Generally playing about 165 yards, I select my 6 iron which will comfortably get me to the green. I usually play last, out of routine, and I watched as Rick hit is ball just on the green. Blair was short left leaving him an easy chip. I confidently strode up to the teeing area and proceed to hit my ball into the water on the right. Rick groans and says “well, that sucks, another ball in the water”. Blair laments that it was another lost ball. I looked at both of them and say, “that is okay, I found it on the last hole while I was looking for your golf balls!” 🤣 🤣 🤣 See, exactly like I was saying……catch and release!

Now that you wiped a tear from your eye 😉 I think I should expand a bit. I find hundreds of golf balls a year around the golf course. Some rounds more than others, definitely more after a tournament, but we never fail to replenish our stash of golf balls. It is part of our routine as I get all the Pro Vs, Rick the Taylormade, and Blair virtually everything else. Of course we will all hit the odd different brands, but we are all about the catch and release aspect of ball hawking. We know we will probably lose more than we will find over the course of the season, but it does help keep the costs down and has very little impact on our scores. So, you heard it at The Grateful Golfer first; I am all about catch and release in golf! How about you?

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!