During every round of golf I spend some time in the woods or hazard area looking for a golf ball. More often than not, it is someone else’s ball, but that is not really a problem when I play. We all hit wayward shots and assist others looking for their golf ball. It is not unusual for me to find several golf balls while on the hunt that I do not play or want to carry around. Usually, I toss them to my playing partners with out a thought. It is a great way to share resources and lighten my golf bag at the same time.

Over the many years of playing golf, I have offered countless found golf balls to my playing partners. As we played over the years, we have arbitrarily decided to split the balls in a particular manner. Rick receives all the Taylormade balls, Blair wants the Callaway, and I receive the Pro Vs. With Fernando in the group, he gets a share of all of them so that he is not left out.

Of all the players in my group, I am the discerning player. I will use other balls besides Pro Vs, but normally I stick to what is working for my game. Of course, in the spring and fall I use a Wilson 50 golf ball, but share them equally with Rick and Blair as they do as well. It really is amazing how many golf balls we find during the course of a year.

I know that some golfers refuse to use found golf balls. Personally, I am not fussed, but do have some limitations. During the first couple of weeks in spring I avoid using found golf balls because they likely sat in the freezing cold over the winter. Also, I do avoid playing water balls, especially if they have a water stain. The performance of these two types of found balls is always poor, so why play them when I do not need or want too.

I do have to give a shout out to my friend Mike. He is by far the greatest ball hawker I know. If he goes into the the woods, it is like a magnet. He always seems to walk out with a handful of little white treasures.

Finding golf balls and passing them on is a tradition in my game. I have shared my found treasures of as long as I can remember. Of course it is just nice to share the spoils, but over the course of the year it does save a great deal of money. Moving to my new course, I will adopt the same habits of sharing found golf balls and hopefully my new playing partners will do the same.

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