Golf and the environment

Want to save money, play with high end golf balls, and save the environment all at the same time? Then recycled golf balls are the way to do it.

(hint:  it's a used ball)

Yep, it's a used ball. What? You don't play used balls? Wrong! Everytime you pull a ball out of your bag, it's a used one. Everytime you open that brand new sleeve and hit that new ball on the first tee, presto, it's used.

With that said, we're not talking about balls that look like the one in this picture. We're talking about balls that have been recovered from your local golf course pond, sold to a recycler, cleaned, refurbished and then resold to you.

The Process

Balls are purchased from "ball hawks" (private contractors who mostly scuba dive in ponds and lakes at golf courses). Those balls are then washed in a scrub cycle machine, dried, and then sorted by hand into categories based on their condition and type. Each company has their own grading category. Balls are then sold to retail stores, online distributors, and golf courses for use on the driving range.

As noted above, each company has their own grading policy. The top grade could be "mint", which are balls in perfect to near perfect condition (think a new ball lost on the first hit into a lake). Other grades could be "AAA" which may mean it has a minor scuff, a logo, a slight blemish, or perhaps some ink marks), or "AA" which shows more noticeable scuffing, discoloration, etc. Each company will have their grading system published on their website

Below is an example of the types of balls you can find on Amazon. As noted above, there are lots of websites that offer recycled golf balls. Amazon just happens to be one of my favorites. This particular ad (as of the time of this writing) shows a 36 pack of AAA Pro V1 golf balls selling for $69.99. A brand new set of 36 balls at your local pro shop would set you back around $140. That's an immediate savings of $70, or a couple rounds of golf at a local muni course.

 It's reported that 300 million golf balls are lost or thrown away in the U.S. every year. It's estimated that each of those balls require 100 to 1000 years to decompose naturally.

During a recent scientific inspection of Loch Ness Scotland, an estimated 100,000 golf balls were found to have made their way to the lake bottom. It's believed that as the balls break down they release heavy metals and toxins into the environment. One of these metals is Zinch, which resides in the sediment and subsequently poisons the surrounding animals and plants.

The bottom line is this: it's pollution. Polluted areas may be restricted for the most part to golf courses, but what happens when those courses shut down? There may be an attempt to clean up those lakes and ponds, but with that many balls lost every year (just in the U.S.), the odds of the new landowner wanting to pay someone for the clean up is probably unlikely.

So, do your part to help the environment by purchasing recycled golf balls prior to your next golf outing.

 Here are some great deals right now on Amazon: