Amongst my golf buddies, we have a different meaning for the term. Ball-hawking is the obsessive hunting for lost golf balls.
It turns out that I have a hereditary skill, passed on from my father, to find lost golf balls. More about this family tradition later. Often while my buddies are scoping out their next shot, I am found traipsing through the brush in search of lost balls.
Last week, I disappeared for about 5 minutes only to return and announce to Rich that I had found 7 balls. Rich’s reply “That’s It?”
The ball hawking gene was passed from my father. I can’t help it.
It’s About Savings – Sort Of
Since this is a finance post, I’ll loosely tie this to savings.
I will play any ball I find except for Pinnacle and Top Flite. Somehow they feel like rocks…personal preference. But, my favorites are Titleist.
At the PGA Superstore, a dozen Titleist golf balls costs about $60
That’s about $5 per ball. On Tuesday, while playing Blackstone National, I picked up 2 Titleist Pro V1 golf balls, along with a few others. All the balls were in like-new condition. Not counting the other balls, that’s $10 worth of Pro V1s in my pocket.
Balls are quite expensive to buy and it’s quite a hit to your budget when they fly into the woods. A little ball-hawking can save some cash.
It’s a Sickness
It started with my Dad.
My Dad is a little obsessive. He loved golf, practiced regularly, played every Saturday and Sunday, and took notes after every round. When he was in his 60’s, he had a hip replaced. No golf for 6 months.
With nothing to do, he started wandering the course to strengthen his hip. He started to notice all the golf balls left abandoned and started putting them in his pockets. When his pockets were full, he un-tucked his shirt and made a basket to hold all the balls.
One day, my Dad was hunting through a swamp with his boots on, pockets full and shirt at capacity. He was stuck in the mud. It was a heart-wrenching decision to dump some of the balls so he could escape with his life.
My Dad passed away 15 years ago. Shortly after, I asked my Mom what I could do for her. She replied “get these damn golf balls out of my house!”
I loaded up my Dad’s legacy; 5,000+ balls organized by brand and quality. I still have a huge bucketful in the garage.
I’ve Got it Too
To my knowledge, I’ve never bought a new golf ball. I never thought much about it, but I always seemed to find more than I lost. It wasn’t until my Dad’s golf ball-mania kicked in that I became aware of how much ball-hawking I did while playing.
It’s Contagious
My wife just started playing again this year. She’s got a couple of friends who play so she’s been out golfing a couple of times a week.
Like my Dad, my wife is a bit OCD. I’ve posted about her Savers and Job Lot trips, how she furnished a room for under $100, and her competitive nature in finding savings.
On one of her golf outings, she discovered colored golf balls. She found a pink, a yellow, a red, a green….she was hooked. Earlier in the year, she was interested in going to the driving range and improving her game. Now she is laser-focused on the hunt.
Last week, I lost her for 20 minutes. I hit some chips and putts around the 9th green until she wandered out of the brush covered in leaves and grass with pockets and hands full of balls. She got a birdie that day, but on the drive home, the only discussion was the variety of multi-colored balls that were now hers.
Her white whale is the elusive purple ball. We’ve seen these online, but have not spotted one in the wild. I’ve considered buying her some, but like savers, it is all about the finding for her.
Wrap-Up
While ball-hawking offsets some of the cost of golf, the true beauty of ball-hawking is the adrenaline rush of finding a pristine Pro V1 or a shiny ball in a unique color.
After each outing, my wife texts pics of her newest findings to her group of golf-ladies.
And the lovely crystal dish filled with multi-colored balls in the post image is now the centerpiece of our coffee table.
I just knew she’s going to make them a house decoration!
It’s a shame I am not in New England any more or golfing – I could have supplied many colored golf balls such that your wife could have hinted them down as if it were an Easter egg hunt. I have even lost a few boxes 🗃️ f purple balls as well as my favorite, easy to find (in the woods or amongst autumn leaves) dual color balls. They were expensive & supposed to be harder to lose, though I completely disagree with that claim.