Whenever I dive these days I seem to find golfballs! Even offshore. I've just been diving in Holyhead Harbour. Its full of them. No golf course though. Given that golfers try to bat them into pretty small holes and that none of these are at all close to the sea (many, many meters away), how come so many golfers manage to lose their balls in the sea? I'm baffled.
What is it with golf balls?
Started by Paul Kay, May 23 2009 09:17 AM
9 replies to this topic
#1
Paul Kay
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Posted 23 May 2009 - 09:17 AM
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#2
Timmoranuk
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Posted 23 May 2009 - 09:27 AM
Hey Paul, why not flog 'em for 50 pence each to the pro shop at your local course...
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#3
Paul Kay
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Posted 23 May 2009 - 09:34 AM
'cos they're only 10p each in the local car boot sale!
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#4
Drew
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Posted 23 May 2009 - 09:39 AM
Actually, a lot of golfers just like driving them into the sea, at least I use to at Pebble Beach 
Then of course those damned mega cruise ships litter golf balls all over the ocean. It's not a new phenomena.
Then of course those damned mega cruise ships litter golf balls all over the ocean. It's not a new phenomena.
Drew
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#5
drsteve
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Posted 23 May 2009 - 09:39 AM
We have the same problem here. On one beach it was so bad that the Paradise Dive Club in Santa Barbara decided to do something about it. Once a year we have the "Golf Ball Challenge". We offer prizes for the maximum number found on one tank. The winner last year found something like 160! There is something about the bottom topography on this beach that concentrates them in huge piles.
I have also noticed that most trash in the ocean gets colonized, but not golf balls. Because of their shape and slick surface nothing seems to stick to them; they roll around for years. My theory is that there are a few idiots that think that the ocean makes a good driving range because after the balls land they are out of sight and out of mind. Go figure.
I have also noticed that most trash in the ocean gets colonized, but not golf balls. Because of their shape and slick surface nothing seems to stick to them; they roll around for years. My theory is that there are a few idiots that think that the ocean makes a good driving range because after the balls land they are out of sight and out of mind. Go figure.
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#6
NeptunesTrident
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Posted 23 May 2009 - 11:12 AM
Yep, we seem to find a lot of golf balls out here on the Palos Verdes Peninsula too. Many houses on the cliff sides are uber expensive and upscale. I think its a yuppie past time to go out in their backyards and knock a few into the sea. I try to collect them when I see them, as well as any other trash I come across. I wonder if there is any substances or materials in golf balls that could be harmful to the environment?
Edited by NeptunesTrident, 23 May 2009 - 11:13 AM.
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"From birth man carries the weight of gravity on his shoulders. He is bolted to earth. But man has only to sink beneath the surface and he is free. Buoyed by water, he can fly in any direction, up, down, sideways. Underwater man becomes an archangel." Capt. Jacques Yves Cousteau
#7
Drew
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Posted 23 May 2009 - 12:03 PM
Well technically MARPOL banned the dumping of golf balls off ships when all they found golf balls in animals. There are also biodegradable golf balls which break down after 120hrs in the water. However they are more expensive than the cheap Surlyn ones used by most golfers. Many cruise liners and people in general buy the cheap crap to wack into the sea. Some do it for the performance because the bio-balls don't travel as far or feel the same as the poly balls.
And don't get me started on the ecological damage of golf courses!
And don't get me started on the ecological damage of golf courses!
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#8
Cal
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Posted 28 May 2009 - 04:04 AM
So true!
I have a friend who laughs about finding golf balls everywhere! He dives on the shipwreck coast and surf coast of Victoria, Australia (places like Bell's beach). These are some seriously rough, remote and wavy places but he still finds a golf ball every dive!
Cal
I have a friend who laughs about finding golf balls everywhere! He dives on the shipwreck coast and surf coast of Victoria, Australia (places like Bell's beach). These are some seriously rough, remote and wavy places but he still finds a golf ball every dive!
Cal
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#9
laz217
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Posted 02 June 2009 - 07:35 PM
Same here in Palm Beach, Florida... Doesn't help we have the PGA (Professional Golfers Association of America) so close.
Here's something you can do to impress the girls on the boat with those fancy golf balls you just found. Crack open the yoke valve (doesn't work on a DIN) on your used air tank about a 1/4 turn. Cup your hands with the golf ball in it and locate your hand at 45 degrees from the outflow of air at about 6 inches. The idea is to get the ball spinning inside your hand. It will find a sweet spot and you can remove your hands from around it. The ball will stay floating in mid air for as long as there is air in the tank. Unless, of course, you sucked all the air out of your tank on your dive.
Here's a video I just found on the web showing what I explained:
(Geez... You can find everything on the web!)
WARNING: Make sure you're not standing in the path of the air flow and make sure there are no windows. I have seen the golf balls go flying at some high speed. Oh... And don't try to lick a spinning golf ball covered in fire coral! It hurts! Just ask one of the dive guides I work with.
Here's something you can do to impress the girls on the boat with those fancy golf balls you just found. Crack open the yoke valve (doesn't work on a DIN) on your used air tank about a 1/4 turn. Cup your hands with the golf ball in it and locate your hand at 45 degrees from the outflow of air at about 6 inches. The idea is to get the ball spinning inside your hand. It will find a sweet spot and you can remove your hands from around it. The ball will stay floating in mid air for as long as there is air in the tank. Unless, of course, you sucked all the air out of your tank on your dive.
Here's a video I just found on the web showing what I explained:
(Geez... You can find everything on the web!)
WARNING: Make sure you're not standing in the path of the air flow and make sure there are no windows. I have seen the golf balls go flying at some high speed. Oh... And don't try to lick a spinning golf ball covered in fire coral! It hurts! Just ask one of the dive guides I work with.
Lazaro Ruda
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#10
PRC
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Posted 02 June 2009 - 09:32 PM
Oh... And don't try to lick a spinning golf ball covered in fire coral! It hurts! Just ask one of the dive guides I work with.
Er you don't happen to have video of that do you Laz ?
