Golf Ball Diver specialty

[MrMojo]

Hi all,
There was acase in the UK last year or the previous year(i'm getting old) where a diver was sent to jail for retrieving golf balls from courses as the owners of the course said he was stealing ther property.Mind you he was going in the middle of the night then selling the balls back to the course after a few days. From the newspaper reports he was making a good living doing this but after the report i am sure lots of people tried to jump on the idea.Last i remember he was let out on appeal and then had an offer to work in Australia as a partner in a lucrative business doing the same .Ironic as that is where we sent all our criminals.LOL (I'm only joking i like Fosters beer as much as the next man).

Regards,

MAL..

 

[Wreck/Tec]

There is some truth, in my case anyway. I have permission to dive a ship wreck off another persons property. One of the things I noticed was a lot of golf balls littering the lake bottom to the wreck. It turns out that the gentleman that gave me permission to dive, drives golf balls off the shore line into the lake for practice. I retrieve them while doing my deco time, as its only 12-18 ft deep at this point. I gather them, and return them to him so he can drive more balls, and save some cash besides. I also give him the PERCH report! The daily log of where the fish are so he can try his luck.
Wreck/Tec

 

[norcaldiver]

MrMojo once bubbled...
Hi all,
There was acase in the UK last year or the previous year(i'm getting old) where a diver was sent to jail for retrieving golf balls from courses as the owners of the course said he was stealing ther property.Mind you he was going in the middle of the night then selling the balls back to the course after a few days.

Right, and went back while out on bail....duh.

Here's the link.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1998153.stm

 

[Lawman]

Is to keep your hands off the other guys balls.

 

[TropiGal]

Yep...that would be the moral...I'd say...."keep your hands off the other guys balls" as you said - unless you have a contract that is legally binding....

and that sounds way too painful !!!

 

[chris3536]

Dear Friends,

Finally a thread I feel I can add some valuable insight! (I am a newly certified diver)

As a PGA Golf Professional, I have a lot of experience with golf ball divers. I have been contracting golf ball concessions at the courses I have worked out for 7 years. At the country club where I am currently employed, I hire a diver to "pick" the lakes 3 times a year. By simply handing him a key to a golf cart and a handshake, he handed me 3 checks totalling $1420!!!!!

He gives me 10 cents for every golf ball he pulls out of my lakes. (Yes, for those of you doing the math, that is a lot of golf balls lost in one year, but my club has several lakes and ponds!)

He takes all the golf balls he does picks, cleans them in a regular washing machine with soap and bleach, then sells them. For those of you that are not around golf, some of the top brands of golf balls sell for $45-50 per DOZEN. The used version of these golf balls (in good condition) bring about $20-$25 a dozen.

Several years ago, I read an article in Readers' Digest about a man who started "pioneering" this kind of work. He devoloped his own special solution to clean the balls and make them new looking. This guy was making almost a million a year. Now, with ebay, it has become even easier to move these used golf balls.

Being a professional, I have played many golf courses all over this country. I can honestly say I would have to question the sanity of anyone who dives in golf course water hazards, because that is just what they are hazards. They are full of sewage, chemicals, glass, fish hooks, and gators! Unless you are diving at Pebble Beach or Torrey Pines, the viz is O!!!! I would rather dive in my toliet! (At least it's blue water!)

Can you believe the current guy I contract for my golf course is not even certified! How does he get air fills? These guys are crazy!

 

[Ghostdiver]

chris3536 once bubbled...
I would rather dive in my toliet! (At least it's blue water!)

Can you believe the current guy I contract for my golf course is not even certified! How does he get air fills? These guys are crazy!

I agree, even with the blue stuff, toilet water is probably safer. That article in Rodale's gives an excellent run down of the risks of diving for golf balls. Personally, I don't think I would be willing to do it, even for 100k a year. The guys in those articles were constantly getting stabbled with things under water, risking attacks by snakes & gaters, and also their incomes are undermined by these "pirate" divers who come in at midnight and dive the lakes in secret. One of the guys interviewed by Rodales described how he would immediatley take a shower after working because of all the chemicals and pesticides that run off the course and into the water. I think zero viz is the high point of diving for golf balls. At least you don't see what you're in.

 

[bobafett21]

Yes, I saw the same article in Rodale's Scuba Diving. I notice the diver carries a snake bite kit as part of his regular scuba gear and has already been bitten several times this past year.

 

[scubaplacer]

I am a PADI Divemaster. I teach C card divers my method of diving for golf balls. This is not a certified PADI course. A PADI Divemaster can teach certified scuba divers any underwater task they wish. I charge 150 dollars for a one tank dive on a golf course. I only teach one diver at a time. Some students love it, and some ralize it isnt for them. It boils down to the old aquatic clostrephobia even if I cant spell it. I also give my graduates a referance phone call to there employer prospects If any golf ball retreval company sub contracks you its nice to have some experience since you are on your own.

 

[fstbttms]

Wait- there might be some other 8-year-old threads you could revive.