TrojanCatMan
Contributor
Az has more golf courses than McDonalds... I'd hate to dawn Scuba gear our there!
Golf Ball Divers
- Thread starter Gallep
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Danman589019
Registered
The Summer 2006 edition of "Dive Into Adventure" magazine has a little thing about golf ball recovery divers on page 20.
Here's the part about the money:
Here's the part about the money:
Also, an instructor I know told me he has a friend who makes $80,000 a year doing it.Dive Into Adventure:
TrojanCatMan
Contributor
Danman589019:
What was I thinking going in to Software Development.. UGH!
bikefox
Guest
Yes, full-time guys can make 6 digits. I'm collecting 15-30K balls a week. That's about 1 million per year at 8-10 cents a ball. You can do the math. I'll keep my teaching job, summer is enough golfball diving for me!!
WetFatCat
Contributor
Numbers, numbers everywhere.
1 week = 7 days = 168 hours = 10080 minutes...
15000 balls per week? Hmmm... A ball every 40 seconds?
1 week = 7 days = 168 hours = 10080 minutes...
15000 balls per week? Hmmm... A ball every 40 seconds?
dumpsterDiver
Banned
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Diving for balls in Florida presents special problems. This includes alligators that are very common on some courses (on one course I used to see at least 30 per day). Another issue is being "forced" to dive in "reclaimed" water. This is sewage water that has been minimally treated and still has lotsa nutrients and probably lotsa viruses. The water is GREEN, with visibility less than 6 inches usually. At least when you walk outta the pond, you know if you got bit by an alligator. I was always more worried about the potential impacts from viral exposure.
It is not a fun job. Ear in****tions (as my kids used to call them) are a constant problem if you don't use the right ear drops and diving with a full wetsuit and hood in a green pond that is less than 8 feet deep and has a temperature of atleast 95 degrees (say August) is very stressful. Even in south Florida, the same nasty pond can drop into the upper 40's during a hard cold spell, and you are required to wear a full 7mm suit with 2 hoods and a vest, to allow exposure for 5-6 hours and also driving wet in the wind in a golf cart when the chill factor can be 40 degrees is fun.
1000 balls weighs around 100 lbs which equates to $80 (@ 8 cents) so you will end up doing a lot of hard physical work. A good day for me was something over 3,000 balls.
It is not a fun job. Ear in****tions (as my kids used to call them) are a constant problem if you don't use the right ear drops and diving with a full wetsuit and hood in a green pond that is less than 8 feet deep and has a temperature of atleast 95 degrees (say August) is very stressful. Even in south Florida, the same nasty pond can drop into the upper 40's during a hard cold spell, and you are required to wear a full 7mm suit with 2 hoods and a vest, to allow exposure for 5-6 hours and also driving wet in the wind in a golf cart when the chill factor can be 40 degrees is fun.
1000 balls weighs around 100 lbs which equates to $80 (@ 8 cents) so you will end up doing a lot of hard physical work. A good day for me was something over 3,000 balls.
Good advice, I'll be in a dry suit to avoid most of those issues. If or when I heavily get involved with this hobby/job, I may be investing in a FFM to increase that comfort level. Being in Colorado the fear of living things in the water with me are very minimal.
mikerault
Contributor
Anyone know any companies in the Atlanta area doing this?
Mike
Mike
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