Thinking about taking up golf ball diving.

[Garrobo]

I mean like they are what? Three or four dollar each?

 

[Brishar]

Pros
1. Love diving in zero visibility, might even qualify for new "touch diving" c-card.
2. Alligators, water snakes and turtles are over-rated anyway.
3. Almost nobody throws stuff like barbed wire in ponds any more.
4. Chemical and bio waste runoffs are actually good for your complexion and will
keep that "brand new shine" on your dive gear for ever!

Cons
1. You won't ever have to worry about competing against me for this job.


It's your choice.

 

[vladimir]

I like the entrepreneurial spirit. Make your own schedule, work outdoors, get directly compensated for the fruits of your labor. Maybe one day have a string of golfball divers working for you. That's what made America great! Good luck.

 

[diverdoug1]

The main problem with golfball recovery diving is that it is frequently blackwater diving that is approached without adequate safety measures/equipment (because that would eat up the miniscule profit you make). At least if you sign up to be a muck jumper (sewage grate cleaner), they supply the suit.

 

[icedrac]

Well it seems like there are a lot of pros and cons to this, though many of you seem to be very anti golf-ball diving.
It is still something i am going to pursue, It is not like it is my main job. I just got out of college too. It is more like something to try to make some money on the side. One of the local divers around here says he uses a hookah setup to dive these ponds and such. any advice on that?

 

[Nemrod]

I would rather shoot staples into my forehead as "dive" for golf balls.

From someone who has done both. One by accident, the other on purpose, you guess which.

N

 

[TechBlue]

I did it here in Florida, but most of it was on skin diving (some on SCUBA). Gators were a nuisance, but I guess that is not a problem in Arizona. I also hated running into Cottonmouths and big Snapping Turtles. I got bit by snakes 3 times, and bit by a Gator once. One time I figured out that I was making about $6 per hour after expenses (including a significant kick-back to the course). Very dirty / hard work (worse than cleaning boat hulls). STAY IN SCHOOL!!!!!

You are one dedicated MF I hope you didn't give the ball up Very good advice that looks like it will be ignored. But there again what do you get for a college degree nowadays?

 

[carrielsal]

Wasn't the guy who died on a hookah without a surface tender?

 

[Vlane]

I've seen a few of these posts pop up every now and then on here and the main concern with golf ball diving is typically water contaminants. A lot of golf courses use all kinds of fertilizers and those will run into the water traps, sometimes giving them a strange tint. There was one post I read where someone actually had a contract with a golf course to retrieve balls but they used some hefty gear, including a drysuit and full face mask. I'm not sure if the chemicals in the water will have a long term effect on your health but I still wouldn't consider golf ball diving without the proper gear.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I did it for years with pretty much recreational dive gear, wetsuits etc. It was tough work, but I grossed 8 cents a ball and could find pretty many in a day, usually. It takes a while to train yourself to locate and effciently pick up balls in very poor or zero visibility.