# What to do with old golf balls?



## delc (Dec 9, 2015)

Being a not very long straight hitting senior, I very rarely lose golf balls, and often find more than I lose. I have been playing with the same ball for the last 3 rounds and it is starting to look a bit tatty. I checked in my golf bag last week and found that it contained 25 used golf balls in various states, plus 2 racks of new unused balls. I managed to give a handful of pre-owned balls in reasonable condition to a fellow senior who loses a lot of golf balls, but I am still stuck with the really tatty ones. Does anybody know of a good way to recycle them without harming the environment?


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## Leereed (Dec 9, 2015)

I use mine on the range. When I can be bothered going.


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## delc (Dec 9, 2015)

Leereed said:



			I use mine on the range. When I can be bothered going.
		
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Won't having range balls that actually go a reasonable distance confuse the hell out of practising golfers though?  Not a bad suggestion though!


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## rickg (Dec 9, 2015)

delc said:



			Won't having range balls that actually go a reasonable distance confuse the hell out of practising golfers though?  Not a bad suggestion though!
		
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I think most golfers can tell the difference between a range ball and a real ball. 

I also use my spares in case I go to a range


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## Imurg (Dec 9, 2015)

Apparently the club has a 40 gallon drum full of old balls that get given to any Juniors that need them so mine find their way to the range..
Down to my last 2 shoe boxes worth now...and I've stopped picking up balls I don't use...


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## delc (Dec 9, 2015)

Imurg said:



			Apparently the club has a 40 gallon drum full of old balls that get given to any Juniors that need them so mine find their way to the range..
Down to my last 2 shoe boxes worth now...and I've stopped picking up balls I don't use...
		
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Yes I used to give my pre-owned golf balls to our club's juniors, but they were getting many more from club members than they could ever use, and in any case they apparently turn their noses up at anything less than a Pro V1 in pristine condition!


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## Jacko_G (Dec 9, 2015)

Donate to the pro for teaching?


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## AmandaJR (Dec 9, 2015)

I call them "one hit wonders" and use them on the range!


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## Pin-seeker (Dec 9, 2015)

I lose them before they get old.


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## Liverpoolphil (Dec 9, 2015)

Go into the juniors box or give them to one of the guys who cleans them then gives them away with raffle tickets he sells for chairty


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## Fish (Dec 9, 2015)

I think juniors are too fussy these days and most turn their noses up at scabby or non top of the range balls, I've stopped picking any up that I won't play with myself, I'll just throw them out into the open for someone else to claim.


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## srixon 1 (Dec 9, 2015)

Whack em down the range. I don't have to pay and the range gets free balls.


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## HomerJSimpson (Dec 9, 2015)

Give them to juniors. We have a junior academy with some very young players and they wouldn't know the difference between a Pro V and a Pinnacle but would be made up getting any make of ball in half decent nick. Other than that smash them on the range


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## patricks148 (Dec 9, 2015)

smack them in the Moray Firth


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## delc (Dec 9, 2015)

patricks148 said:



			smack them in the Moray Firth
		
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A bit impractical as I live in Hertfordshire!  :mmm:


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## patricks148 (Dec 9, 2015)

delc said:



			A bit impractical as I live in Hertfordshire!
		
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post them to me and i will smack them in for you


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## delc (Dec 9, 2015)

patricks148 said:



			post them to me and i will smack them in for you
		
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Will you pay for the postage?


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## fundy (Dec 9, 2015)

our range is almost all normal balls not range balls, so only fair to do my share and add some more


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## Toad (Dec 9, 2015)

Gave them away on here last time I had a batch. 

Was mostly ones I found when playing and they were like new but not my type of ball. Old tatties get hit down the range at Murryshall, anything would be better than the ones they make you pay for.


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## nickjdavis (Dec 9, 2015)

patricks148 said:



			smack them in the Moray Firth
		
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When I was a kid back in the 70s I used to walk along the beach in Lossiemouth collecting golf balls....Slazengers, Penfolds, Dunlops... all the old classics.... and I'd sell the best conditioned ones back to the local golfers!


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## Hobbit (Dec 10, 2015)

fundy said:



			our range is almost all normal balls not range balls, so only fair to do my share and add some more
		
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Same here. Sent 50+ down the range at the weekend


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## Crawfy (Dec 10, 2015)

I put mine in a box and leave them at the door of the changing room of my club for juniors/beginners.

Failing that, give them a wash and put them in a charity shop

Pay it forward.


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## patricks148 (Dec 10, 2015)

I don't do this much now as i prefer just going off without hitting balls, but when i went to an open comp i would take a bag of old balls hit them on the range or chipping green and just leave them there.  We also used to use our own balls on the practice ground so again used to just leave them on there.


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## Maninblack4612 (Dec 10, 2015)

Leereed said:



			I use mine on the range. When I can be bothered going.
		
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I'm good friends with the guy who runs our local range & people who do that drive him mad.  Nor sure why but he sorts out all the non range balls & disposes of them.  I would have thought he would appreciate people supplementing his stock.


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## ShankyBoy (Dec 10, 2015)

I tee mine up on a long wide hole at the club when no-one is around and hit them as hard as I can, if they go to the fairway I pick them up, if they stray into the rough, it's goodbye.


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## swanny32 (Dec 10, 2015)

Mine get chucked in my pencil bag so I can either launch them down the range or use them on our 9 hole course in the summer when I want a quick knock....."shag bag" balls.


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## rickg (Dec 10, 2015)

Maninblack4612 said:



			I'm good friends with the guy who runs our local range & people who do that drive him mad.  Nor sure why but he sorts out all the non range balls & disposes of them.  I would have thought he would appreciate people supplementing his stock.
		
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Is it a short range? I can see why it would be a potential issue if so due to the balls going further than normal range balls. He might be worried about potential claims if balls go over the end of the range.


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## Alex1975 (Dec 10, 2015)

I use them in the garden. I tend to use the same one over and over till it splits or finds its way over the net and into the field.


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## FairwayDodger (Dec 10, 2015)

Mine get initialled and added to my practice bag!


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## Simbo (Dec 10, 2015)

Mine go in the practice bag as well, either that or I use them to warm up with before going on the course, then I don't need to bother going to pick them up.


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## Maninblack4612 (Dec 10, 2015)

rickg said:



			Is it a short range? I can see why it would be a potential issue if so due to the balls going further than normal range balls. He might be worried about potential claims if balls go over the end of the range.
		
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Not really,  it's about 300 yards to the fence.  I'll ask him next time I see him.


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## rickg (Dec 10, 2015)

Maninblack4612 said:



			Not really,  it's about 300 yards to the fence.  I'll ask him next time I see him.
		
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There you go then... He's probably worried a load of forumites will turn up and smash a load of balls 30 yards over the back!! ne:


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## HankMarvin (Dec 10, 2015)

We have a collection box for them & the juniors get them


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## Alex1975 (Dec 10, 2015)

Maninblack4612 said:



			Not really,  it's about 300 yards to the fence.  I'll ask him next time I see him.
		
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Oh, a pitching range...


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## North Mimms (Dec 11, 2015)

delc said:



			Being a not very long straight hitting senior, I very rarely lose golf balls, and often find more than I lose. I have been playing with the same ball for the last 3 rounds and it is starting to look a bit tatty. I checked in my golf bag last week and found that it contained 25 used golf balls in various states, plus 2 racks of new unused balls. I managed to give a handful of pre-owned balls in reasonable condition to a fellow senior who loses a lot of golf balls, but I am still stuck with the really tatty ones. Does anybody know of a good way to recycle them without harming the environment?
		
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I'm like Del. My golf balls die of old age, rather than getting lost.
The few that do go OOB or into water are invariably only a couple of holes old!

I have bags of worn out balls in the garage!


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## delc (Dec 11, 2015)

North Mimms said:



			I'm like Del. My golf balls die of old age, rather than getting lost.
The few that do go OOB or into water are invariably only a couple of holes old!

I have bags of worn out balls in the garage!
		
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Yes, the only time I seem to lose golf balls is when I have just put a brand new, premium grade ball into play!  If they survive the first few holes, they then seem to go on for ever!  :mmm:


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## delc (Dec 11, 2015)

rickg said:



			Is it a short range? I can see why it would be a potential issue if so due to the balls going further than normal range balls. He might be worried about potential claims if balls go over the end of the range.
		
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More likely to be worried about you hitting practice balls you haven't paid for!


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## Scott W (Dec 11, 2015)

I give mine to my lads who are beginners...they get through them pretty quick!


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## Doon frae Troon (Dec 11, 2015)

patricks148 said:



			smack them in the Moray Firth
		
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As a youngster mine used to go into the Firth of Forth first week of snow.
Top of the cliff you did not want to let your driver grip slip.


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## HomerJSimpson (Dec 11, 2015)

Scott W said:



			I give mine to my lads who are beginners...they get through them pretty quick!
		
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That's what I'd do. Plenty of very young golfers at my place that aren't too precious about what they use


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## delc (Dec 12, 2015)

Are golf balls at all biodegradable or recyclable (other than as lake balls)?  I know that vets occasionally have to remove golf balls from the intestines of domestic animals, so how much are they a threat to wildlife?


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## Fish (Dec 12, 2015)

delc said:



			Are golf balls at all biodegradable or recyclable (other than as lake balls)?  I know that vets occasionally have to remove golf balls from the intestines of domestic animals, so how much are they a threat to wildlife?
		
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Maybe if the balls were bigger animals couldn't swallow them :smirk:


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## MashieNiblick (Dec 12, 2015)

delc said:



			Are golf balls at all biodegradable or recyclable (other than as lake balls)?  I know that vets occasionally have to remove golf balls from the intestines of domestic animals, so how much are they a threat to wildlife?
		
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Good question. Be interested if any one knows but I suspect not. I have found golf balls from the 1950's that are only just beginning to degrade and they were made from more natural materials. Can modern balls be ground up and re-used in anyway like tyres or plastic bags?


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## delc (Dec 12, 2015)

MashieNiblick said:



			Good question. Be interested if any one knows but I suspect not. I have found golf balls from the 1950's that are only just beginning to degrade and they were made from more natural materials. Can modern balls be ground up and re-used in anyway like tyres or plastic bags?
		
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When I was a kid back in the late 1950's my cousin and I discovered a bag of hickory shafted clubs and gutta percha golf balls in the cellar, that had belonged to our recently deceased grandfather, probably dating back to the turn of the century. The balls looked OK, but had gone a bit of a brown colour. We took the clubs and the balls to a local park and tried a few shots, but found that the balls had gone rather hard with age and tended to shatter into pieces. That was my first introduction to golf btw, but it was it was a few more years before I started taking it seriously.


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## HomerJSimpson (Dec 12, 2015)

What condition are these balls in. Is there no way of sorting the best quality ones and giving them to a charity shop to sell on for a few quid profit.


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## Foxholer (Dec 12, 2015)

nickjdavis said:



			When I was a kid back in the 70s I used to walk along the beach in Lossiemouth collecting golf balls....Slazengers, Penfolds, Dunlops... all the old classics.... and I'd sell the best conditioned ones back to the local golfers!
		
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Times have changed! These days, there's couses where some b....s that stand just out of sight, then try to sell the one you've just hit back to you!

As for my pickups...they tend to be used on the any of the holes with water threatening!


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## Sats (Dec 12, 2015)

I have a spare set clubs - Nike Covert/XHOT 3W/TM BURNER 2.0 3 HYBRID, TM TOUR BURNER IRONS 4-SW, TM 60Âº RAC WEDGE, ODYSSEY DART  - in case anything happened to my #1 set or a mate who normally doesn't play comes out for a hack - all found balls get lobbed in that bag.


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## Skypilot (Dec 13, 2015)

I save them for when I play on our lake course.
That thins them out a bit


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## hovis (Dec 13, 2015)

We save ours and have a ball skimming comp on the lake


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## delc (Dec 13, 2015)

hovis said:



			We save ours and have a ball skimming comp on the lake
		
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Are golf balls harmful to aquatic life?  They may be to Avian life, because one of my playing partners hit a Canada Goose squarely on the head with one last week. After heading the ball into a nearby lake, the Goose collapsed onto the ground for a few seconds before groggily getting back onto his feet and staggering round in circles until it regained its composure!  :mmm:


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## snell (Dec 13, 2015)

delc said:



			Are golf balls harmful to aquatic life?  They may be to Avian life, because one of my playing partners hit a Canada Goose squarely on the head with one last week. After heading the ball into a nearby lake, the Goose collapsed onto the ground for a few seconds before groggily getting back onto his feet and staggering round in circles until it regained its composure!  :mmm:
		
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Praying you have a video of this?!?!


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## delc (Dec 14, 2015)

snell said:



			Praying you have a video of this?!?!
		
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Unfortunately no!  Many years ago I hit a seagull in flight square on with a drive.  Both the gull and my ball dropped like stones into a cross fairway ditch. I lost about 100 yards off my drive and ended up in a water hazard, but at least I was better off than the poor Gull, who went to meet his Maker in the Sky!


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## JamesR (Dec 14, 2015)

The very best ones may get used when I don't see the point in wasting a premium or new ball, ie, in winter, or on summers evenings.
The next best ones go in the practise bag, for use on the practise ground.
The worst ones go into the box for junior coaching.


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## PNWokingham (Dec 14, 2015)

mine have early-onset euthanasia


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