Stories from Lockdown

December 3, 2020

Del Mar, CA

 

Ball Hawkers

 

 

They are not hard to pick out on the course. Most players, either cluster around the tee box or walk or drive straight to their ball. Not ball hawkers. These men and women are driven to find lost golf balls, which they equate to hidden treasure. Like the people on the beach with metal scanners, a true hawker “must” search. You’ll see them walking along the cart path scanning brush, looking into ponds, and walking through tall rough.

 

Need has nothing to do with the pastime of ball-hawking. I have several hundred left in my garage. At one time I probably had a couple of thousand, but I try to practice “catch and release” by giving away as many balls as I can. 

 

So how did we accumulate so much “treasure”?  My friend, Terry, lived next to a desert golf course and would frequently hunt during off-hours. I took lessons at a small course with a creek running through it. The route to the creek was downhill and difficult. The retirees wouldn’t go down the bank. On a good day, I might find 60 golf balls. 

 

Like any treasure, some items are more valued than others. Titleist Pro V 1 balls, which sell new for $4.00 a piece, are valued, of course. But we all have our favorites, which sometimes defy logic. I like Srixon balls though I couldn’t tell you why other than they have a cool name. Vicki likes yellow balls, which are easy to see. The difference between golf balls is probably minimal, but the marketing men want you to believe otherwise.

 

Is ball-hawking dangerous? It can be. Terry always carried a club to ward off rattlesnakes. I fell in a pond once and numerous times took a spill going down the river bank. Often my clothes would get torn on a mission. 

 

Besides saving money on golf balls, the  Indiana Jones experience is hard to beat. The thrill of finding a shiny new ball can sometimes outweigh the effects of a double bogey!