why golf courses have lakes

[chocolatelab]

fire started near my house.

Apparently a contractor was doing weed abatement on a hill side to prevent wildfires and the weed whacker sparked and started a little fire.

They jumped on it quick. Only about 40 acres.

[chocolatelab]

[911pcars]

Because golf courses want a steady supply of barely used Titleist balls to resell?

Sherwood

[chocolatelab]

the guy who gets the balls out of the lake was out there last week scuba-ing around

he got more than a few

he would have had a big surprise today if he was diving for balls

wait a second are you a golf pro here in town

[tabs]

So you can go swimming...

[911pcars]

There was a story on NPR a few years ago about a company who contracts with golf courses around the country. Don't quote me on the exact amounts, but they retrieve golf balls out of hazard areas (lakes mostly) at no cost to the GC owner. They return 1/2 the found balls to the GC owner to resell, then keep the other half to sell as used balls. Most have been hit just a few times, so they probably look new. A new Titleist is what, $3.50-$4? How much is a barely used premium ball, $1.50, $2?

Maybe these guys: Lostgolfballs.com - Brand Name Premium Recycled and Used Golf Balls

I don't know how many duffers there are in the country nor the average number of balls lost per person/swing, but that's a lot of balls.

The scuba-equipped GB retriever they interviewed admitted earning about $100K/year based on $.07-$.10/ball. If the numbers are somewhat accurate, that means the guy retrieved a million balls/year. However, before polishing your job resume, I think there's a limited number of job openings, but here's one:
Golf Ball Diving - Golf Ball Retrieval

"Be able to dive blindly without the use of a compass or lighting. Be able to dive in water in poor conditions normally under 30' depth for long periods."


I liked the part where he admitted the workplace can be hazardous. For example, retrieving gballs in Florida is a challenge due to the long, green reptiles with big jaws and scaley skin that often inhabit this work environment.

I got off track didn't I?

Sherwood

[Tobra]

I thought it was so my friends and I could make some fairly decent dough in middle and school selling golf balls.

[HardDrive]

I checked back with the 16 year old me, and I have confirmed that golf course lakes are there so you can get loaded off your a55, and sneak into the country club with your friends, and drive golf carts into said lake. But don't quote me on that.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Ya gotta' put the detention ponds someplace. Might as well make them part of the landscaping.

[vash]

some of the best BASS fishing ever is on golf course ponds...in my youth, i have jumped many a fence to catch contraband bass. mostly at night.

[sammyg2]

I teed up a brand new golf ball once and hit it right into the lake. Shoot!
I teed up another brand new ball, splash. Same result.
I teed up a third new ball and the person I was paired up with suggested I tee up an old golf ball.

I looked at him and said "Ive never had one of those...... "