Who owns lost golf balls

Before long, the business needed full-time attention. Over the years, they've acquired 18 ball-retrieval companies, purchased those companies' contracts with golf courses and amassed a network that includes contracted divers. There's also a loyal contingent of retirees and others who find golf balls for a hobby and bring in garbage can-sized loads for processing. The processing is tedious work. Balls are washed in a series of custom-made, industrial sized tanks with conveyor belts moving them from solution through brushing, rinsing and soaking.

Then they are sorted by brand and by the shape the balls are in. At LostGolfBalls. An Internet search shows the LostGolfBalls site is hardly the only purveyor. But on one Amazon. Of the 1, total ratings posted over the last 12 months, the company was rated positively 93 percent of the time. That machine now does about half of the sorting work. The rest is up to a cadre of sorters who pick through the balls looking for discoloration, club marks and dull sheen, and grade each ball's quality, which impacts its resale value.

Balls also can be damaged from long periods in the water. Yet their own tests show less than a 1 percent difference between a recycled ball's performance and that of an original, the PG Professional Golf founders say.

Technological advances also help. Golf balls of old had soft cores wrapped in rubber linings and encased in hard shells. Inline Feedbacks. Robert Wheatley. John Sullivan. Reply to Robert Wheatley. Bright blue or yellow works. Ned Rennolds. Cool idea. Hope it takes off for him. Tom Jones. Reply to bob laughner. Last edited 3 months ago by Tom Jones. Ed Christina. Julian Utley. Reply to Ed Christina.

BK Katherman. Greg Vernon. Reply to BK Katherman. Mario Volklskier. Rick Hecks. Steve Martinez. Last edited 3 months ago by Steve Martinez. Keith Larkin. Reply to Steve Martinez. David Harden.

Henry Fordsom. Joined Jul 20, Messages 2, Location Manchester. Any balls I find I give to the juniors or any of the kids playing, when I find them. Billysboots Challenge Tour Pro Nov 21, Joined Aug 25, Messages 2, In answer to the OP, I think the question of who "owns" lost golf balls was clarified in a reasonably well publicised legal case a few years ago, when a couple of fellas visited a local course after closing with scuba gear and recovered hundreds of balls from a lake.

A prosecution followed, and whilst the defendants argued that lost balls weren't owned by anybody, the Courts decided that they were, in fact, owned by the golf club. So whilst every right-minded club owner or pro will never bat an eyelid if you find a ProV in the rough do ProV users go in the rough?

Oddsocks Ryder Cup Winner Nov 21, So effectively every time I find a ball I should hand it in to the course Oddsocks said:.

Scouser Tour Winner Nov 21, Joined Feb 17, Messages 3, Location Liverpool. Billysboots said:. I rarely keep a ball long enough to remember any distinguishing marks so were the club to hold an ID parade in the bar for any of mine I'd never pick it out in a line up. I remember the case of the guys who raided the pond being prosecuted and to be honest if the club were doing it annually as I think they were and making a profit selling them then of course it is theft.