Big money in lost golf balls, wet or not
NEW YORK — Finding and reselling lost golf balls at 50 percent discount is an industry worth $200 million a year, golf retail associations estimate.
Gary Shienfield, whose Knetgolf.com will sell more than 20 million reclaimed golf balls this year, said the average golfer loses a ball every four holes.
The most commonly resold ball is also the best-selling new ball: the Pro V1 from Titleist, based in Massachusetts.
The majority of recycled balls come from water hazards, which raises the question of whether sitting at the bottom of a pond for weeks ruins performance.
Dean Snell, senior director of research at TaylorMade Golf, said a ball would absorb enough water to lose up to 5 miles per hour of velocity and fly a shorter distance.