06-13-2003, 12:01 AM
I can see that older balls recovered from ponds could have been worse than new balls some time ago, but modern 2-piece balls? I don't really think so...
... I doubt that a few weeks of being in the water actually does them much harm....
The packages of "Experienced" balls sold in some stores are usually collected by folks who dive ponds that may have never been cleaned out. It's not just a matter of "a few weeks", but possibly YEARS that they have been there.
The problem is not just water saturation, but also freezing cycles. Remember, too, Deebye lives in London ON, not Texas. We see more ice than what's floating in the cooler.
I went to school with a lot of the guys who worked at my club, and hung with them quite a bit. They have a pretty good sideline selling found balls. We have checked out a lot of the balls that were obviously submerged for a long period. The solid core balls often have cracked cores.
As a side-note on a fun thing to try, and maybe impress your buddies: Put a few inexpensive balls in the deep freeze, then take them out and try hitting them while they are still frozen. Your buddies will think you've been taking lessons from John Daly. :) If you happen to shatter one (which happens), play innocent.
-rcv-
Kid Bugs
... I doubt that a few weeks of being in the water actually does them much harm....
The packages of "Experienced" balls sold in some stores are usually collected by folks who dive ponds that may have never been cleaned out. It's not just a matter of "a few weeks", but possibly YEARS that they have been there.
The problem is not just water saturation, but also freezing cycles. Remember, too, Deebye lives in London ON, not Texas. We see more ice than what's floating in the cooler.
I went to school with a lot of the guys who worked at my club, and hung with them quite a bit. They have a pretty good sideline selling found balls. We have checked out a lot of the balls that were obviously submerged for a long period. The solid core balls often have cracked cores.
As a side-note on a fun thing to try, and maybe impress your buddies: Put a few inexpensive balls in the deep freeze, then take them out and try hitting them while they are still frozen. Your buddies will think you've been taking lessons from John Daly. :) If you happen to shatter one (which happens), play innocent.
-rcv-
Kid Bugs