A golf ball is more likely to be lost than worn out and with so many of them going astray, it makes environmental sense, and economic sense for the player, to reuse them. Unsurprisingly, fierce competition has emerged among the many 'old' golf ball retailers that have emerged in this area.

Hawkers gather the balls, roaming the 'rough' and often diving into bodies of water where balls are difficult to retrieve. Collected balls are then cleaned, graded and may be retouched or refurbished before being resold according to their grade (AAA being the best condition). A dozen AAA grade used golf balls would sell for substantially less than the new product. Second hand retailers insist they are not a threat to manufacturers as many players, especially more advanced ones would always opt for new over old. This may be true of balls that are collected and resold, although legal action has been taken on refurbished balls (Acushnet versus Nitro), where manufacturers claim that their brand reputation suffers because the balls that look 'as good as new' will not be able to perform up to the original specifications of the product.

So is a ball inferior, if it has been submerged in a body of water? 'Yes' says an U.S. Army Research Laboratory study. Golf balls absorb water that cannot be removed and this affects a permanent change. Testing by Golf Digest in 1996 found a golf ball submerged in water loses six yards after one week, 12 yards after three months and 15 yards after six months.

According to a former Spalding executive, Eddie Binder, the used-ball business makes "more than $200 million in retail sales a year," compared to $750 million in the new ball business. A Massachusetts-based company Performance Indicator, however, could be about to upset the golf cart, by introducing a chemical into golf balls that is activated after the ball has been in water for a period of time, causing it to discolor, and making it impossible for companies such as Nitro to recycle.

LINKS
Golf Digest http://www.golfdigest.com/newsandtour/