Here’s a tip to save some money in your wallet, so you can buy a rack or two of cold ones instead!

Put on a pair of jeans, heavy socks, short sleeve shirt and a light jacket (for crashing through the pricker bushes) with a good pair of hiking shoes, leash the dog, put a couple beers in your pockets and head for a heavily played golf course that you know well, and think where the duffers hit most of their duff shots (or your duff shots), and its to rough and thick to get their miss hit balls.

A plus for finding good golf balls is the fact that the time limit a golfer has to make his shot, then moves along (usually drops another new “cheat” ball) This creates the new golf ball left behind for….me! You see, I am an expert in this field, and I make it fun & relaxing too, for my golden retriever Mulligan, and me!

We stroll across the fairway (eying up the fairway for when I play it again), enjoying the weather and refreshment to our preplanned hunting spot. I can find and pick-up about 60 balls in very good condition in 15-25 minutes time. Sometimes I bend down to pick up one, and there’s another right next to the one I was about to pick up! Sometimes I pick up 3 or 4 at once! When I see 3 or 4 within 10 inches of each other, I often wonder how this happens. Four duff shots in the exact same landing zone?

Also, after some “golf ball hunting “experience, you can feel golf balls hiding under the grasses with your feet. (These are the heavily duffed areas that you can do the foot find method).

It’s really fun to bring your dog to “hunt”, especially if he loves to jump around in the tall grasses. It can be hilarious! I send my dog to pick up the balls in the mud & deeper waters, and he gets them!

My son does the “snorkel method” in water that’s not too cloudy! You just need a snorkel, mask and a floating bucket for your ball finds! Bathing suits are optional when you’re a pirate golfer…..arrrr !

You can make some cash if you find many bally treasures by selling them at a convenience store or to a practice range! So there you have it! Something to do when you’re low on cash, bored, or you want to get some exercise finding some play balls for your next golf excursion.

Here are a few dangers to watch out for! (That I’ve encountered)

• Don’t you or your dog fall into open water well… Oh well…!
• Careful of hidden bee hives!! OUCH!
• Watch out for fire ant colonies!
• Listen and watch for flying golf balls from a duffer, it could hurt!
• Identify your plants! Like POISON IVY or OAK or SUMAC!
• Always get out of the swamps and gullies before dark!
• Be courteous to the greens keepers! But most of all HAVE FUN!

To have consistently decent golf shots, the body & mind must be in unison. Its good to say to yourself…yes, I can make this shot ! O.K. now that you’ve  been practicing and playing lets swing through the ball smoothly, and hit the ball right on the sweet spot every time !

Even if you’re not practicing and playing a lot ( every other day like I try to do) you can have a reasonably decent round by keeping “body and mind” in unison through nine or eighteen holes.

Its also  important to not get mad at yourself while golfing. That will throw your game shots off drastically!  I have two sons that are in their mid twenties and we golf a lot together. What I’ve noticed, is every time one of them or both of them ( lol ) starts getting mad, their golf game goes away. But, I’ve also noticed that when they pull themselves together mentally to match their athletic talents, all of a sudden they start hitting the ball like a pro player again.

So, in my good play book, lesson number one, is Body and Mind in Unison!  So what are you waiting for! Get out there and hit some golf balls!  From a pirate of the green,  hit a good one ! Spanky