80 DAYS TO NEW YEARS! (#25)

​Lost and Found

​Golfers often lose and spend significant time looking for their golf ball. When they find it, they’re happy, and when they lose too many, they have to buy new ones.

Why can’t golfers find their balls? Where do all these golf balls end up? When players hit the ball, it sails far. They aim to hit the ball hard enough and straight enough that it will land as close as possible to the next hole. By all means, this is not an easy task, and it’s not unusual that a golfer may hit the ball too hard and not on target. When this happens, balls are flying everywhere, ending their journey in the bottom of a lake, in the woods, or in people’s yards.

​Although there are different types of golf balls, and more than one brand, they’re all somewhat expensive. Considering the price of golf balls and the frequency at which players buy new ones, the golf ball industry stays busy.  Many golfers save their money by buying refurbished balls. Beginners spend even less than that, buying only practice balls.

Although I live on a golf course, I never played this sport and probably never will—it’s not something that I’m interested in. However, I’m a golf ball expert. My family and I collect every ball that ends up in our yard. There’s not a day that goes by where we don’t come across at least one ball. 

At first, we filled buckets, and then we started to give them away to friends who play. But golf balls kept coming—more than what our friends needed. I had no choice but to replace the buckets with big, tall bins until one day I decided to sort and clean them. It was overwhelming. I had to study a bit about golf balls so I could have a better understanding how to group them. 

After spending a few good hours searching the Internet for the different types of golf balls and their price, I went back to finish my project.
 
Next it was time to find a way to sell them. My first thought was eBay. I was stunned how many golf balls are for sale there and for what price. That was the day that I opened an account on eBay and began to do what many other people do—instead of throwing away stuff, I sell it. 

​For every dozen of golf balls I sell, I’m left wondering if it’s the same golfer that lost them who buys them.
 
Michelle