A study continued by the Danish Golf Union found that golf balls take anywhere between 100 to 1000 years to decompose. In the United States, golfers lose 300 million balls every year, parts of the Country with plastic dimples. To reduce this wastage, I have provided ideas on what to do with old golf balls.
Besides adding them to your practice bag or donating them to nonprofit organizations, I will demonstrate how versatile they are. They can tenderize meat, massage your plantar fascia and act as Christmas ornaments.
10 Things You Can Do with Your Old Golf Balls
1. Use Them For Practice
The easiest solution for your old golf balls is to retire them to your practice bag. Making use of them for practice extends their lifespan.
The average golfer can afford practice with scuffed or misconfigured balls. Plus, it is more affordable than if you purchase a box of Titleist or Callaway range balls.
2. Sell Them
Selling your golf balls comes down to the quantity you have. If you are sitting with large quantities, one option is to sell them to used golf ball sellers such as Lost Golf Balls or Rock Bottom Golf. Alternatively, you can search for vendors of old golf balls on eBay and Amazon.
Before you present your used balls, I suggest cleaning them. Remove all the soil and chunks of mud from the ball, and then place them in a bucket of warm tap water. The next step is to put some dishwashing liquid on a cloth and clean the dimples. That should make them look more presentable to the buyer.
Those who only have a handful of balls are better off contacting your local golf course or driving range to see if they are interested. Another option is to approach sports equipment vendors at flea markets. Should you not find a willing buyer, you can donate the balls.
3. Donate Them
If you couldn’t negotiate a deal with pre-owned ball vendors, there are multiple avenues to donate them. Nonprofits and school clubs are the best places to start. The American Golf Foundation should be able to help you find a new home for your balls.
Local schools that run golf programs are another potential recipient of your used golf balls. Helping these clubs save costs enables them to contribute more resources to coaching, and growing the participant base.
4. Create a Massager
Recycle golf balls act as a phenomenal massage tool, to remove tension from your muscles. Whether you need a plantar fascia or back massage, a golf ball can do the job. In this video, a massage therapist from California demonstrates how to administer treatment with an old golf ball.
You can massage various parts of your body without any assistance, which I explain below. However, a more effective approach is to use someone else’s elbow grease and free your muscles of tension.
Should someone be administering the treatment, you need to find an object that the golf ball fits into. Otherwise, there will be no place to grip the ball and work it into the muscles.
To massage your plantar fascia, simply place the ball on the ground and move your foot over the ball. You should feel the tension releasing as you go. Alternatively, you can get a partner to rub the ball into the bottom of your feet for the same result.
Massaging your back can also be done solo or by a loved one. Place the ball against a wall, push your back up against it, then rotate your back from side to side as the ball releases the knots in your muscles.
Conversely, get someone else to massage your back. Lie flat on your stomach, and let the masseuse get to work.
5. Make a Kitchen Mallet
I shouldn’t need to warn you, but I will do it anyway. Before putting your old golf balls near any food, ensure the golf ball is clean and rid of any bacteria. Besides a massage accessory, a golf ball makes an ok meat tenderizer.
For adequate functionality, you will need to add a handle to it. Use a small drill bit and let the auger rip. Hollow out the top part of the golf ball and shoot warm glue into it, then insert a wooden or metal handle and let it set.
Once the handle is securely connected to the golf ball, start hammering down on your meat to tenderize it.
6. Use Them for Christmas Decorations
You can get the creative juices flowing when turning golf balls into Christmas decorations. You can create a golf ball snowman, the face of Santa, or hand them on the Christmas tree.
It is simple to transform your white golf balls into snowmen and Santa ornaments. To create a snowman, you need some paint and fabric. You can paint the eyes, nose, and mouth and wrap the bottom of the ball in a red felt for the scarf.
If you really want to go the extra mile, you can add a hat, as CraftKlatch demonstrates. Drill a hole in the top of the golf ball, and insert a hook. That acts as your base for the hat. Then shape black felt into the shape of a top hat and add it to the snowman.
CraftKlatch also teaches us how to construct a golf ball Santa. You will need acrylic paint to add your desired skin tone and the nose, mouth, and eyes. Next, you employ white and red felt for Santa’s hat, eyebrows, and beard.
Aside from creating Christmas characters, you can turn your old golf balls into Christmas balls. Adding a touch of color and a hook readies them to hang on the tree.
7. Create Craft Projects
In addition to using them for Christmas decorations, golf balls can be used for several craft projects. You can create simple ornaments such as the face of a penguin, a ladybug, or a pig. Alternatively, you can get seriously into it and craft a large ant.
A basic craft project that you can undertake with your golf balls is to produce miniature pumpkins. These are handy decorations to scatter around the house during Halloween. Those more artistic than I may enjoy creating various animals and characters.
Animal faces require the relevant colors of acrylic paint, while bigger projects require more materials. For example, when CraftKlatch created a giant ant, she used three golf balls, paint, and a coat hanger.
Another idea for a golf ball craft project is to create wall art, as exhibited by Yoduvh Essentials. She places balls on the undercarriage of a bowl and glues them together. Once they are dry, she glues the bowl to a board and fits it into a frame.
Finally, Yoduvh Essentials secures the frame to the wall with double-sided tape, and the work of art is complete.
8. Use Them as Vase Filler
If you have a few vases lying around the house, you can create an eye-pleasing decoration by filling them up with your old golf balls. Aside from keeping your golf balls for practice, this is the simplest way to reuse them.
9. Make Garden Decorations
People have loads of fun creating features in their garden from golf balls. The options are endless. For starters, you can make simple insects with the correct acrylic colors. Conversely, you can create various patterns throughout the garden to increase its character.
I saw an idea on Pinterest which was well planned and executed. Someone painted their golf balls in different colors and placed them in the shape of a flower. Then they positioned a white ball in the middle to give the appearance of a pistil.
You can also employ a coat hanger and create a caterpillar. Take three of your used golf balls, and paint them, adding the necessary details. Drill a hole through the center of each one and thread the wire through the balls to connect them. Finally, taunt the wire to produce a coil at the end for the antennae.
Those who don’t have gardens can turn golf balls into fake plants with a touch of paint and a wooden or metal stem.
10. Make a Table Cloth Weight
Although there are countless other ways to make use of your used golf balls. I think ten tips give you more than enough ideas of what to do with old golf balls. My final recommendation is to turn it into a table cloth weight. You can use it for your patio table or hold your blanket in place during picnics.
It could not be simpler to create this. Grab a used ball, and drill a hole into the top to attach the clip for the table cloth. You do not even need to paint it, you can use it as is. However, adding some color spices up its appearance.
Matt Stevens
Matt Callcott-Stevens started playing golf at the age of 4 when Rory Sabattini’s father put a 7-iron and putter in his hand. He has experienced all the highs and lows the game can throw at you and has now settled down as a professional golf writer. He holds a Postgraduate in Sports Marketing and has played golf for 28 years.