CNN
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Lost in the rough, found with a ruff, in south London, an eagle-eyed dog and his owner have perfected an unusual solution to the evergreen problem of lost golf balls.
For the past five years, four-legged finder Marlo has been coughing through the woods and tall grass at the local golf course to help owner Charles Jefferson collect over 6,000 golf balls left behind by stray players.
Admittedly more of a hunter than a gatherer, the Cavapoo’s penchant for chasing balls has made them an invaluable asset when chasing missed shots. Jefferson follows Marlo with empty buckets on standby, writing off a few balls as a chew sacrifice on each run.
An estimated 300 million golf balls are lost each year in the US alone, and they pose a major waste problem, but also a potential source of income. A full-fledged salvage industry is seeing contractors around the world scouring the forests – and even lakes – of courses, with a UK-based golf ball diving company predicting that up to £100,000 (approx.
Costing around £4 ($4.50) per ball first hand, the Titleist Pro V1 represents the collector’s world’s hole-in-one price, with a find in perfect condition that has a resale value of up to £3 (approx .$3.40) offers.
A hard-hitting amateur golfer for over four decades and a former European Tour staffer, Jefferson has not missed any of this. Imagine his surprise when, on his first walk with the newest addition to the family at his local links course, he watched the pup emerge from the bushes wearing a brand new Pro V1 between the pines.
Since then, such treasures have been a surprising routine find on the duo’s weekly evening trips to Mitcham Golf Club and Wimbledon Common Golf Club. But aside from the one off sale of 600 Pro V1 to friends – to resell to other club members – for about £300 (about $340), Jefferson has never had an interest in capitalizing on Marlo’s discoveries.
“I didn’t want to say, ‘Ah, I’m going to make a little business out of this,'” the 52-year-old told CNN.
“Growing up having golf balls was always a bit of a luxury, and also having lost a lot of golf balls, being the type of golfer who hits the ball far… I see a lot of value in that for me.”
“Partly I see it as a service to pick up a lot of junk, and partly for myself – I’ll never buy a golf ball again.”
The 300+ Pro V1s crammed in a drawer at Jefferson’s house are a testament to that, although he’s now limited his keepers to the latest premium finds and given bucket loads to local charity shops.
The remainder of his finds, some 3,000 balls, were left on the course and scattered around the tees as “Easter eggs” for golfers to discover the next morning.
Although it would affect his personal stash, Jefferson wishes golfers were more careful to use as few balls as possible during rounds.
“It’s a reflection of our throwaway society and lack of focus,” he said. “People hit a ball and they talk to their buddies straight away, they didn’t track where their ball went.
“I just feel like there’s an attention deficit – people almost expect theirs to be [playing] Partner will find it for you.”
Tales of Jefferson’s overflowing supply of golf balls have long been a joke among colleagues at 160over90, the branding agency where he works. So when a project came about to promote a ball collector on the DP World Tour, all eyes turned to Jefferson.
The repurposed 20-foot container, with a full weight of 12 tons, has been continually filled throughout the season with balls donated at various Tour events – 40,000 balls to date.
After making its sixth and final appearance at the UAE’s DP World Tour Championship in November, balls will be distributed to five international golf beneficiaries: Kenya’s Junior Golf Foundation, the South African Disabled Golf Association, the European Disabled Golf Association, the Chicks with Sticks of the UAE , and India’s Golf Foundation.
At the BMW PGA Championship in Wentworth, London in September, Jefferson and Marlo brought in 600 of their finds to make an admirable dent in the container’s 200,000-ball capacity.
“I thought that was a better way than sending it to our local charity store and some guy coming and picking up a load of balls,” Jefferson said.
“If there was a way to give more, I would because there are many grassroots communities around the world that could benefit from halfway decent golf balls.”