Golf Ball Wrangler – Retrieve your lost balls now!

We all know a golfer that never passes a water hazard without his or her trusty scoop at the ready. Spending half their time on the course fishing for balls, they last bought a new sleeve in the late 80s. That’s ok! Golf balls are expensive… and they are often lost. It is estimated that about 2.5 billion golf balls are lost every year in United States (the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass alone counts 120,000 lost balls in a year). About 1.9 billion used golf balls are played on golf courses every year. We now have the perfect gift for these ‘golf ball fishing fanatics’.

Enter an invention conceived and built by three Sacramento engineers: The Golf Ball Wrangler. The Golf Ball Wrangler helps retrieve balls stuck in a water hazard easily and economically. It is basically a series of fiberglass mesh plates mounted on an axle. All you will have to do is toss the Wrangler in the water, pull it across the bottom of a pond, and balls are trapped between the plates. According to the makers a single pull will crab up to 25 balls – imagine your friend’s smile when they pull a dozen balls out of the water (and perhaps it will mean less time holding up play)

The Golf Ball Wrangler is currently available to U.S. customers only, for US$119.99 plus $49.99 shipping.

Below is the video showing Golf Ball Wrangler in action.

2011 PGA Tour winning balls

Titleist had yet another big year on Tour, including wins at the US Open (McIlroy), Tour Championship (Haas).  But while they may dwarf everybody else on tour, other brands picked up some big wins as well.  In particular I hadn’t realized that Taylormade  snagged 5 wins with the Penta this year:

1. Titleist Pro V1x – 21 wins

2. Titleist Pro v1 – 6 wins

3. Tayormade Penta – 5 wins

4. Nike One Tour D – 3 wins

5.  Callaway Tour i(z) – 2 wins

6. Srixon Z-Star XV – 2 wins

7. Bridgestone B330s – 1 win

How does your favorite golf ball stack up? Can anybody make a dent in Titleist’s numbers for 2012?