The Parable of the Golf Balls

We typically walk the gold course about three times a week for our morning exercise. Sister Anderson tells me we have found over two hundred golf balls. Now that it is winter, they don’t allow golfing unless the temperature is above 40 degrees. I keep thinking we are not likely to find any more golf balls, and yet we continue to find more. These are not driving range golf balls, those are marked and when we find them, we return them to the club house. Also out here with the humidity and rain, golf balls left in the dirt over a long period of time deteriorate. We have found golf balls with the outside cover eaten away from the moisture and dirt. I have decided that even when you think you have found all the lost golf balls, you really haven’t. And they sometimes are in places where you would least expect them. It does makes our morning walk a little more interesting. 

While the intent may be to keep the golf ball on the fairway and get it to the green and in the hole with the fewest strokes possible, we have decided that golf balls are like people and frequently stray from the path. Some fall into the rough and are not easily found, others land in wooded areas filled with ticks and chiggers where no one wants to venture to retrieve them, and some fall in murky ponds. The longer golf balls sit without being discovered as grass grows around them or in the fall leaves cover them, the more difficult they are to see and they are less likely to be found. Some fall right off the path and are in plain sight. I suspect that some golf balls are abandoned because of the golfers' pride not wanting to admit how poorly the ball was hit.

We are also finding that there is no end to the people we meet who may one day be interested in the Church. There are less actives that also get lost from the influence of the gospel and need to be found. In our last zone training, they talked about the importance of keeping an area book. We continue to find and meet new people. I have been keeping the names of people we meet on the computer and after the training, suggested to Sister Anderson to use that information to update our area book. I think we now have about 65 names of people that we have made contact with and who know us, and while they are not investigating the Church, I think they have the potential of eventually being taught. I suggested to Sister Anderson, that we try to get that list to 200 which would equal our current golf ball collection. Continually finding new people makes missionary work a little more interesting.

Picture of the Sugar Lake Valley Golf Course

This is the Golf Course's famous Hole #7 because you drive to the green across the pond

I believe this is one of the more scenic or picturesque sections of the golf course we walk. 

On a lighter note, we are still finding golf balls, and a few facts for our son-in-law and family home evening friends who play golf.

As you know we walk the golf course in the mornings for exercise and during that time often work on our memorization. I have started to work on scripture memorization, which I have never been very good at. The other thing we do is find lost golf balls. During the summer we never went far off the golf cart path for fear of chiggers, ticks and poison ivy. I believe chigger season is now over, I have gone several weeks now with no itching from chigger bites. When we first got here I was told the itching lasts about two weeks, for me I believe it lasted about two months. Anyway this last week we ventured off the path and looked for golf balls in an area that is covered with foliage in the summer. Now much of that foliage has lost its leaves. We found a record 28 golf balls last week. Sister Anderson counted up our total and we have found a total of 107 over the course of our walks. So of course I am curious how much do people pay for golf balls?

I found this answer on the internet:

How much do you feel you should pay for a golf ball?

Did you know that more money was spent on Research for the Taylor Made TP red than was spent on Research for the Latest Honda? 

The fact of the matter is that there are so many balls now that manufacturers have to come up with something different to attract users. 

I love PRO V1's, however they spin too much and as I tend to hit a cut when I hit my woods I sometimes get myself in trouble, I therefore use a harder ball with less spin, I hardly notice the lack of spin when I'm playing round the greens but I have noticed that I am hitting more fairways. 

Therefore to answer your question, I feel you should pay whatever amount your willing to pay. If you want to look the bee's knee's then you are going to have to fork out top dollar. If you want to pick the ball thats right for your game then you will have to pay whatever the manufacturer is charging, I know this sounds like sitting on the fence but the simple facts are that Titleist knows that there ball is the most popular, therefore they charge premium dollar which not only creates maximum profit, it also adds to the aura that the ball carries "Oh he plays PRO V1, he MUST be good, you wouldn't buy the most expensive balls if you were rubbish" 

I feel a reasonable price would be $30-$35 for a Dozen. (I pay $26 for Wilson DX2's)