Golf Ball Hawking - In the
Dark
The
art and science of finding lost golf balls goes Hi Tech
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When I first received my NITE-HAWK
in the mail and opened it I was surprised by the quality of the product.
To be honest I've had a lot of gadgets, especially golf
gadgets, and take my word for it the NITE-HAWK is really well made. After
looking it over for a bit checking out it's smooth black finish, feeling
it's weight and checking out the crisply printed "NITE-HAWK" I
ventured forth, turned it on and was totally unimpressed. It's light was a
soft almost ghost like blue and I came to the conclusion that when I take
it out golf ball hawking I best bring a real flashlight as well so I'll be
able to a least see my feet.
After this little test in my brightly lit office I checked the weather and the calendar and come to the conclusion Friday night would be perfect for my first night golf ball search. Friday the club was having a one-day member guest and the Saturday mornings following such events usually resulted in a find or 2 even for a casual golf ball hawk like myself. As fate would have it started to rain and about 7 pm Friday evening and the forecast was for it continue well into the morning. After very little thought my night ball hawking was postponed until Saturday night. |
The rain actually continued into Saturday afternoon and as a result no mowing was done leaving our already thick rough, long and wet as well. As darkness set in on Saturday night I told my wife I was off to the club to hunt for golf balls. After looking at me like I was out of my mind, that what are really up to look came to her face. Before she had a chance to utter a sound I asked "Would you like to come ?". To which she promptly replied "have fun". In turn I gave her the story on the NITE-HAWK ball predator and I think she started to think about it, then let her "have fun" stick.
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By the time I arrived at the club it was dark, and because of the overcast sky the golf course was real dark. As I started my walk down the right hand side of the #1 fairway, about to step into ankle deep wet rough even I questioned what I was doing. But anyway at about 150 yards off the 1st tee I started into the rough and turned on my new NITE-HAWK. Although it appeared brighter because of the darkness it still gave off that ghostly blue light. I continued into the rough, sweeping the light back and forth in front of me about 5-6 yards when a white glowing object appeared yielding the first strike of the night. It turned out to be a Taylormade PentaP which upon examination looked like it may have been hit just once, and not very hard judging from where I found it. |
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Being aware of the Master Ball Hawks "little known secret....if you're walking along the woods or the rough, and you find a golf ball in a spot where you don’t think anyone could ever hit a ball, look in a circle 9 meters around that ball, and the odds are you’re going to find another ball." I scanned my immediate area found nothing and continued down the rough toward the green.
After going about 25 yards I picked up another glow and thought to myself this is really good. This Titleist NXT golf ball had a "player's mark" I recognized which gave me great pleasure and will provide some future amusement I am sure. Scanning the immediate area as before the NITE-HAWK hit another white glow only this was much smaller, at first in seemed to larger than a pea. As I went forward to check it out, low and behold it was another find, only this one was quite deep in the rough with only the smallest surface being caught by the light. It was in the kind of lie that unless you stepped on it, or looked straight down at it you would never find the ball yet that "ghostly blue light" made it glow and become easy an find. While still in the area NITE-HAWK tagged another and I was 10 minutes into my night and 4 golf balls richer. With my new found treasures in my jacket pockets I headed off down the fairway to where I hoped to find some true riches , I was going long and left of the green in search of Titleist ProV1's.
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This area has some thick bushes along the tree
line which when playing a casual round often cause people to abort their
searches early. It was going to wet tonight as well but I really wanted to just
give the area the once over with my new golf ball hawking tool and see what it
might yield if anything.
When I skirted past the bunkers that protect the left front of the green I once again switched on the NITE-HAWK and began scanning the base of the bushes. Within just a few minutes, another glowing white sphere appeared. I reached into the base of the bush with great anticipation and I was not disappointed, a Prov1x which upon examination made me almost laugh a loud to myself as I recognized the mark on this golf ball as well.......it was mine. |
It started to rain once again so I decided to call it a night and walk back down the first fairway toward the tee only this time go along the rough line on the other side. As I did so sweeping the first yard of rough with my NITE-HAWK'S light. Walking briskly and not expecting much I was surprised when at about 250 yards off the tee another glowing white sphere. This turned out to be a ProV1 with a logo that would find its way to my bag for sure. Now that made 6 golf balls in 20 minutes time with minimal effort. Can you imagine what an hour or two covering more than one hole would have yielded ? A terrific investment for any golfer inclined to save or make some money hunting golf balls.
When I reached the Pro Shop parking lot I put ProV1 finds in the spare golf bag I have in my trunk as well as the ball with my friend's mark. The other three I left by the caddie door and headed home feeling quite smug. This NITE-HAWK is quite the "find" .
To learn more about NITE-HAWK ball
predators, continue your search here.......