Golf Ball Hunting??

[Dive Right In Scuba]

Thanks Dumpster!! That helps alot...thank god we dont have to worry about gators here and the temp is a little cooler...sometimes.

 

[Bob3]

Well put, DD. I'd add that a drysuit w/FFM were also mandatory pieces of gear, a good use for that old DESCO Shallow Water Mask.

 

[PhilEllis]

Well put, DD. I'd add that a drysuit w/FFM were also mandatory pieces of gear, a good use for that old DESCO Shallow Water Mask.

Diving for golf balls is diving in the WORST of environments. I can think of very few non-industrial water sources that are as contaminated as lakes and ponds on golf courses. They are nothing more than a collection pond for some very serious chemicals.

I agree with you on the DESCO mask idea. The constant air flow almost guarantees against chemical intrusion in the mask. We have a local customer that operates one of the large golf ball recovery companies. We recently sold two of these to the company. Combined with a dry hood and drysuit, they are pretty well protected.

Just another note. I don't think I would EVER put anyone on my payroll diving in a golf course lake UNLESS they had full commercial certifications and I was doing it exactly as proscribed by OSHA for contaminated-water commercial diving operations. The chance that something would come up medically years later is simply too high. I also notice that the professional companies that gather golf balls NEVER have direct employees doing this. The contracts you sign with these companies waive almost any opportunity to make a health claim. I expect they also sense what I sense about the risk.

Phil Ellis

 

[Gary D.]

LOL....I didnt say I wanted to do it....I want to pay someone to do it college kids $15 an hour is some great money

Thanks for the info adurso...greatly appreciated

I think you need to do some more investigation before you tackle this idea. Once you start paying someone for a job the government has rules and is going to want its share. Things payroll taxes, Workman Comp and a lot more. You will also be taking on a huge liability even if you provide proper training, what ever that is shy of a full blown commercial rating.

Even if you go the 1099 route that is changing after the first of the year and YOU will most likely be responsible for it anyway.

How expensive is it going to be for insurance or legal fees should or when one gets sick, or worse, because of the hazmat conditions? Most college kids looking to make $15.00 an hour and not going to have the proper gear to protect them. Are you going to supply and maintain it?

These are just a few issues with it. It may or may not be worth doing it yourself. IMHO it surly isn’t going to be if you hire someone.

Gary D.

 

[Dive Right In Scuba]

Thanks for the advice guys....I already have a few ex military drysuits that are in flawless condition that will go into the usage pool for the guys as well as some full face masks. As these guys are some of my friends, I dont want to look at them with a weird growth coming out of their ears so I will definetely take care of them

Your absolutely right Gary, its definetely more difficult than my first brief post said, and I knew that...we have already priced out insurance and talked to the accountant as far as pay and how that will be done. We have no intention of going into something like this half-***** or setting it up to fail or get anyone hurt. That again is why we are in the first stages of collecting as much info as possible to ensure we cover all the bases and try to prepare and visualize for anything else that could come up.

PS...did ya see my dad on the Today show Gary? We have been helping with the searches(surface support only) of our PSD teams for Stacy Peterson, and gave some reports of the conditions and what the divers had been encountering....It was nothing fancy, but National News none the less


Again thanks for the input, and please keep it coming!! This is great and valuable info

 

[Stu S.]

Ever seen one of these in action?

ReTeeGolf Franchise Information - Join our team and enjoy making a living at the game you love - GOLF!

Phil Ellis may remember Wedgewood Golf Course in Wilson, NC. A couple of men would come in with a machine similar to this, go to a pond like on #10, and pull out hundreds of pounds of balls quickly. Then, on to the next water hazard. The machine they were using was a series of rollers. It brought up only balls, as they are uniform in size, and left other items behind.

I believe this was done once a year.

This link says the machine shown is three times faster than a diver. The operation I saw may have been even more productive.

 

[Dive Right In Scuba]

NIce thats a great find!!!! Thanks Stu!!!!

I have been trying to come up with an idea similar to this to make somthing to not even need divers and be effective....Similar to what they use on a driving range, but I guess it depends on the muck and if it pushes the ball into the muck or picks it up

Thanks for the find Stu

 

[GolfDiver]

if you payed someone 15 dollars an hours for this you would be ripping them off! dont do that.

 

[Jupiter31]

"It is reasonably strenuous and it is really not "safe". It is also something that most people could probably not perform due to the mental stress of dark water, entanglements, alligators, diving in reclaimed sewage water and also the relatively frequent occurance of smashing your head into sharp metal culvert pipes that stick out from the banks."


Gee, sounds GREAT - where do I sign up?

To be serious, I know some folks who have made money doing this - but you will earn every cent.

And for the ******** who would steal from you while you are down collecting - so much for golf being a "gentlemans game"

 

[Dive Right In Scuba]

WOW....hadnt seen this thread in awhile...

We abandoned the idea and put some focus elsewhere