Diving For Golf Balls in America’s Most Famous Water Hazard

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Published 2017-04-10
Golf isn't known for being a forgiving game, and the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass in Florida is notorious for being one of the toughest par-3s on the PGA Tour. So what happens when golfer after golfer shanks their tee shot into the "drink" (aka the pond)? That, ladies and gentlemen, is where Gordon Davis comes in.

Special thanks to TPC Sawgrass and Tokens & Icons.

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All Comments (21)
  • @jasonfukuta4110
    He dissed all golfers with one line "Pick up a new sport" - what a savage
  • @jeremyellis1262
    My father used to do this as a teenager, he would swim for golf balls and sell them back to the people that lost them, and made quite a bit of money.
  • I live in Florida and pretty much EVERY pond has alligators in it. Like birds in trees. 4' or less I wouldn't be too concerned running into one underwater, but many are much bigger. Would have liked to hear his thoughts on that!
  • @Josh-jb5cd
    Any Advice to golfers trying to keep there balls dry???? Yaaa, Take up another sport. *Drops Mic.* *Walks out room* 😂
  • @ayoxfries7421
    Did you say Florida? Aren’t there alligators and snakes in that water he’s diving in
  • @dalenixon6981
    I heard that they get paid a fixed sum of money per ball. Pretty profitable if you can maintain a steady schedule between courses. Relatively speaking, there can only be so many ponds in one course.
  • @Burn143
    1:38 lmaooooo “These balls are authentic” the way how she said it😂
  • I read an article in Reader's Digest, right before I got out of the service in '74, about diving for golf balls then saw a TV ad for commercial diving. Went to the Ocean Corp. (commercial diver's school in Houston, Tx. on my GI Bill, never did break out as a commercial diver but I remembered that article. Bought some used gear and started working some of the courses around town. This man is right, it is zero or near zero visibility in most of the water hazards. My best week was 6,000 balls. Took them to the washeteria, put 400-500 balls in the washer added Clorox ll and cleaned 'em up. Sold them to the Pro at the course for .15/ea, he got the good, the bad, and the ugly for that price. Never encountered a gator.
  • @getshreked7786
    My dad’s a lawyer. My dad’s an accountant. My dad’s a bartender. My dad’s a butcher. My dad’s a golf ball diver.