So, until that day arrives, am I doomed to keep throwing away money in the form of golf balls?

Absolutely not! In recent years, the market for recycled "lake balls" has exploded, and should delight everyone from the beginner golfer to the lowest of low-handicappers. Granted, it's also been determined that it may take 100 to 1,000 years for a golf ball to decompose naturally. Use a recycled golf ball!

. The lower quality rated balls offer even greater savings, and therefore represent the best value buy for the mid- to high-handicap crowd.

While I sometimes don't enjoy having to pay as much for golf balls as I do, I cannot honestly forecast myself ever giving up on the notion of hopefully, someday, getting better at this game. What better feeling than to be able to tee it up with a Titleist Pro-V1 or other high-performing golf ball and not dread losing one, two, or maybe even three?

Why else might one wish to replenish some of their supply with recycled balls? For the environmentally conscious, recent studies have shown a golf ball to release dangerous levels of zinc when the synthetic rubber filling used in solid-core balls begins to decompose. Unfortunately, doing so will require much practice and inevitably many, many more "lake Pp Ball balls" in my future.

With many reputable dealers classifying these second-hand balls with category labels ranging from "AAAA", “Mint” or "Pearl" for the highest-rated down to "A", “Good”, or "Practice" for those balls having seen better days, the consumer has been given the opportunity to save up to 50% off retail for a ball with literally no marks, blemishes or any other indicators of previous play which would seem to suggest compromised performance. Unfortunately, doing so will require much practice and inevitably many, many more "lake balls" in my future. In spite of age-old claims of recycled balls suffering some loss of compression, changes in weight or other factors affecting aerodynamic performance, the industry has come a long ways toward identifying and minimizing the effect of such factors. But with the game's popularity recently reaching all-time highs, and more beginners taking up the game, it has been argued that abandoned balls are a new type of troublesome litter.While I sometimes don't enjoy having to pay as much for golf balls as I do, I cannot honestly forecast myself ever giving up on the notion of hopefully, someday, getting better at this game.

So, do both your wallet and the Earth a favour. Whether because of how quickly the lake balls are retrieved or the improved cleaning, testing and classification of recycled balls, golfers of all levels have nothing to lose if considering the use of recycled golf balls