<h1>01</h1>
With a handsome and powerful swing, the tiny golf ball flew into the sky at a speed of 300 kilometers, crossed a wonderful rainbow, fell unhurriedly on the grass, and slowly rolled forward until it fell into the pool water.
A typical 18-hole golf course has 4 to 12 ponds, and even the world's best golferS (I only know Tiger Woods and Zhongshan Liang Wenchong) often "pounce" the ball into the water during the game (averaging 1.5 per game).
Therefore, as far as non-professional players are concerned, whether they are high-ranking officials who love to talk about politics while playing ball, and whose technology is "up and down"; or who are eager to integrate into high society, like to pretend, and have a level of "Ma Ma Di"; or rookies who really love goyle and practice hard, the probability of them hitting small white balls into the pond can be imagined, and it will increase geometrically.
According to research statistics, 400 million golf balls are flown in the United States every year, and a quarter of them can be retrieved, most of which depend on golf divers.
Golf balls are waterproof, so basically will not be damaged, these salvaged, dirty, with water and grass smell of small white balls are affectionately known as "white gold" by the industry.
They are typically recycled by golf courses, retailers and golf companies for prices ranging from 10 cents to tens of cents (10 cents equals 7 cents). After a series of complex cleaning processes, polishing or reapplying (removing scratches and notches), the small white balls become as beautiful as new, and most of them can be reused as practice balls.
An independent golf diver can fish 3,000 to 5,000 golf balls a day in a pond and retrieve 150,000 to 300,000 balls a year.
Parker, 30, from Florida, USA, has signed permanent private deeds with 5 golf courses.
"I can probably pick up more than 4,000 balls a day from the ponds of the various stadiums, and more than 20,000 a week."
Parker works 5 days a week, 4 to 6 hours a day, that is, the 665 work system that we envy and hate. Based on the minimum selling of 10 cents per golf ball, Parker's weekly salary is more than 2,000 US dollars, which is equivalent to nearly 60,000 yuan per month.
Refurbished ordinary golf balls can be used as practice balls, high-end second-hand balls can sell for 20 to 50 US dollars, and some golf balls lost by well-known golfers, celebrities, and presidents are treated even more unusually, and can be made into souvenirs to sell at high prices, and also have collection (speculation) value. Parker, for example, has collected more than 300 balls of commemorative value, with a total value of more than ten thousand DOLLARs.
Parker is a veteran, experienced, and the income is normal, but what about the industry novices? Hear what Earong, also from Florida, has to say.
"There are a lot of golf courses near where I live. One summer in college, I decided to start a business. I already have all the diving equipment, so I might as well make money from it. Each ball is paid between 10 and 20 cents. I've traveled through 20 different routes, each of which takes a few days to complete, but you can easily make a few hundred dollars. ”
Golf divers can earn money every time they pick up a ball, and there are a lot of them, which is not a cover.
<h1>02</h1>
Some golf divers work for professional recycling companies that outsource their services to golf courses. Working for a company will be paid a little less, but there will be more job security because the company will deal with fees, contracts, taxes, insurance, and so on. If the company orders enough, divers may also get a full-time job.
In addition to working for companies, there are also a considerable number of people who are freelancers, such as Scott.
Scott loves working outdoors and is interested in protecting the environment. Before beginning the recycling effort, Scott formally meets with the golf course's owner or manager to agree on the terms of the work.
For example, the course charges divers a pond picking fee. The two need to negotiate a price and discuss whether to pay for it in the recycled golf balls or choose to pay them in their own way. Scott also needs to negotiate with staff about the time and schedule of work, because sometimes the stadium doesn't want him to work while athletes are on the field.
This is actually a better thing, because I have seen reports of golf divers hanging up when they are hit by a ball at work. Although this may be a lower chance of being hit by lightning than lightning, after all, safety comes first and money second.
Choosing to do freelancing requires good interpersonal skills to obtain a golf recycling service contract and interact with golfers and staff who may be on the field.
Before official work, Scott also needs to get a map of the golf course and identify the water environment of all the ponds in order to develop a precise plan to salvage as many ponds as possible within a working day.
Picking up the maximum number of balls as quickly as possible is the most immediate purpose of his work.
<h1>03</h1>
Unlike Parker's solitary work, there are many golf divers who work in teams for safety reasons, and Scott is also part of the team. Divers are required to have a scuba certificate and must be equipped with their own standard equipment, weighing close to 25 kg.
The diving team usually consists of three people, two of whom carry a fishing net or basket, jump into the pond and touch the ball with their hands. When almost done, the diver would give the "white gold" to the land crew, who was mainly responsible for the safety of the divers and instructed them to "scaveng" the entire pond.
A golf course has N ponds, and if the ponds are small, divers sometimes use rollers to pick up the balls.
The rollers consist of metal discs mounted on the wheels, and the metal grooves inside catch the ball as they move in the water. A long line is connected to the roller and sticks out of the water, controlled by the land crew. If the roller gets stuck in mud or rocks, a diver dives underwater to release it. After clearing the pond, the players dragged the rollers to the ground and ejected the golf balls.
Using rollers can be faster than a diver picking up the ball by hand, but not thoroughly, and the drum is limited by the size of the pond, which is too large for the drum to be useful.
Scott loves diving, finds a job he's interested in, and has a decent income, and he's happy.
"Diving to find golf sounds more like play than work, but there are a few factors that aspiring divers must consider."
Scott said so.
<h1>04</h1>
Scott said six considerations, which basically covered all the concerns of golf divers.
(1) The working environment is harsh. Divers use their hands to grope for the sunken golf balls in dirty, low-temperature and zero-visibility ponds. "You have to work comfortably out of sight. I've seen a lot of divers who can't afford such low visibility. ”
(2) Danger. The visibility of the pool water is extremely low, it may hide a lot of unknown objects, if the divers accidentally injure the body, because the pool water is very dirty, there are many bacteria, and it is easy to get sick. In addition, divers may also face dangers from wild animals, such as crocodiles, snakes, etc., and divers have been bitten off their arms by crocodiles. Scuba equipment is heavy, and obstacles like fishing lines can trap and drown divers. So, it's much safer to work as a team than to do it alone.
(3) The daily diving task requires a lot of physical exertion, and the work is monotonous and repetitive.
(4) Income is affected by the economic environment. The city road is not good, there are fewer people to play golf, and there are naturally fewer balls that fall into the water.
(5) The working hours of divers depend on the competition on the golf course. Divers may have to work when there are no other arrangements, so they have to be available on any day of the week.
(6) Some golf divers may engage in poaching and disrupt market order. Poachers take the ball from a course that has contracts with other divers or companies. This practice is certainly unpopular and extremely dangerous. Sneaking in after dark, for example, could mean that golf divers may miss warning signs and dangers that are difficult to spot in dim light. Poaching golf can lead to higher profit margins because divers don't have to pay anything, and "having money can make ghosts grind", which is the same anywhere in the world.
<h1>05</h1>
Do we have golf divers in China? The answer is yes, although there is very little relevant information, such as the following unfortunate news.
"On March 9, 2006, an accident occurred at the Qizhong Golf Course in Shanghai's Minhang District, where a diver disappeared while salvaging golf in the water. According to witnesses, the diver was seen struggling a few times in the water and then sinking into the water without moving. The police heard that a professional diving team was organized to come and salvage, but only more than a dozen golf balls and an oxygen cylinder were fished from the water. ”
As for china, how many golf balls are played every year? There is no data statistics, but the following numbers can be used as a reference, and powerful netizens can calculate:
As of January 2017, there were 496 golf courses nationwide (no new ones will be approved in the future), and more than 18,000 in the United States.
The 2017 White Paper on China's Golf Industry estimates that China's golf population is 1 million to 1.1 million, of which the core population is about 380,000 to 390,000.
A 2017 National Golf Foundation (NGF) survey reported that 23.8 million people across the country played off the field, of which 19.5 million (about 95 percent) were defined as "loyal" golf participants.
Our golf diver friends, there seem to be not many balls that can be picked up.