Whats With The Dirty Golf Balls?

[+KraftyCacher]

??? whats with the dirty golf balls, or little glass stones? it seems people arent always trading fair. why would I trade some thing nice for a old golf ball? personally Id like to see Either super silly things or unique items.

[+wogunhiker]

We like to place small stones with motivational words- like "dream" or "believe" into the really small chaches. We also use charms and like to theme our own caches around them- "Charmed Trek" or Charmed something or other...." We have seen some really poor items such as the nicked golf balls and sometimes children leave colored stones- which to them are really cool. It's all in the eye of the beholder I guess! All we can do is upgrade and remove the poor quality stuff when we find it!

[+Team Neos]

Some of those may be worth more than you think!

 

I teach Earth Science and Biology in a small high school in southern Indiana. I leave mineral samples in caches almost every time I visit a cache (not as a trade, but in addition to any trade I might make). In addition to my teaching degrees, I have a couple of degrees in Geological sciences, so I have great connections to buy minerals in bulk--and even with the great connections some of the minerals cost me multiple dollars each. In fact, you can pay as much as you want for some minerals. I have seen particularly nice examples of dolomite from a local quarry go for as much as $35 for a 1"x1"x1" sample.

 

As for the motivational stones--I like them a lot. Kids like them, too. Some stones just feel good to hold in your hand, and if they have a neat message on them that adds to the experience, knowing that someone cared enough to pass along some wisdom or encouragement.

I also am a big fan of the picture rocks-- flat glass with a small picture attached that gets enlarged by the curve of the glass. I found the directions for making those and plan to try to make a few as favors for the kids at school.

[+KraftyCacher]

I leave mineral samples in caches almost every time I visit a cache (not as a trade, but in addition to any trade I might make).........In fact, you can pay as much as you want for some minerals. I have seen particularly nice examples of dolomite from a local quarry go for as much as $35 for a 1"x1"x1" sample. 

 

As for the motivational stones--I like them a lot. Kids like them, too. Some stones just feel good to hold in your hand.....,

I agree... those type stones are nice and I apreciate the mineral samples (I collect corprolite ) the glass stones I refer too are the aquarium type with no neat sayings or pictures its more or less slag from the glass factory. LM

[+clearpath]

Believe it or not, there are cachers that collect dirty golfballs (pika cacher comes to mind). For whatever reason, I like the colored stones and any unusual rocks. Just leave the stuff you don't like for the next person. Also, if you go to each cache looking for something 'cool', you are going to be disappointed, a lot. But chances are you'll occaisionally stumble upon something you like.

[+RichardMoore]

Some of those may be worth more than you think!

 

I teach Earth Science and Biology in a small high school in southern Indiana. I leave mineral samples in caches almost every time I visit a cache (not as a trade, but in addition to any trade I might make).

I've gotten some stones and "pretty rocks" from caches. But in most cases I've had to read through the logs to try to figure out what I had.

A couple of the mineral samples that I got were in a small plastic bag with a label identifying the mineral and telling a little about it.

[+wimseyguy]

Yup, as Clearpath mentioned, there are some of us who do like to collect them, odd as that sounds. Last time I checked Mustard Devil was the surrogate collector for pikacacher.

I have also heard rumors that trippy1976 is conducting scientific golf ball experiments in a secret lab in MI.

[+KraftyCacher]

trippy1976[/url] is conducting scientific golf ball experiments in a secret lab in MI.

I hope hes not trying to hollow one out for a cache....Ive heard that can be dangerous

[+TotemLake]

Soemtimes, those old dirty gold balls have a rare logo on it from golf courses, some of which are now defunct as a lack of business allowed development to take over the available space. These are collectible and it doesn't take much to clean them up and add them to an existing collection.

[+blazerfan]

if the golf balls are just dirty and aren't badly damaged then I think they are great trade items... I'll wash them up a little and put them in my golf bag. I also like golf tees. But thats just me.

[+Milbank]

one man's junk is another man's treasure

[+Jennifer&Dean]

trippy1976[/url] is conducting scientific golf ball experiments in a secret lab in MI.

I hope hes not trying to hollow one out for a cache....Ive heard that can be dangerous

But they do make great caches! Just glue a bison capsule into it and stick it in the ground.... put a few decoys out as well and you are guaranteed to drive cachers nuts. Even more evil.... put it near a golf course of course! I've seen it done and it was a fun cache.

-J

[+carleenp]

Well..... I seem to collect dirty golf balls, but it was Mustard Devil's fault and against my will! I am saving payback for his return from Afghanistan.

 

I will say that I have at times found odd little things in caches that I suspect most would think were trash, and yet, I loved. A couple of tiny mangled pom-pom chickens come to mind. I also like signature items, and some of those seem like nothing to some people. E.g., I could see how a small glass stone would not seem like a great item to some, but if a sig item, I would take one and love it.

 

At the same time, yes, it is nice for people to leave decent stuff. Decent doesn't have to mean expensive. Just aim for clean and not broken! For example, there is a big difference between a new Mctoy still in the bag and a broken and dirty one.

[+2 Disney Characters]

In our area, we have a few cachers who place really neat stuff. One cacher places homemade jewelry that we all have at least one of, another places awesome coins collected from all over the world and puts them in little envelopes with her stamp, another also places gems. One team always puts a little pink pig, when another makes her own book marks. We always try to place a disney trade pin...It is nice to see any of the above in a cache, because it lets you know that the cacher has been there before you read the log. I love to read that someone has grabbed one of our pins, and even sometimes places it themselves!

[+planetrobert]

I like the golf balls cuz i stink at golf and loose a lot when play. Left broken mctoy, took dirty used golf ball.

[+trippy1976]

Believe it or not, there are cachers that collect dirty golfballs (pika cacher comes to mind). For whatever reason, I like the colored stones and any unusual rocks. Just leave the stuff you don't like for the next person. Also, if you go to each cache looking for something 'cool', you are going to be disappointed, a lot. But chances are you'll occaisionally stumble upon something you like.

I also collect the dirty golf balls. I clean the ones that look playable and stamp them with my borg logo, put them in a plastic bubble, and give them a designation. They then get sent back out in the world as my sig item.

 

I hate dirty golf balls in caches. I used to trade them out just to get them out. Then I had a pile of them stored up so I made them my sig item. I figure it makes them more tradeable and welcome in a cache.

 

(check out my sig.)

[+JoesBar]

I have left new, unused golf balls as a trade item. I figured there must be a geocacher somewhere that also plays golf. I note in the log that the golf ball is new. As to the used, dirty ones, I grab them and since I live very close to a golf course, I simply throw them over the fence for a golfer to find. Maybe they use them, maybe they don't, but at least the golf ball has a home.

Edited November 29, 2004 by Joesbar

[umc]

Believe it or not, there are cachers that collect dirty golfballs (pika cacher comes to mind).  For whatever reason, I like the colored stones and any unusual rocks.  Just leave the stuff you don't like for the next person.  Also, if you go to each cache looking for something 'cool', you are going to be disappointed, a lot.  But chances are you'll occaisionally stumble upon something you like. 

I also collect the dirty golf balls. I clean the ones that look playable and stamp them with my borg logo, put them in a plastic bubble, and give them a designation. They then get sent back out in the world as my sig item.

 

I hate dirty golf balls in caches. I used to trade them out just to get them out. Then I had a pile of them stored up so I made them my sig item. I figure it makes them more tradeable and welcome in a cache.

 

(check out my sig.)

I usually go behind trippy and pull his sig items out of caches and toss them in the garbage where they belong. You can put hair and makeup on a pig but it's still a pig.