Alright guys, today’s experiment got kinda wild – trying to make DIY golf ball rounds! Saw it mentioned somewhere, thought “could I actually do that?”. Figured I’d try step-by-step and see if it works. Buckle up, it gets messy.
Starting Simple & Getting the Stuff
First thing, grabbed what I thought I needed. Didn’t wanna buy anything fancy, just used junk laying around:
- Old Golf Balls: Dug a handful out of the garage. Mostly beat-up ones I wouldn’t miss.
- Basic Hammer & Vice: My rusty shop hammer and an old vice bolted to the workbench.
- Sharp Knife: Just a sturdy pocket knife I use for garden stuff.
- Safety Stuff: Dug out my safety glasses – seriously, wear them! Work gloves too.
- Random Stuff: Empty tin can (clean!), small funnel, candle, old spoon, lighter.
Cutting Them Up Was Harder Than I Thought
Step one: getting the cores out. Tried just whacking a ball with the hammer first. Big mistake. Thing bounced everywhere like crazy, almost took out a window! Learned quick: gotta hold it super tight.
Clamped a ball good and proper in the vice, wrapped an old rag around it to hold it still. Took the sharp knife and started sawing through the rubbery cover. Man, that stuff is tough! Took ages to cut deep enough all the way around the middle.
Finally got it cut through. Used the knife blade and a screwdriver to pry the two halves apart. Inside was this weird, springy rubbery core – kinda like hard rubber bands all wound up. Pulled that core chunk out. Did this a few times, got sweaty. Golf balls fight back!
Meltdown Phase (Literally)
Next bit: melt down the insides. This felt sketchy, ngl. Needed containers.
- Put the hollowed-out golf ball halves aside for later shells.
- Took the rubbery core chunks and started cutting them up into smaller pieces with the knife. Easier than the outer shell, but still not exactly soft.
Lit a candle with the lighter. Held the empty tin can over the flame with pliers (got hot fast!). Dropped the rubber pieces into the can. Figured it would just melt into liquid… nope. More like it softened and turned into this thick, sticky, nasty-smelling goo. Kinda like toxic bubblegum. Kept it over the flame, stirring with the old spoon. Yeah, ruined that spoon.
Once it was hot and gloopy, took the funnel and carefully poured that hot mess into the hollowed-out golf ball halves I saved. Filled one half, pressed the other half on top hard to seal it while the goo was hot. Hot and messy and smelled terrible. Left them to cool completely.
Results? Mixed Bag
Waited a couple hours. Pried one “finished” round open again. The goo inside had solidified, but it wasn’t rock hard. More like a really dense rubber eraser. Cool design though, looked like a proper bullet shape inside its own shell.
Took it outside with extreme caution. Placed it carefully on a big log as a backstop. Hit it hard with the hammer. Bang! It definitely went off. Loud pop, split the golf ball shell, and that rubbery slug shot out like a rocket, burying itself deep into the log. Crazy power actually.
BUT here’s the thing: Getting that core was a huge pain. The melting process stunk up the garage for days and was probably awful fumes. And actually using it? Yeah, no way. Seriously dangerous, unpredictable, and definitely not worth the hassle or risk just to see what happens. My conclusion? Interesting experiment, stupid idea practically. Stick to making paper airplanes. Seriously, wear eye protection if you try dumb things!
