Driving Home a Point on Theft of Lost Golf Balls

I found “Police Have One in Hole on Suspicion of Grand Theft Golf Ball” (Nov. 12) interesting and provocative.

The whole premise of the story--the “crime,” the items stolen, etc.--is based on a golf course and its contract vendor making a big business out of the recovery and sale of property owned by the golf course’s customers and lost on the course premises.

Think about that: Would you view it differently if, for example, a movie theater made a business of selling articles unintentionally left in the theater by its patrons? Or clothes left at school by your children? Of course. You would expect the establishment, upon greater identification, to return to you your lost property.

OK, you say, but a golf ball is a golf ball and as such not identifiable as belonging to an individual. Wrong. Many, many players indelibly mark their golf balls when new to avoid questions as to whose ball is being played during a round. These markings are, for the most part, removed during the “reconditioning” of the balls prior to their resale . . . perhaps to their original owners.

I admit it’s probably unreasonable to expect golf courses to make any serious effort to return lost golf balls to their owners. But must they profit from them? How about donating the proceeds of resold balls to charity? Giving them to public schools with golf programs? How about giving a lost ball to each player when he pays his green fees? You get the idea.

In any event, the idea of prosecuting someone for retrieving golf balls that the rightful owners have no expectation of recovering is ludicrous. Cite the guy for trespassing. Maybe. But not for stealing something from someone who doesn’t own it in the first place.

JOHN ANDERSON

Newport Beach