Six-year-old Josh Winnington has been hitting the golf course with his poppa, Lloyd Moyle, since he was a toddler.
But over the past couple of years, it’s been hunting for lost golf balls that entices Josh more than playing the game itself.
Lloyd and Josh have done the rounds at Waahi Taakaro Golf Club in the Maitai Valley about twice a week since Josh was a toddler.
Although Josh has his own set of clubs, it’s the collecting that keeps his attention.
“He’s always had a good eye for finding the balls,” Lloyd says.
“He can be very persuasive if he sees one in a tricky to reach spot like the middle of the river, he begs and pleads with me to get them.”
“Yesterday you didn’t get the one out of the river,” Josh reminds Lloyd.
Lloyd admits that from time-to-time it is his turn to do the persuading, when Josh finds some nice balls that would be good to hit round the course.
“I have to say I want three of his nice shiny white ones if he wants my nice colourful one I found.”
Josh’s mum Kate says, ever since he was six months old Josh has had an obsession with balls and at first he didn’t want to sell any. But after spreading them across his Richmond home and poppa’s house, it was time to put them up for sale.
The most balls the pair have collected is 135 in one day, which happened after a minor flood.
Josh says that when he gets lots his mum Kate puts the golf balls for sale on Facebook.
He even has regular customers who have standing orders for a particular ball type if they are ever found.
And he uses the money for his favourite toy.
“Monster trucks, I’ve got heaps.”
Last summer he made over $200 and he’s made almost the same this year.
"We save some, we spend some, and hopefully later we’ll get to the give some away stage,” Kate says.
Josh’s current favourite ball is a shiny red one with a number 2 that was found in the river, but he says he won’t sell that one.
Once collected the balls get placed into two categories, good condition and practice.
“Good condition doesn’t have any scratches and it looks nice, if it’s practice condition there’s scratches and it doesn’t look that nice,” Josh says.
“We have to go over the fence because sometimes people hit them in the long grass,” Josh says. “And poppa always misses them,” he laughs.
Lloyd can’t disagree.
“One time we were walking along a drain, and I was looking all through the drain and he went and found one sticking out of a flax bush, he’s got them out of trees too, he sees them up there.”
Josh says he felt sad that his little brother Levi didn’t have any money so they have started collecting pinecones so he can have his own ‘business’ too.
Now that Josh is at school, they don’t get as much time to go golfing together.
“Now it’s mostly the holidays,” Lloyd says.
“He’s relying on me to find them now but I don’t have his eye.”
