Getting Started

So, I noticed my golf balls were getting really grungy after a few rounds, especially if the course was a bit wet. Wiping them down by hand is okay, but honestly, it gets tedious, and they never seem to get perfectly clean in those dimples. I thought, there has got to be a better way. Maybe something automatic?

I started thinking about how those commercial ball washers work at the range. Basically, some brushes spinning inside a container with some water. Seemed simple enough. I figured I could probably rig something up myself with stuff I had lying around or could get easily.

Gathering the Bits and Pieces

I went digging in the garage and the shed. Here's what I rounded up:

• An old plastic bucket, maybe 5 gallons? Just a sturdy one.
• A small electric motor. I think this one came out of an old fan or something similar. Wasn't too fast.
• Some stiff-bristled brushes. Found a couple of old scrubbing brushes.
• A simple power adapter that matched the motor's voltage.
• Some wire, electrical tape, zip ties.
• Basic tools: drill, screws, maybe some epoxy or strong glue.

Nothing fancy, really. Just basic stuff.

Putting It Together

First thing was figuring out how to mount the motor. I decided to put it underneath the bucket. I drilled a hole in the center of the bucket bottom, just big enough for the motor shaft to poke through. Then I made a simple wooden brace under the bucket to hold the motor steady and screwed the motor onto that brace.

Next up, the brushes. This was a bit tricky. I needed something inside the bucket to spin and scrub the balls. I took one of the scrubbing brushes and cut it down a bit. Then, I drilled a hole in the center of the brush back and basically bolted it onto the motor shaft that was sticking up inside the bucket. I wanted more scrubbing action, so I took pieces from the second brush and attached them to the sides of the bucket, facing inwards. I used some strong, waterproof epoxy for that, hoping they'd stay put.

Wiring was straightforward. Just connected the motor wires to the power adapter wires. Used some electrical tape to make sure it was safe. I didn't add a switch at first, just planned to plug it in to turn it on and unplug it to turn it off. Simple.

The First Test Run

Okay, moment of truth. I dropped maybe 10-15 dirty golf balls into the bucket. Added some water, just enough to cover the bottom brush, and a little squirt of dish soap. Plugged it in.

The motor whirred to life, and the bottom brush started spinning! The balls started tumbling around, hitting the side brushes and the spinning bottom one. It was actually working! It made a bit of noise, kind of a sloshing, rumbling sound.

I let it run for maybe five minutes. Then I unplugged it, fished out the balls. Wow! They were significantly cleaner. Not perfect, maybe some really stubborn grass stains were still faint, but way better than just wiping. The dimples looked much clearer.

A Few Tweaks

I noticed the balls sometimes got stuck in a corner or didn't tumble enough. So, I added a couple of small plastic bumps inside the bucket, just screwed them to the wall, to help knock the balls around more randomly. That seemed to improve the tumbling action.

I also played around with the amount of water and soap. Too much water and the scrubbing wasn't as effective. Too little, and it didn't clean well. Found a sweet spot. Using warm water seemed to help too.

Final Thoughts

So yeah, that's my homemade golf ball cleaning machine. Took an afternoon of tinkering. It's not pretty, definitely looks homemade, but it does the job surprisingly well. Just toss in the dirty balls, add water and soap, plug it in for a few minutes, and they come out much cleaner. Saves me a bunch of time scrubbing them one by one. Pretty happy with how this little project turned out.