Golf Balls Put in Garbage Cart/Bin Consider donating serviceable golf balls. Ways to Reduce Purchase Refurbished Golf Balls Consider buying golf balls in good condition from Lostgolfballs.com. Did You Know? Nike Owns a Patent for a Recyclable Golf Ball Most golf balls are discarded because the outer shells become worn out before their cores. Nike saw this problem as an opportunity: they wanted to develop a new method for removing the outer layer, so that the ball can be reused. In 2015, Nike successfully patented a recyclable golf ball.