MSIS Member Profile: Bill Meyer

Meet......

Occupation: Retired

Formerly: Proprietor of a men's clothing store.

MSIS team: Oak Bridge

Hometown: Columbus, Indiana

Born: March 11, 1932

How long a golfer: 14 years

Best round ever: 76

How long member of MSIS: 8 years

Favorite course: Sawgrass CC

Best of MSIS: Likes playing with different players

Worst of MSIS: Doesn't care for mid-afternoon meals

Hobby: Golf ball collection. See below...

Bill Meyer collects golf balls. At the moment his collection numbers 8000+ balls and it is still growing! Bill has a veritable museum of golf balls.... 6500 logo balls cover three walls of his garage plus several thousand more are stored in egg cartons and buckets. Those in the egg cartons are already cleaned and sorted alphabetically. He is trying to buy the garage next door for additional space to store them. Those in the buckets are soaking in water awaiting cleaning, sorting and temporary storage.

One wall in Bill's garage is covered with Fortune 500 corporate logo balls stored in specially built shelves designed for easy viewing. On the opposite wall, there are glass fronted cases with balls bearing the names of famous courses, from Pebble Beach to Scotland's St. Andrews. Others hold balls from important amateur and professional tournaments including Ponte Vedra's own TPC and the recent U.S. Open at Bethpage Black. On the back wall of the garage are balls for which Bill has no display space. They are in neatly labeled egg cartons. Also, the back wall holds a rack of colored balls including a ball that is camouflaged.

Bill has been collecting balls for 12+ years. Most of the balls he has found himself. About 50 balls were given to him by friends as gifts. Give him a ball and most times he'll already have it in his collection.

Bill is always happy to show his collection to visitors. Next time you play with him, ask for a tour. It will be quite fascinating.