The Golf Course Ball Washer
Golfers place a golf ball into a slot and, most typically, turn a crank or pull a plunger up and down. The ball is washed in a detergent solution while being scrubbed by bristles. A towel is usually attached for drying. (See more about how to use an on-course golf ball washer.)
The device's name can also be spelled ball-washer or ballwasher, and is sometimes (not commonly) called the ball cleaner or ball cleanser. They are more common on public (especially municipal) golf courses.
Some ball washers have built-in club washer slots, too, allowing golfers to clean both a golf ball and a clubhead.
One of the most-common brands seen on American golf courses is Par Aide, and courses can order them from the company in various sizes and shapes. The one pictured on this page includes a standard plunger-style ball washer at the top, on a standing base, with a trash can attached, plus metal rings from which towels for clinging will hang.
Not just golf courses can buy ball washers, so can individual golfers. Go to Amazon.com, for example, and you'll find multiple varieties for sale, some quite cheap, and including ball washers made for attachment to one's golf cart.
Ball washers on golf courses go back at least to the first half of the 1900s. An advertisement in a 1929 issue of Golf Illustrated, for example, offers a "Roterkleen ball washer."
