Scott Phillips is no ordinary golfer, business owner, or human. For starters, he’s part of the 1% of golfers that play with a plus handicap (better than scratch). What’s more, he’s also built the leading lake ball business in the UK. But what makes Scott’s story all the more remarkable, is that he’s achieved both of these things despite being stone deaf.
Growing up in County Durham, Scott was a keen golfer from an early age; representing his county and getting a hole-in-one at the age of 11. But in 1999, by now married and with two young daughters, he received the devastating news that he had a tumour (golf ball sized, ironically) on his hearing nerve. Despite hopes of preserving his hearing, six months and further tumours and operations later, and Scott was completely deaf.
Losing his hearing put an end to his career in leadership in the Oil & Gas industry, and looked to have put pay to his favourite pastime too, having also lost both of his balance nerves. Unsurprisingly, he admits that life was a real battle, as he adjusted to living without hearing, and without the modern tech that aids communication nowadays. But whilst many would have crumbled, Scott’s made of stronger stuff thanks to his ‘North East get up and get on with it mentality’, and with young mouths to feed and minds to inspire, he hauled himself up by his bootstraps and launched ‘Premier Lake Balls’ in 2004.
Scott had been scavenging for golf balls since he was 5, when he’d scramble through the gorse bushes whilst his dad played, and his entrepreneurial spirit soon saw him turning his treasure hunting into a means to fund developing his early golfing talents. So, when he was offered 600 balls by a dog walker in 2004, it sparked the eureka moment and impetus to build a business and rebuild his life.
He also found the courage to start playing golf again, and after a tough time adapting to his new normal, went onto win the North Yorkshire and South Durham Championship with a score of -3, and set a new course record at Seaton Carew of 64 (-8).
Premier Lake Balls will soon enjoy it’s 20th anniversary, and now sell over 4 million balls a year to over 150,000 customers across Europe, sourced from a network of over 40 divers. Scott tells us that whilst the market for lake balls was historically primarily in the US, Europe has now caught up and golf courses are realising that they have free money sat in every lake on their course. Scott negotiates deals with the 50+ partner courses, either based on a price per ball, or with a cut of the haul going back to the club.
Despite two decades of trading, along with other big UK players, and having navigated the growth of eCommerce to be a Google award winning business, Scott says that many golfers are still oblivious to the concept of lake / reclaimed balls. Whilst this is naturally something he’s keen to address, he points out that it at least has the benefit of meaning there’s a solid supply of ‘pearl’ grade Titleists in the lakes for his team to find!
For the divers themselves, mining for ‘white gold’ can be grueling and perilous. Scott says they’re a ‘different breed’, facing a range of challenges and dangers that has claimed a number of lives… particularly in the US where snakes, snapping turtles and alligators have been known to attack divers or their air tanks. For those brave and industrious enough, the rewards can be mighty, with some US divers reputed to earn up to £8k a week… that’s 8p for each of the 100,000 balls they can potentially find!
So what’s the ideal course to dive into the water hazards of? Scott explains that at the high-end courses, less balls find the water, but they’re of better quality… whereas at a more average course he can top up his reserves of more entry-level balls. He oversees the sorting and grading of over 70,000 balls a week personally in their 6,000 square foot warehouse in Hartlepool, and in these times of austerity, it’s easy to see why buying a coveted Pro V1 at around £2 instead of £4 a pop, is proving an attractive option.
As if Scott Phillips’ story isn’t inspiring enough, he even shares how he‘s effectively turned his disability into a superpower… in golf and in business. With a wry smile, he tells us that being deaf means he can just focus on being better every day, as he doesn’t have to listen to what people say!
Heard a golf-related story half as inspiring as Scott’s? Please let us know via hello@sundayslicers.com
