Golf Ball Retriever

Picture from www.golfdiscount.com.

I am not a golfer. In fact, I don't really play any sports that involve swinging a mallet, bat, or racket. So in my own home I am at a loss when it comes to introducing my children to such games. Luckily, we have friends and relatives who do play swinging sports and all the gear that goes along with them. Case in point, my parents, who golf, and the JTD Enterprises Golf Ball Retriever.

Mikey and Anna have enjoyed playing together with this funny little tool. Anna, a toddler obsessed with throwing, tosses golf balls all over the yard. Mikey then retrieves them using this magic wand. It is a unique golf tool because it can be pushed and pulled (much like the Nut Wizard) and the golf balls get stuck between the rubber-coated plastic wheels. This is unique because most golf ball retrievers that I've seen hold one ball at a time and act as scoops of some kind. JTD Enterprises made this tool to hold three golf balls that roll one over the other as it is pushed around.

Since I am not an avid golfer, or a golfer at all, I have watched Curious George episodes about golfing sideways with my nose in a novel. But for the sake of this post, I tap Curious George and include "Castle Keep" and "Low High Score" for you to watch. My favorite parts of "Castle Keep" are about physics and engineering - George learns about levers. In "Low High Score" Curious George makes his own mini-golf course...admired by this Preschool Engineer for inventiveness and construction more than for the sake of mini-golf.

What makes golf, or other swinging sports, interesting for your preschool engineer?