Tee-rific collection: 93-year-old Calgarian has more than 5K logoed golf balls

Jack Armstrong is in the basement of his southeast Calgary home practicing some putting on the cement floor.

Despite the slick surface, the 93-year-old man is making his fair share of putts.

Armstrong has been golfing for over 40 years and loves it. 

He says he doesn't plan on giving it up the game anytime soon.

"I just like to get out in the fresh air mostly," he said. "Even in the rain and snow."

"I've done it in all kinds of weather and I love it."

STARTED AS A JOKE

Something else Armstrong loves to do is collect logoed golf balls. He's been doing it since he first picked up game in Comox, B.C. in the late 1970's.

Armstrong says when he first collected the balls, he wasn't serious about it.

"As a joke, I said 'I'm going to pick all of the golf balls I can find with logos on them,'" he told CTV.

"I just started picking them up, and people would go to different places and bring one back to me. It just kept going, and now I'm trying to get rid of them all," he chuckled.

OVER 5,000 ON DISPLAY

Armstrong has his collection of golf balls proudly on display in his basement. 

When you walk downstairs, the golf balls cover nearly every wall. They're neatly placed on shelves he built.

Armstrong says his collection is now over 5,000, and three black golf balls are his favourites.

"Those are Larry and Moe and Curly: the three Stooges," he laughed.

A friend of Jack's brought those ones back from Costa Rica, and Armstrong said they've been in his collection ever since.

Jack is also quite the golfer. 

He has twice scored a hole-in-one; the first, he says, was at the old Highland golf course.

"I remember I hit it on hole seven," Armstrong said. "I hit the ball and never saw it.  I had no idea. And when they said 'it's in the hole,' I said 'no, it isn't.'

"I got down there and there it was."

"The one at Shaganappi was on the 14th hole. Same thing. I never saw it and they said 'it's in.' I said 'it's over the green.' I came back and there it was in the hole – which was very exciting."

Jack has other logoed golf balls in another room of his basement.  

They're carefully stored in buckets and boxes, but he says it's not likely they're going to find a home on his shelves.

"I have no room," Armstrong said.

"I can't build anymore shelves, so they're going to stay where they are," he added with a laugh.

As for golf, Armstrong says he has every intention of picking up the clubs and having more fun on the course next season.