Collector of historic Giants homers also retrieves thousands of golf balls in a day
By Nick Lozito
Dave Edlund has scooped up many of the iconic homers in San Francisco Giants history. He might have also retrieved some of your worst golf shots.
Giants fans better know Edlund as McCovey Cove Dave, the kayaking collector of “splash hits” that land in San Francisco Bay each baseball season. But the Oracle Park staple has a more harrowing splashing passion with much less fanfare.
Edlund, a former freedive spearfisherman trained to hold his breath 100 feet under water, spends days away from McCovey Cove collecting golf balls from the depths of murky water hazards on area courses.
“All my hobbies are hunting for things,” explains the 69-year-old Oakland native whose father taught him to swim in open waters at a young age. “Baseballs, fish, golf balls. I’m competitive and I prepare.”
Edlund entered the golf ball hunting business in 2009, eight years after he began snatching homers. Submerged in a wetsuit, he pushes the golf balls through a PVC pipe on his chest that feeds into a large, netted bag. A gas-powered diving hookah that floats on the water’s surface pumps air through a hose and into his mouthpiece. He can fill 10 bags with golf balls in a day, or about 7,000 balls total.
Edlund and Chris Suciu, who owns Cal-Nor Dive Services, negotiate per-ball rates with golf courses. High-end courses yield more expensive balls. The business partners then sell the balls to wholesalers who clean, repackage and sell them to the public.
“You have to relax to where you don’t panic when something goes wrong,” said 37-year-old Suciu, who attended a commercial diving school at age 17. “If you can do that, you can work any pond.”
At least California courses don’t have alligators.
“Very few divers are built for this,” said Edlund, who became scuba certified in 1991 and wears a helmet for protection from wayward shots on the course. “Many people would freak out. The wintertime gets so cold there is ice on the water. You have to pick up so many balls to make it worth your while.“
“A hunt against time” is how Edlund describes the business. Most golf ball hunters only work the edges of ponds, leaving a treasure trove in the middle. “A normal person gets claustrophobic. You can’t see the bottom. It’s generally green or brown.”
While the dimpled plastic balls are sold, Edlund holds on to the leathered ones with red stitching. He has a splash-hit museum in his East Bay home.
Edlund has snagged 57 home-run balls on his kayak – 40 landed in the cove on the fly as an official “Splash Hit,” while the rest caromed off the stadium concourse. His first came Oct. 5, 2001, and he has left the competition in his wake ever since.
“If they’re chasing a ball and they’re worried I’ll out paddle them, I usually will,” Edlund said. The television broadcasters often prod McCovey Cove Dave for his brazen tactics — zipping in to snag the floating treasures while others flail on the choppy waters. One of his most famous balls came when he kayaked from about 100 feet away as other ball hunters couldn’t move their buoy only a few feet.
“It’s called the ‘He Came Out Of Nowhere’ play,” Edlund proudly states of the viral video.
There is etiquette on the water, of course.
“The first person to grab the ball securely with their hand or in a net, it’s theirs,” Edlund said. “But if it’s floating around it’s fair game. We view it as a sport.”
Edlund became a regular on McCovey Cove in 2005, four years after he retired from his tech job. As the Giants built a dynasty, winning World Series titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014, Edlund was routinely shown on highlights making plays on the water.
He competes for homers at about 40-to-45 games per season. He battles with about 10 other home-run hunters — more on the weekend. Whether hunting golf balls or baseballs, the key is having a plan. Edlund studies weather, wind and starting pitchers to select games that are most likely to produce balls into the bay. A lineup of lefty power hitters? Sign Edlund up. There is also a strategy to positioning himself on the water.
“Thats my greatest skill,” he said. “People think my best attribute is speed, but I keep moving around throughout the game. People say he’s so lucky, but it’s all orchestrated.”
In 2014, he snagged the 1,000th Giants home run since Oracle Park opened in 2000 (as Pacific Bell Park). Edlund tracked the homer total for months and picked the right spot when Brandon Belt hit the milestone. “Every time I get a baseball or golf ball I get a tremendous satisfaction,” Edlund said.
On Mother’s Day of 2022, a year after his mother died, Edlund snagged a splash hit from outfielder Mike Yastrzemski. “I was very close to my mom,” explains Edlund, who instinctively recorded a tribute video from his kayak. “At the end I said, ‘You are the best mom ever.’ I got emotional. I could barely talk. My initial reaction was to delete the video. Then I realized it was my authentic feeling.” The Giants and ESPN shared the video. It went viral.
On Sept. 15 last season, Edlund snagged a splash hit from Heliot Ramos, the first by a right-handed hitter in the ballpark‘s 25th season. “I knew Ramos had power,” Edlund said. “He could take a half swing and hit it to McCovey Cove.” Edlund had nearly left early when the group he was hosting became tired. He convinced them to stay. After he retrieved the blast, Edlund kissed the ball and held up a sign reading “First right-handed splash hit.”
On July 29, 2020, during the COVID-19 season when fans weren’t allowed in the ballpark, Edlund snagged two home runs from Mike Yastrzemski, including his game-winner in the ninth inning. “It was the No. 1 play on Sportscenter,” Edlund recalls. “I didn’t have to jump in but I did out of excitement.”
Edlund listens to the radio broadcast while on the water. Jon Miller’s call often gives a read on where the ball is heading. It takes about 5 seconds from the crack of the bat to when the ball hits the water.
Edlund plans to keep hunting golf balls for a few more years. He recently made his 764th trip out to McCovey Cove, and hopes to reach 1,000 games.
“I’m in better shape than the average 69 year old,” he said, “so I bet I’ll make it.”