Working the ball and feeling better for it

And you thought golf balls were only good for golf. Here's another use for them: A deep tissue massage. Seriously.

Heather Karr is a licensed massage therapist in Thousand Oaks, Calif. A few years ago, a client told her about the therapeutic benefits of rolling around on a golf ball. "Although a golf ball is perfectly shaped for smoothly and deeply massaging hard-to-reach muscles, it was damaging to the therapists hands," it says on her company website.

Her solution was the SPAball Kaddy. It's a device made from engineered polymer plastic that fits over the golf ball, allowing the therapist to easily maneuver it.

It sells for $16 without a golf ball or $17.50 with a golf ball. For those concerned about the rules, SPAball Kaddy notes this on the golf ball it uses: (conforms to USGA standards).

The unanswered question is this: Is it better to use a ball with a harder or softer cover? Given that it's a deep tissue massage one is after, probably the former. So long as it conforms to USGA standards, of course.

-- John Strege