Bryan James, a member of the Army’s Third Infantry Division based in Fort Stewart, Ga., and some of his fellow soldiers in Iraq are not unlike many golfers.

“They hit them out into the desert, then they go out and retrieve them,” said James’ mother, Patty Pelletier of Bangor. “But they don’t find all of them.”

In addition to the sand, they have another problem – a form of out of bounds.

“If they hit them over the barbed-wire fence, they can’t go get those,” she added.

That meant James – a 2002 graduate of Bangor High School – and his mates were running out of golf balls, so Patty Pelletier decided to find a way to ship him more. She found there was a flat-rate box, about the size of a shoebox for a pair of boots, that costs $9 to ship.

It doesn’t matter how much it weighs, which Pelletier discovered was a good thing when she shipped the first box.

“It holds about nine dozen balls. It weighed 111/2 pounds,” she said.

Those were used ones Pelletier bought, but she’s also collecting donated balls at a number of golf courses.

“From the managers I was asking permission from, they were very receptive,” she said.

The person she spoke to at Hermon Meadow Golf Club was particularly enthusiastic.

“He told me, ‘We’re all very patriotic here and support the troops,'” said Pelletier, who has also been a troop greeter at Bangor International Airport.

The response by the club and its members was also strong at Penobscot Valley Country Club in Orono.

“Colin [Gillies, the head pro] called and said I should come pick up the box, it was overflowing,” she said.

Lucerne Golf Course also has allowed her to set up a collection box, as did Bar Harbor Golf Course in Trenton.

“And that’s all within the last few days,” she said.

She plans on contacting more golf courses as well.

Lucerne gave her a number of balls and Hermon Meadow offered to do the same, but Pelletier wants to go the collection route.

“That’s what I would rather do,” she said. “I want individuals to donate so they can get the satisfaction of doing it.”

The 23-year-old James, who is on his second tour in Iraq, was home for two weeks recently and just returned to the Al-Taqadam base, which is west of Baghdad near Ramadi.

His outfit had been hitting balls with soldiers from another unit, but when James – who has been in the Army for four years – returned to Iraq, he discovered the other outfit had been transferred.

That made her project even bigger.

“They owned the clubs and the balls,” Patty Pelletier said.

So Pelletier started checking into getting golf clubs, also.

The man who sold her the golf clubs, a World War II veteran himself, has offered to sell her a number of used clubs inexpensively as well. Meanwhile, some of the golf courses she has contacted have said they will check their lost-and-found collections for clubs.

When she picked up the ball box at PVCC, she received a surprise.

“Colin gave me four clubs, including two new ones,” she said, “and the manager at Hermon Meadow also said when I came back he would have some clubs for me.”

The project, which Pelletier had envisioned lasting until the end of August but which she may extend to the end of the golf season, might end up with more donations than she expected. She has a plan for that.

“I’ll probably send them to other soldiers. I’ll research who else would like to have them,” she said.

Dave Barber can be reached at 990-8170, 1-800-310-8600, or by e-mail at dbarber@bangordailynews.net.

COLLECTION SITES

Bar Harbor Golf Course, Trenton

Golf Country driving range, Bangor

Hermon Meadow Golf Club

Lucerne Golf Course

Penobscot Valley Country Club, Orono

(others may also participate)