Abstract: A golf ball retriever comprising a partially ellipsoidal basket having a pocket for retaining the golf ball at the basket's far end, and a telescoping pole carrying the basket perpendicularly on the pole's far end. The basket is a partial section of an ellipsoidal surface greater than a semi-ellopsoid, and opens along its major or long axis toward the handle end of the pole. The basket comprises a flat central member and five radially spaced, upwardly curving webs separated by gaps smaller than the diameter of the ball. The pocket is formed by the gap between the two webs farthest from the pole.