In 1969, the Florida city of Punta Gorda was struck by a bizarre rain of golf balls during a storm, as reported by the St. Petersburg Times. The event was likely caused by a waterspout or tornado that swept up a golf course's supply and deposited the balls miles away. It remains one of the most unusual object rains on record.

The Punta Gorda golf ball rain became a subject of Florida folklore and was referenced in the works of Florida poets and writers, such as Harry Crews and Marjory Stoneman Douglas. The motif of raining golf balls appears in American humor poetry as an example of the absurdity and unpredictability of life in the Sunshine State.