There's a First Time for Everything...

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By Jon T

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  • 17 Replies
  1. Jon T

    Jon T
    Iowa City / Cedar Rapids, Iowa

    Military

    Yesterday I took my two youngest kids out to play 9 at one of the munis, and we got stuck behind a foursome that had zero clue. Multiple shots from each (to be fair, I'd probably take a couple extra hacks if I was only topping it 6 yards at a time), animated arguments amongst each other, extra time on the the greens, and just generally moving slow. My 7 year old and 12 year old playing partners caught them on the second hole, and we waited on every shot. I took extra time on the greens to repair what I assume were their freshly unrepaired ball marks, and still ended up waiting for them on the next tee boxes.

    On the par 5 sixth, after what I assumed was a long enough wait (after checking and seeing their carts left towards the green), I smoked my 3W towards the front edge of the green. When I cleared the hill to see where my shot landed, I saw one of the foursome get out of his cart, pick up my ball from just short of the green, drop it in his bag, then proceed to line up his putt. I drove down to the group and apologized for hitting into their group as it was a blind shot, and they all looked at me like they had no clue what I was talking about. They asked me what ball I was playing, and I pulled one out of my pocket and showed them my marking. I received a blunt "Nope, never saw it" before they all pulled away.

    I can't 100% say that it was my ball as I didn't see it hit the ground, but I'm 99.999% certain that it was, given the line and distance. I spent 4-5 minutes looking for my ball with my kids before dropping near the spot I saw the ball. I've never had anyone pick up my ball in front of me and then deny it when confronted, and to be honest I was pretty pissed off about it. I had to take their word for it and move on, but has this happened to anyone else before? What did you do about it? 4i stinger on the next hole?

  2. Cris M

    Cris M
    Tyrone, GA

    That sucks. I had a similar situation where the group in front of us crested a hill in the fairway so we thought it was safe to tee off. Hit it dead center of the fairway; it landed tee side of the hill, bounced once and disappeared to the other side. We drove up and my ball was no where to be found. Unlike you, I didn't have visual proof that they took it. Our guess was that while we couldn't see them, my ball might have rolled up close to them; which is never a good feeling but not a reason to swipe a ball. But I guess that is better than getting into an argument/fight over it.
  3. Don O

    Don O
    Madison, WI

    Assuming there was a gap in front of them, pack up the kids and leapfrog the group. Better time with the offspring and they won’t miss one hole.
  4. Chris92009

    Chris92009
    Ohio

    Sad story...
  5. Steve M

    Steve M
    Hatboro, PA

    Next time, call the pro shop and let them deal with the slow play. IF they don't address it, take your greens fees to another course that would be happy to have you, your kids and your $$$
  6. Darin L

    Darin L
    Devils Lake, ND

    I've had that happen to me before. I used to order golf balls from Titleist with my first and last name on them. I once argued with a guy that he hit my golf ball. He insisted it was his even after I picked it up and showed him that it had my name on it. Sometimes it pays to have your name on your ball.
  7. Sean M

    Sean M
    Liberty, MO

    Military

    Darin L said:

    I've had that happen to me before. I used to order golf balls from Titleist with my first and last name on them. I once argued with a guy that he hit my golf ball. He insisted it was his even after I picked it up and showed him that it had my name on it. Sometimes it pays to have your name on your ball.

    Darin - how big was the guy that wanted to argue with you? Did he not realize that you were a hockey player?
  8. Dale V

    Dale V
    Surprise AZ

    Sad that they may have picked up your ball but if I hit close enough for that to happen, it’s bad on me for not waiting until it was clear. I play a lot as a single and purposely wait way back so the group in front will be clear and also so they will not feel pressured to wave me up. It’s my fault for playing as a single and I don’t want to spoil their round.
  9. Steve M

    Steve M
    Hatboro, PA

    Dale, while singles don't necessarily have any "privileges" on the course, if there is space in front of the 4-some, they should simply let you play through. This would help your round, but more importantly help THEIR round.

    Maybe as I've had a number of rounds as a single as well that I'm more cognizant of this. I'm all about pace of play, but if there's a single or double behind me and space in front, I'll ask if they want to play through. Then we can all relax and not wait or worry about hitting into a group.
  10. Sean M

    Sean M
    Liberty, MO

    Military

    Dale V said:

    Sad that they may have picked up your ball but if I hit close enough for that to happen, it’s bad on me for not waiting until it was clear. I play a lot as a single and purposely wait way back so the group in front will be clear and also so they will not feel pressured to wave me up. It’s my fault for playing as a single and I don’t want to spoil their round.

    How do you feel about people driving over your tee ball in the fairway??
  11. Jon T

    Jon T
    Iowa City / Cedar Rapids, Iowa

    Military

    Dale V said:

    Sad that they may have picked up your ball but if I hit close enough for that to happen, it’s bad on me for not waiting until it was clear. I play a lot as a single and purposely wait way back so the group in front will be clear and also so they will not feel pressured to wave me up. It’s my fault for playing as a single and I don’t want to spoil their round.

    That's actually my favorite trick during the "buddy scramble" events. Hit into my fairway? I'm doing my best to roast the cart tires on top of your ball. (Never to a stranger!)
  12. Darryl M

    Darryl M
    Wichita, KS

    I've had it happen twice. I hit into another fairway (both times) I could clearly see my ball from the tee box. A group playing that hole had a ball land between the two fairways near a tree. The player went to that ball picked it up then proceeded to play my ball from their fairway. I asked if they had seen my ball & his response was. they found a Bridgestone by that tree; I said no I am playing a Pro v1 with a blue dot. it should have been in your fairway. He said he just hit his ball and is playing a Kirkland.

    The other time the group coming up the fairway just scooped my ball up and kept going, I yelled at them, but they ignored me. I just let it go and dropped a ball and proceeded


    DM
  13. Dr. Kovatchian

    Dr. Kovatchian
    Carlsbad

    I have had balls vanish many times on courses that have holes side by side and common playing areas.
    Once at my home course off the first hole if you push the ball a little right your sight line can be blocked out by a hill and some trees...I pushed my drive right yelled fore to alert the players you could barely see...when arriving to the landing zone no ball to be found...the group accused us of hitting into them...crazy!!! We yelled fore to alert them...we were thinking they obviously took my ball. Kinda Crazy they hit into the same area where my ball landed and mine was nowhere to bee seen. FLOG

    Cheers,
    Dr. K
  14. Cris M

    Cris M
    Tyrone, GA

    At the GT fitting I attended Tuesday, the range was parallel to what I think is the 1st hole (was at a club I am not familiar with); the hole was to the right. They had a large fence/screen that protected balls from going into the fairway but it ended about 250 yds out. At one point, one of the fitters started whistling and yelling which caused everyone to stop hitting. People playing the hole were going to the area just beyond the fence and picking up the balls (we were using ProVs etc.) that were near the perimeter of the range. This was a pretty nice private club and they still felt the need to steal balls.
  15. Mike M

    Mike M
    Marblehead MA

    Years ago, playing our 9 hole muni, I remember playing behind a single. On the second hole, a downhill blind 250 yard par 3, he waves us on (we were a twosome). We both hit 1 irons (neither of us carried a hybrid back then).Both were solid strikes, mine a fade, his a draw. We get down to the green, and the single is nowhere to be found. We didn't see either ball.We walked to the right of the green where there was a bunker. Both balls were in there, one tucked under the front lip, one tucked under the back lip, with no track marks in the bunker. They were obviously placed there. No way they could not end up in that position on their own.To this day,I don't know what compelled this guy to do that.

    Moral of the story; some guys are just jerks!
  16. Barry M

    Barry M
    Reno, NV

    I think anybody playing golf more than a couple years will have a similar story.
    It's funny how some people just can't pass up a ball without assuming it's lost or left behind, even when it's in your fairway. I just wish they would apply the same thought to all the wrappers, beer cans, etc. that they see on the course.
    But then again, I guess it's easier to play a ball they found than to try hitting an empty beer can. The ball will go further (most of the time).
  17. Jonathan Smith

    Jonathan Smith
    Charlotte, NC

    I typically wait a bit to make sure I am not hitting into anyone. It is not worth it if they do not have the etiquette to let you play through.
  18. Dave N

    Dave N
    Dade City, FL

    I would've (and have in the past)called the pro shop/ starter shack and complained about slow play before you hit that particular shot.

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