Who does that!!!?

I have to vent about the group behind me on my last round.

So I was playing one of my local courses with a friend last night...

We were at the tee box waiting for the group in front of us to finish up and a group comes up behind us to wait as well. The group in front of us gets onto the green (long par4) so we tee off. We then proceed to head down to our balls (in clear view from the tee box). We stand at our ball and wait as the people on the green are still finishing up. About 30 seconds after we get to our balls, I hear the sound of a driver hitting a ball. I look back and notice a guy on the tee we just hit from and a ball in the air about 20 yards away. The ball lands about 10 feet from me and bounces a few yards down the fairway. No yelling fore, no yelling anything, no apology, nothing. We waited for them on the next tee to ask what the heck they were doing, but they wouldn't come down to the tee. Only when we were up at the green did they come over (same on the remainder of the holes as we had to wait for the people in front of us).

Ugh, just needed to vent because I couldn't believe somebody would do that and not even say anything (before or after).

-jR

At least the recognized what they had done- as evidenced by the fact that they avoided you...

Unfortunately, we live in a world of stupid people. I've done a couple different things in these situations:

1. Do what you did and ask them about it later. Usually the end up confirming they are d*cks or stupid ... or both.
2. Put their ball in my pocket like nothing happened.
3. Hit their ball into the woods.
4. Teed the ball up and hit it back at them.

I don't recommend #3 or #4, but I have a bad temper.

I was very tempted to do option 4 but my playing partner ended up plugging the ball into a divot it was sitting right next to.

Texas justice! Love it!

(BTW, #2 also means you have a bad temper, mate. )

I'd pick up the ball and put it in my pocket in plain view. If they didn't come ask for it I'd make sure to get it back to them later. Being frustrated with slow play is no excuse to hit into the group ahead.

It does? I just did it casually ... sort of like "Hey, look what I found".

Excellent, we'll have to make that #5 on my list of options.

ive done #2 before.... they hit on top of us it was the second hole they was hitting from the tips i was on the left side of the car they hit it on the right side of the car about 2 feet so i picked up the ball and put it in my pocket...... they dident do it anymore and at the turn they thought i went in but i was waiting on the tee box...... i took the ball out of my pocket and said in a kind sarcastic voice " uh Boys you dropped this on the second hole" and tossed it at him....... he looked at me got in his cart and god only knows where he went.....

A similar situation happened to me a few months ago at the finishing hole at LPGA in Daytona Beach. When we cleared the green and were heading back to our carts someone behind hit their approach shot. No big deal here as I often hit my approach shot prior to the group in front pulling away in their carts. However, this guy's shot went way right and connected with a palm tree about 15 feet from us. Not a word from them. I got out of the cart and glared back awaiting some kind of appology, but not a one came. So I pulled out a wedge and proceeded to deposit their ball in the pond. Got back in my cart and pulled away. Hopefully they got the hint........... I was actually hoping for some kind of response from the geezers behind as after a rough round I was ready to knock his old ass out!!!!!!!

I guess by nature I'm a pretty forgiving guy. I'd never do any of the suggestions listed when someone hits into me or my group. Doing something like that just escalates a potentially bad situation. What I do is if someone intentionally hits into me (I'm out in plain view in the fairway and someone hits a shot that could have easily hit me or was within 10-20 yards of me) I'll speak to them about it at the first opportunity. I wouldn't argue with them but I would point out how they could very easily have hit me. If they blew me off or don't care I'd tell them not to do it again or I'd report them. In the thirty plus years I've spent playing golf I've never once had a problem with someone deliberately hitting into me and not being appologetic about it. I'm sure it could happen though. To me it makes more sense to give people the benefit of the doubt and not escalate the confrontation.

A few weeks ago I hit a drive on a short par 4 while the group in front of me were clearing the green. I knew I wouldn't drive the green and my drive had a lot of backspin and shot up high in the air, but the group in front of me started coming toward me right in the direction of my drive. The ball came down about 20yds in front of them. The next tee box is situated close to the middle of my fairway and as I went to my ball I veared off in their direction and appologized for hitting so close to them. The were very nice about it and said it was a good shot and that was that.

In short I'd view someone pocketing my ball or doing something else that escalates the situation as lacking class. If golf is to be about anything it should always be an exhibition of class...

I've encountered quite a few inconsiderate golfers, but the one that sticks out the most was during a round when we had a twosome behind us. I was playing with my 4some buddies and was on the green of the 14th hole. While putting on the green one of the guys hits his shot and lands on the green. The other guy hits his shot and nearly hit me on my head. I pick up the ball on the green and pocket it as I saw it was a new pro-v1 ball and picked up the other ball to find it was a crappy old one and threw that one as far as i could. The 15th hole was pretty close and getting ready to tee off one of the idiots asks if i've seen his ball. I told him no, but he insisted he saw me pick it up. I told him if he was able to see that then he should have been able to see that we were still putting on the green and that he shouldn't have hit his shot. He asked for his ball back and I told him no. Then went ahead and hit one of the best drives of my life.

I normally just ignore the first time offense, but the week prior I had some idiots hit all four of their drives not once but on two holes while we were preparing for our 2nd shot. I vowed to never let inconsiderate idiots off the hook.

This topic has got me all riled up again :)... idiots on course beware!

You know that guy in your casual group that knows he just cannot hit that far? The one that always goes first because there is just "no chance" he can hit it that far? Well, he finally got a hold of one! haha

I tryed to do #2 before, but no one would allow me to do so, saying that I'd be asked to leave the golf course.

Once, actually twice, have someone done that to me. The first time was about 5 months ago. I was in the middle of my downswing and a ball just hits the ground, bounces and nearly hits me. I shanked my shot and hit the other ball in the process into a lake. The guy wanted me to give him a pro v1 saying that that was the ball that he had hit. I told him to go to hell. The second time was 2 months ago. We let a group passso we could search our balls. I was looking for their tee shots to see if we weren't in danger or something. All the sudden a bee comes out of nowhere, and since I'm alergic to bee stings, sent it away with my glove. When I turn a golf ball just passes 1/2 inch away from my right year. No one yelled fore or anything. That pissed me off. The guy came to me like nothing happened and asked me where the ball was. I nearly told him to pick his ball up and put it up him. But since it was in such a tough spot, I didn't care. He had a drop and layed up about 3 times before going into the green (and 3 putting it). Later that day I heard himsaying that he birdied that hole (par 5).

I originally come from a Sassenach place noted for its reserve, politeness and easy going tolerance -- we don't point out others faults until pushed to the brink, and even then we are excessively diplomatic. Even though there's some Scot in the family.

As a newcomer 4 years to the sport, I was totally flabbergasted one day to find a ball bouncing past me (albeit relatively harmlessly) across the green, while I battled my first hole ragged wedge work.

There was a couple ahead and a couple behind. Neither was really interested in being a threesome, which was quite understandable.

All the same I thought it pretty classless, I'd never experienced that before. First time for everything I thought.

Eventually the guy joins me -- he'd played through the couple behind -- and we continued as a pair. In some ways I was glad to have a partner. At around the 4th hole, he teed off with his driver while the couple ahead was still on the green, and he landed a beauty plop right on the green 200 yds away as they were still walking off. I was shocked, in disbelief and I looked at him with incredulity and asked him if he realized he could have hit someone. He said he never thought he could hit it that far. Since he seemed younger than me, low 40s maybe and fit enough, it was not something I quite believed.

On a later hole -- maybe 235yds this time, he was in the same hurry to tee off, again. Lesson not learned, I guess. Who would tee off first? he asked while the folk ahead were still on the green.Sheesh!

Since I often roll practice balls up the back fence 250 yards away where I normally play, I tell him there's no way I'm teeing off first with the people still on the green. I manage to delay this guy from teeing off again, until they have cleared the green.

Why he was in so much of a hurry I don't know. I play this game to savor each hole, and I've never encountered this before -- except for in an magazine article that referred to some old Scottish lore about "tickling them up." But the guy's conduct in retrospect was dangerous, and I feel bad I didn't take him more to task. He quit and skulked off the course as the light got a little dim. Guess who had to explain the to the couple ahead that no I most certainly did not know this guy personally? Call that an accelerated learning experience, I guess.

I've done #2 and #3. I act like it was just a left ball on the course. Those are always around. If I was to ever be confronted on that (which I never have been) I would just say I thought it was abandoned because SURELY it wasn't one that was hit in on me. I would NEVER think anyone would do that.

I had to deal with a difficult foursome a few months back. On the third hole they had me play through them despite the fact that there were two old guys directly in front of them and several foursomes in front of them.

While putting out on that third green a ball comes skimming accross the green. I don't even look up -- I just strike my putt. I don't really care because a rolling ball isn't going to hurt me and I am a fairly tolerant, easygoing person who'd made that same mistake. Then as I pick my ball up out of the hole a ball pretty much comes out of nowhere and nearly strikes me in the head. Now I'm starting to get peeved because that shows poor judgement on their part. They make an apology a few minutes later and I tell them it's fine -- remarking that despite almost hitting me it was an excellent shot.

For the next few holes they took my nice guy stance as a green light to continue to push the envelope. I had to keep a good eye on them and repeatedly tell them that, "no you won't go any faster if I play through the old guys ahead of me". Finally, on a long par four while sitting under a huge dropoff and out of view of the tee box I got nervous and bellowed loud enough to be heard over 200 yards away that they were not to hit I was still in range. (I knew they were going to if I didn't say anything.) They didn't approach me on the next tee box but nevertheless rolled a drive on that hole up to where I was standing.

On the next tee box, the ninth, I tell the two elderly guys in front of me who didn't want to let me play with them earlier, "I'll take you up on your offer to play through. I have the foursome from hell behind me. You can deal with them if you want."

I just don't get it. I try to be nice a nice guy and forgive them once for their poor judgement and they take it as a signal that I don't care if they continue to endanger my safety. I wouldn't do the same to them. What do I have to do anyway? Challenge all four of them to a bloody, bareknuckle fight out there on the course? It's bullshit if you ask me. The truth is that even though I feel compelled to treat them with reluctant tolerance I almost wouldn't mind running a sword through their gut for holding me in contempt for taking a relatively unnagressive stance towards them.

It's d@mned if you do and d@mned if you don't...good people get trounced on every day. I can't explain that one, but it's not unique to golf.

You'll be better in the long run - nice composure, good job. PS My mum's from Spokane. Lovely place. Nicer than Seattle and better scenery too. Too rainy for my tastes, though.

Is there a chance that you have Spokane and Seattle mixed up?!?

EDIT: BTW Llulie, Austin gets almost as much annual rainfall as Seattle, and Spokane gets half as much as Austin: http://www.fi.edu/school/math/showers.html