Whether You Look for Another's Ball or Not?

[iacas]

On the Shotgun Start podcast, they talked about whether you could build a flow chart about whether you look for a golf ball or not, including those times you walk over out of a sort of obligation, but you're like 99% certain it's gone, so it's more just a show of things and you basically just follow someone else around or wander aimlessly for a minute or two.

So, I thought we might categorize things into perhaps four categories. I have these in mind:

• Always
• Never
• Sometimes (see *)
• Fake It

A situation can be in multiple categories… for example:

• You're playing with a friend. He hits the ball sideways a bit on the second tee, and you think you saw where it went. This, to me, is clearly an always situation.
• He's lost three balls already. You're on nine. You hit your ball pretty close to his, and it may be findable. This is a sometimes situation, depending largely on how close a friend, how serious he's still trying to be about his score having lost three balls, and how sure you are you may find it.
• He's now lost six balls and has begun day drinking. He hits the ball into some shit on the fifteenth hole. This is a never situation (unless you'd really like to see your drunk friend try to extract his ball from the thorny bushes into which he hit it 🤣).

Let's try to make these definitive, with no wishy-washy stuff. Contribute at least one, but no more than about three or four, per post. Wait a little and add some more if you have them.

* In fact, in making them definitive… I'm thinking we should almost do away with the "Sometimes" category. Sometimes can be everything in between "Always" and "Never."

Always

• Your child is playing in a tournament, and parents or spectators are allowed to help look, and it's not definitely out of bounds (if it was you should have signaled so they could re-hit).

Never

• You're playing a match that's not super serious and someone hits a ball toward some nasty shit but hits a great provisional. They take a quick peek (in case it's miraculously in a decent spot), but then walk away, clearly not wanting to find their ball. It'd be pretty shitty of you to go find their original ball (in a super serious match, this may nudge into the "sometimes" category).

Fake It

• You're playing with a friend who has lost two balls on the first five holes and has already started raking six footers, putting with his wedge from 20', or rolling his ball around in the fairways and rough. He's clearly not taking it too seriously, but you're a friend, so you want to at least give a token effort, so if the ball jumps out at you while you're showing the emotional support of walking around with your friend, cool.

[boogielicious]

Always

• Always look for @billchao ‘s ball in an alternate fairway where he will then birdie the hole! 😉 Seriously, always look for a ball from your playing partners that has a good chance of being found such as close to woods, in deeper grass or amongst leaves in fall golf. I try to keep an eye on their line as best I can.

Never

• If you saw a splash, it went very deep in the woods or into an adjacent Waffle House parking lot, tell them it is gone.

Fake it

• You know it’s gone but a foursome of very nice looking ladies is near where it went into the shit and you just want to hang and talk to them.

[klineka]

34 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

Fake it

• You know it’s gone but a foursome of very nice looking ladies is near where it went into the shit and you just want to hang and talk to them.

Sounds like an "Always" to me 😂

 

Never

• If it's cart path only and someone hits one way left but my ball and the cart path are both down the right side of the hole

[iacas]

1 hour ago, boogielicious said:

always look for a ball from your playing partners that has a good chance of being found

That's not an "always" situation at all. What if your ball is 70 yards away on the other side of the hole? What if it's the tenth lost ball he's had to look for that day? Etc.

[bkuehn1952]

The following situations assume my ball doesn't need to be searched for and/or my ball is not far from where the search is being conducted. 

• A player hits a ball that clearly should be in play but for whatever reason is not immediately found (ALWAYS).
• I consider another player hitting a provisional as a reason to look for the first ball IF the player wants to look and I consider the chance of finding the 1st ball as more likely than not (ALWAYS).
• People who launch a ball into trouble and don't hit a provisional (or don't use Local Rule E-5) get almost -0- effort from me (FAKE IT). I hate having to wait for someone to go back to the tee or spot from which they last hit when clearly a provisional should have been hit. I also don't like dropping a ball on the edge of the woods and calling it a one stroke penalty.
• If the player (not a good friend) doesn't want to look, only casually looks or I deem the ball as unretrievable, I head to my ball (NEVER).
• If the player is a good friend, I FAKE IT if we search casually or I deem the ball as unretrievable. If my friend doesn't look, I won't (NEVER).
• When playing with family members of limited ability, I give them lots of decent used golf balls before we start. I then tell them not to bother looking when they hit into trouble (NEVER).

[iacas]

54 minutes ago, bkuehn1952 said:

• A player hits a ball that clearly should be in play but for whatever reason is not immediately found (ALWAYS).

I think you may have needed to listen to the podcast, because that's not remotely close to an "always" situation.

What if you hate the dude you're playing with? What if you're on the clock and he's already hit a provisional? What if he's 100 yards from your ball? What if he tells you not to help look? You overruled your own post with similar examples later on.

The podcast listed things like "If it's your boss, you almost have to look all the time" and "if the guy's been swearing and throwing clubs, never look" and other such somewhat funny commentary.

Plus…

6 hours ago, iacas said:

Contribute at least one, but no more than about three or four, per post.

😄

[StuM]

21 minutes ago, iacas said:

Plus…

6 hours ago, iacas said:

Contribute at least one, but no more than about three or four, per post.

😄

Rules are Tools for Fools 😜

 

Always: If its your wife's ball and she wants to look for it and you want "Something" later on.

Never: If they did not help you search for your ball when you felt they could have.

Fake it:  If its your wife's ball and you know it cannot be found but she wants to look and you want "Something" later on.  If she is not playing for HCP or in a tournament you could augment the "Fake" by grabbing a ball out of her bag when she is not looking so you can be the hero, be sure to giver her a playable lie. 

[Big C]

Always: When golfing with a client or customer and you are sharing a cart. Nothing wins you more brownie points than being able to tell a good client "I've found you right here!" And regardless of whether the ball is even remotely findable, they always appreciate the effort.

Never: If we are playing in a best ball scenario, my ball is in good shape and we are falling behind pace with the group in front of us. In that case, I'll always go directly to my ball and hit my second shot. If I hit a good one, I'll tell my partner he can call off the search in the interests of time. 

Fake it: If I'm playing with a competitor who is known to be loose with the rules. I want to be in the general vicinity to make sure there is no funny business going on, but I really have no interest in helping him find his ball.

[p1n9183]

Always: Every time the ball's owner look out for it and I think that it could be findable.
Never: If the other person don't look for his ball. Or don't bother to look for my balls earlier in the round. (yeah... it sounded bad)
Fake it: When I know that the ball is gone but the owner still think is inbounds. I tell him that it is gone but I join him in his pain, and of course look for other balls to make it worth. 
There is no sometimes for me. 

 

[Phil McGleno]

Always-when she's hot.

[Ty_Webb]

This is not quite exactly what is being asked here, but if you're playing a match against someone and you have decided to go help them look, then a couple of rules:

Never widen the search. If you think they're looking in the wrong place, help them in the wrong place. 

Always if you find it, let them know