people hitting into you

[IndianScout]

we were on the 6th hole sat morning, we were a fairly quick 4 some, with a 4 some behind us, the whole round they had pushed us, we offered for them to play thru in which they declined..

my dad is on the green just getting ready to putt when this ball comes screaming right thru his line, we didn't say anything, but my buddy wanted to hit his ball off in the woods.. he didn't..

you experience this??

[playfromthetips11]

Uncalled for. I would have hit the ball back at them. It is one thing to drag around and hold people up, but you offered to let them through and the didnt. Their fault.

[jlh1508]

  playfromthetips11 said:

Uncalled for. I would have hit the ball back at them. It is one thing to drag around and hold people up, but you offered to let them through and the didnt. Their fault.

awesome solution. How does acting like a jackass back fix the problem? How does endangering them because they endangered you make the situation better? Hitting the ball back at a group is about the dumbest "solution" to the problem.

It is possible that maybe the person hit the shot of their career and the other 99.9% of the time the ball would have landed safely 20 feet in front of the green.

[senorchipotle]

yes, i've experienced something similar, on a few occasions. i'd ask them why they hit into you, and if they did it intentionally. you must be very stoic when you ask them, otherwise they'll think you're ultimately going to dismiss it. i take the opportunity to let them know what an a$$hole move it was and try my best to shame them so they don't seriously injure someone in the future.

[saevel25]

Doesn't matter the expectation of the shot. They should know if they hit this solid it can reach the green. Just wait for the green to clear, period. Even if i know 90% of the time my 3-wood wont get to the green, but i know there is a chance that stars align, the swing gets a bit more power, maybe the wind kicks up a bit from behind me that i didn't account for. I wont hit that shot, why hit it, nothing changes the fact by waiting till they clear the green. These idiots out there who were tought nothing of course ettiquette. I am glad my dad tought me how to play golf the right way.

[Par Fore]

  senorchipotle said:

yes, i've experienced something similar, on a few occasions. i'd ask them why they hit into you, and if they did it intentionally. you must be very stoic when you ask them, otherwise they'll think you're ultimately going to dismiss it. i take the opportunity to let them know what an a$$hole move it was and try my best to shame them so they don't seriously injure someone in the future.

Dude, you forgot to mention that you are 6 foot 5 inches.....some of use smaller guys don't have such an impressive presence

I do agree with senior - even though I'm a shortie, it's best to just ask specifically, "did you intend to hit into our group".........based on the OP, the they had already requested them to play through, so they knew the score and had a chance to go around.....they declined and still hit into them......kinda crappy in my book.....normally, it seems most people will be quick to apologize if it was a mistake....

[GolfLove]

I would play slower and slower until they agree to pass....

[tws1098]

If it were me I would have stayed at the hole and waited for them. I would have then told them they were going to play through. Considering they almost hit you (and should have felt like a shmuck), I don't think they would have had a problem with going through. If they tried to decline, I would have said it wasn't a question it was a request and continued to wait until they finally went.

[saevel25]

Honestly i hate when the people behind you know that there are something like 4-foursomes in front of you, no wear to go and they still do it. Honestly, don't they know you can litteraly kill someone with a golf ball. The ball travels at 140+ mph, its hard and weights a few ounces, that sucker can do some damage.

[BonoVox]

Sounds like someone bladed it. That can send a ball beyond even career distance. If that is the case it is an accident.

[Greg]

No excuse, even if it was a par 5 and someone reached it in 2, you gave them the chance to play through, they declined, which gave them no right to even be up your ass. Just a bunch of no class •••••••s, you should have waited and said something, that kind of behavior needs to be stopped or next time they will hit someone or come close and the group they hit into wont be so forgiving(ie 7 iron to the back of the head) Im not saying start a fight or anything but you have to do something to prevent the inevitable from happening to another group that might be ahead of them sometime. They clearly dont get it. I hate to wait, im impatient but I know i cant hit into the group ahead of me, these guys need to learn that. Its not allowed at any level, thats why it takes so long for pga players to play a round, they're so slow on every shot that the groups always get bunched up and have to wait but they do just that wait, talk to caddy, get a drink, eat a snack, whatever they have to do to make sure they dont hit into the group ahead.

[BonoVox]

  Greg said:

No excuse, even if it was a par 5 and someone reached it in 2, you gave them the chance to play through, they declined, which gave them no right to even be up your ass. Just a bunch of no class •••••••s, you should have waited and said something, that kind of behavior needs to be stopped or next time they will hit someone or come close and the group they hit into wont be so forgiving(ie 7 iron to the back of the head) Im not saying start a fight or anything but you have to do something to prevent the inevitable from happening to another group that might be ahead of them sometime. They clearly dont get it. I hate to wait, im impatient but I know i cant hit into the group ahead of me, these guys need to learn that. Its not allowed at any level, thats why it takes so long for pga players to play a round, they're so slow on every shot that the groups always get bunched up and have to wait but they do just that wait, talk to caddy, get a drink, eat a snack, whatever they have to do to make sure they dont hit into the group ahead.

Then I look at the other side when a group is in front of me is 300 yards out after a 200 yard drive and is waiting for the green to clear to hit.

[Leftygolfer]

It could have been a mistake, who knows. I have accidently hit into people thinking there was no way I could get up there and I pured it and it landed between 2 people. just short of a green on a par 5. I apoligized when I came up to the green and that was the end of it. People make mistakes, it is how you act after making them determines your character.

[Dr. Strangeclub]

When the course is crowed, nowhere to go at all, and the group hits up on me a couple of times, I'm not adverse to taking a seven iron or something and hit a nice little shot with their ball back in their direction. No danger to anyone. No harm done, but a message sent. Haven't done it very often, but I have done it, and only when it actually winds up fairly close to me. I used to spike it into the ground if it carried dangerously close, but this is pretty ineffective with these useless Black Widows on my feet.

I find it really annoying when they hit their shots tee shots before you can play your second even though there's no chance that any of them can get anywhere near your ball, ie, standard weekenders who hit the ball short. It's not that they think they're doing anything wrong, since they KNOW they can't hurt anybody, but if you're in the fairway for a long time waiting, there they are, right back there 40 or 50 yards, milling around, talking, moving in your line...obnoxious. Wouldn't bother them a bit, I'm sure, if the situation were reversed, but I find itvery distracting. Indeed, hearing ball whacks behind you or balls landing isn't a big help if you're in mid swing, either.

[burnabao]

It very much depends on the danger, in my book. If the group behind hits up near you, which makes you think "wow, that was pretty close, if we hadn't have just moved, that might have hit us" then I'm inclined to give the benefit of the doubt, but if the ball is right, right up to or through your position then there is absolutely no scope for any good-nature. If they meant it, they're a-holes; if it was a mistake, they have poor judgement and shouldn't be allowed to continue unchecked. If the ball hits you in the head, knowing that someone bladed it further than they thought they would isn't going to bring you back.

If that were me, ball -> trees/pocket and probably some wild gesturing/shouting back down the fairway to make sure they realise what they've done if it was a mistake...

[ITgolfHack]

  jlh1508 said:

It is possible that maybe the person hit the shot of their career and the other 99.9% of the time the ball would have landed safely 20 feet in front of the green.

I agree that hitting it back at them is the absolute worst idea and might even be considered assault, but even hitting that second shot while people are on the green on a par 4 or short par 5 just seems like bad form to me, no matter how far short it should have fallen.

[Jay-Bird]

Just wait for them at the next tee. Let them through. Just sit in your cart and wait. If they decline, say "Please, go ahead, I don't want you guys behind us any more."

And then ride their asses until the round is over. Don't forget to exchange crooked eyed stare downs as they leave the tee.

[anotherday]

Gotta say that I understand peoples' rationalization that they just didn't expect the ball to go that far but I don't necessarily think it is a valid excuse. We all have hit balls that for some reason or another just soar - mostly because we don't understand that the lie we have and the club we're using equal about 10-20 yard difference when struck well. We all have to just plan for the rare and unexpected 'good shot'. As much as we calculate our normal range we also have to take into account our maximum range for those rare instances.

Shooting the ball back at someone is something I've been close to doing... but if you're trying to prove that the people behind you were being rude by rocketing their ball back at them, well then you're not exactly helping your case. Any marshall will clearly see you both as wrong. Furthermore, people somewhat expect to be hit up on... but no one expects that ball to be flying back at them... super dangerous. Plus, you know that your best shot of the day will be that one... haha.. save it for a shot that will count.

All this being said... any ball that has rolled up on the green from a group behind me hitting up on me, has mysteriously found itself rolling right off the green into a patch of leaves/sticks/rocks. I try not to dump it in the water because balls are expensive these days.