i wanted to punch a guy on the golf course

[quick]

ive only been playing golf for about a year but ive never been so mad on the course. and it wasn't because i was playing bad. i was on the 10th tee and hit a shot into the adjacent fairway. i hit another one off the tee just to see what happens and the same thing happened. these balls should be pretty close to each other. i drive over there and the guys behind us are coming down the fairway and i think i see him picking something up and walking forward. i didn't think too much and kept looking for either of my balls. i found nothing and he said something and i said i was playing a titleist so he points to a ball on the ground. i go over there and its some shitty HP distance ball and i was playing new nxt tours. and then hes just staring at me all nervous and fidgety. i knew something was up and i searched that entire area for 10 minutes and found nothing. its not like the rough was so high or there was some other reason i couldn't find my ball. im POSITIVE he took both my balls. a few holes earlier, the play was super slow and we were just talking in the shade and the group ahead was on the green when they rolled up and they made a smartass comment about us driving the green. i wanted to call him out but i didn't really have any evidence but everything about the situation told me he took both of my balls and dropped the shitty titleist ball right in front of him. i wanted to fight this guy for taking my ball. i know thats stupid but why would you just steal my balls? i played terrible after that cause its all i could think about. plus the entire afternoon was ridiculously slow. it took us 2 and a half hours to play 5 holes. this anger is probably silly but its so ridiculous that he sat there a lied to my face about my balls and even dropped a decoy ball to try to fool me.

[Shindig]

ive only been playing golf for about a year but ive never been so mad on the course. and it wasn't because i was playing bad. i was on the 10th tee and hit a shot into the adjacent fairway. i hit another one off the tee just to see what happens and the same thing happened. these balls should be pretty close to each other. i drive over there and the guys behind us are coming down the fairway and i think i see him picking something up and walking forward. i didn't think too much and kept looking for either of my balls. i found nothing and he said something and i said i was playing a titleist so he points to a ball on the ground. i go over there and its some shitty HP distance ball and i was playing new nxt tours. and then hes just staring at me all nervous and fidgety. i knew something was up and i searched that entire area for 10 minutes and found nothing. its not like the rough was so high or there was some other reason i couldn't find my ball. im POSITIVE he took both my balls. a few holes earlier, the play was super slow and we were just talking in the shade and the group ahead was on the green when they rolled up and they made a smartass comment about us driving the green. i wanted to call him out but i didn't really have any evidence but everything about the situation told me he took both of my balls and dropped the shitty titleist ball right in front of him. i wanted to fight this guy for taking my ball. i know thats stupid but why would you just steal my balls? i played terrible after that cause its all i could think about. plus the entire afternoon was ridiculously slow. it took us 2 and a half hours to play 5 holes. this anger is probably silly but its so ridiculous that he sat there a lied to my face about my balls and even dropped a decoy ball to try to fool me.

Mark your balls clearly with your initials next time, and if someone picks 'em up, ask him straight out.

[quick]

yeah i never mark my balls but i know exactly what my ball looks like, it had a brown scuff from hitting a tree and green on certain side. i would know if its my ball was absolute certainty if i saw it so it wasn't an issue of identifying my ball. ive just never been in that situation and at the time, i wasn't 100% certain he had them until i walked away from him. in addition to the fact all 3 of us couldn't find either ball in a small area after searching for 10 minutes further reinforces my suspicions.

[lamebums]

ive only been playing golf for about a year but ive never been so mad on the course. and it wasn't because i was playing bad. i was on the 10th tee and hit a shot into the adjacent fairway. i hit another one off the tee just to see what happens and the same thing happened. these balls should be pretty close to each other. i drive over there and the guys behind us are coming down the fairway and i think i see him picking something up and walking forward. i didn't think too much and kept looking for either of my balls. i found nothing and he said something and i said i was playing a titleist so he points to a ball on the ground. i go over there and its some shitty HP distance ball and i was playing new nxt tours. and then hes just staring at me all nervous and fidgety. i knew something was up and i searched that entire area for 10 minutes and found nothing. its not like the rough was so high or there was some other reason i couldn't find my ball. im POSITIVE he took both my balls. a few holes earlier, the play was super slow and we were just talking in the shade and the group ahead was on the green when they rolled up and they made a smartass comment about us driving the green. i wanted to call him out but i didn't really have any evidence but everything about the situation told me he took both of my balls and dropped the shitty titleist ball right in front of him. i wanted to fight this guy for taking my ball. i know thats stupid but why would you just steal my balls? i played terrible after that cause its all i could think about. plus the entire afternoon was ridiculously slow. it took us 2 and a half hours to play 5 holes. this anger is probably silly but its so ridiculous that he sat there a lied to my face about my balls and even dropped a decoy ball to try to fool me.

What's wrong with hitting 2 balls badly? I've put 3 into the same guy's yard, within 10 feet of each other, some 200 yards away before.

As to the guy picking up your ball, the best bet is to clearly identify it and then ask him outright, or even ask him to turn out his pockets. If he hesitates, then you've got him. Sometimes you just have pricks out on the golf course. If you can't get your ball back just take a free drop.

[quick]

What's wrong with hitting 2 balls badly? I've put 3 into the same guy's yard, within 10 feet of each other, some 200 yards away before.

i didn't say there was anything wrong with hitting two balls badly. i had been hitting poor shots all day. in this case i had a bad shot on the first ball and wanted to just swing again right away to see if i could straighten it out but i would play the first ball. as for identifying the ball, i told him i was playing titleist and then he drops a ball in front of him and says here it is and its clearly not my ball. i tell him its not mine and he walks away. there i no doubt i could have identified either of my balls had he shown them to me but i didn't ask him to clear out his pockets. i hadn't been in that situation before so i felt awkward about asking to clear his pockets without 100% assurance. it was only until i walked away from him that i was certain. in my year of playing, he really was the first prick ive encountered. everyone ive met on the course and come in contact with has been polite and helpful if i asked about my ball. oh well i guess now i know *******s are on the golf course too.

[gompers]

I've only been playing a year or so too, and I"m still getting the nuances of course etiquette down, but it does sound like the guy was a bit of an ass.

I've found nothing ruins a round faster than dwelling on things you can't control. A few evenings ago I was playing 9 after work at my local muni course. It was pretty quiet, so I opted to go out and play by my own, though I could have joined up with a twosome in front of me. They were held up a little by a twosome in front of them, but we were on track for around 1:40 or so, so it was by no means slow. There was a group of 3 guys behind me with 3 carts containing 4 or 5 kids all under 8 years old. I was certainly keeping up, even though I was taking my time. I get onto the 8th green after going into a bunker, and I'm laying 4 on a par 4 (so it's not like I"m hacking away too badly at least on this hole). As I'm walking onto the green one of the guys behind me hits his shot from the other fairway from about 150 out (I know because I'm often there), and flies the green with the ball flying about 3 feet past my head just as I hear "fore". I was mad enough to spit. I hole out (2 putted), find his ball just off the cart path and ran over it with the cart, which gave me a bit of satisfaction.
They then proceed to hit their next 3 shots into me on the par 5 9th. I ended up getting an 8 or 9 after having a very nice drive (which was a good 50 yards past their drives, and in the fairway, and I KNOW they knocked at least 4 balls into the drink between the 3 of them), and I came to realize I was far more upset with myself for letting it get to me on 9 than I was at the asshattery of these idiots. The moral of the story for me was that the only thing worse than having to deal with clueless jerks on the golf course is letting clueless jerks on the golf course ruin your round.

As for your situation, I make sure I mark all my balls in 6 places so I can see the mark no matter how the ball is laying. I've found people are less willing to pick up an obviously marked ball, plus it leaves no doubt as to which one is yours. I put a red dot on the right of and a black dot on the left, as well as red and black dots on either side of the ball "type" (DT So/Lo, NXT Tour, Pro V etc) and on the blank side of the ball. That may be a bit much for most people, but if you're in the rough as much as I am, it comes in handy!

[Shindig]

i didn't say there was anything wrong with hitting two balls badly. i had been hitting poor shots all day. in this case i had a bad shot on the first ball and wanted to just swing again right away to see if i could straighten it out but i would play the first ball.

They're everywhere in life: finding one a year isn't a bad ratio.

[quick]

lol i actually almost got hit twice today as well. the first time i was walking into the club house and i hear fore and the ball bounced RIGHT in front of me on the concrete and then hits the awning above me right over my head and then bounced behind me. the second time we were on a fairway and i was pointing out my partner's ball to him and a ball whizzes past my arm. no fore yelled this time. its hard for me to get mad at stuff like that. i miss hit balls all the time and you really can't control your ball. yelling fore should be expected but sometimes i hit a ball and have no idea where it went. its the deception and lies that anger me.

yeah i realize im lucky in that ive generally played with gentlemen on the golf course but i was hoping that golf would bring out honesty in most players.

[lamebums]

About two weeks ago, I was playing with my buddy, and I watched as this guy on another hole drove up real fast, hit my ball, and drove on without saying a word.

I was hitting a Wilson Ultra, and it was in the fairway. I found his ball, about 40 yards back, in the rough, but it was a Pro V1. I told my buddy what happened, he's like whatever, just hit that ball, so I did.

Not a bad trade, eh?

[gompers]

lol i actually almost got hit twice today as well. the first time i was walking into the club house and i hear fore and the ball bounced RIGHT in front of me on the concrete and then hits the awning above me right over my head and then bounced behind me. the second time we were on a fairway and i was pointing out my partner's ball to him and a ball whizzes past my arm. no fore yelled this time. its hard for me to get mad at stuff like that. i miss hit balls all the time and you really can't control your ball. yelling fore should be expected but sometimes i hit a ball and have no idea where it went. its the deception and lies that anger me.

I don't mind mishits, hell I do it on an all-to-regular basis, but I don't know how you aren't going for the green from 150 out. I basically don't mind being hit into as long as I'm well out of range for most people (i.e. I'm 270-280 out for a tee shot, 200+ from a second or third). These guys were just jerks.

[quick]

haha yeah thats not bad at all. i don't usually play new titleist nxt tours. the reason i had them was because i was about to play a round and just realized i only had like 4 balls left and knew i couldn't get through a round with only 4 balls. i went into the pro shop the cheapest i saw was some titleist dt solos for $23, there was probably cheaper but i just picked something quickly. at the counter the guy says for $2 more i could get a better ball and a chance to win a TV. only 3 people had bought the nxt tours so i had a good chance of winning it so i said what the hell. i usually buy used balls off ebay so i don't know what the hell i was thinking buying these balls. maybe thats part of the reason i was mad cause i actually bought some expensive new balls and he just stole two of them.

[RKO]

What a prick job that guy is for taking your golf balls. I hope karma bites him in the a** and he plays like crap next time he tee's up your Titleists :)

[irfan]

they probably kept hitting into u because u ran their ball over, which is a pretty crappy tihng to do... if you are angry then tell them directly, dont play little revenge games on the course...

accidents happen and they probably didnt realize they were flying the green so close to u and they just didnt react fast enough.. happens all the time.. atleast they yelled fore, even a little late. i know ive hit balls where it looks like its not gonna be close to someone and then lands 5 feet away, i go and apologize and things are ok.

[gompers]

Well I'm sure they weren't happy about it, but there is no way the guy couldn't see me. They had been behind me for the last few holes, and he was only 150 out within clear sight of the slightly elevated green that all 6'1 of me was about 25 feet from the pin on. It's not like they were 200+ and trying to lay up or something. I could have understood that.

Yeah it was a pretty crappy thing to do, but confronting them would probably have done no good either. How do you reason with guys who are deliberately hitting into you?

[hurley9192]

more reasons to join a club...don't run into these types as much. There are different issues with ego and everything, but not as much of the petty "you took my ball" crap.

[Ed_Vaderr]

Something similar happened to me once, me and my buddies were playing at our local weekend course when a couple of middle aged gents playing behind us just went up and jump our 4 some without asking . I would have let them go for that but this two hacks drove up to our balls who are sitting nice and pretty in the middle of the fairway and started picking it up . Obviously we started hallering at them and they pretended they did'nt see us, so one of my buddy started to turn real read and drove up to this two guys to confront them for thier action , would you guys believe that one of them was caught red handed by my buddy trying to erase the mark my buddy have on his ball. Im like this cant be serious I never have anyone or anybody I know does something so trashy like that. Anyway my buddy was so mad he took one of the guys club and threw it off the lake , my buddy is about 6'3" 240 lbs ,in fairness to him I've know the guy forever and thats the only time I remember him getting mad as he did that day , I even played football with this guy in college and he never got in any altrecation ever. On the next hole one of the guys came up to us and apologized , he said his buddy has a little too much to drink , we said whatever. Now everytime we would play this golf course and we come up in the 11th hole lake we'd all have a laugh and trying to figure out how to retrieve that guys putter which my buddy said was one of those Betinardi's , ahh maybe in the middle of summer the lake would dry up again and we can pick up my buddy's price "the putter" .

[Dent]

I hate when these things happen, there are real jerks at my golf course, mostly seniors. Very Rude, they think they own the place.

[Philfest]

ive only been playing golf for about a year but ive never been so mad on the course. and it wasn't because i was playing bad. i was on the 10th tee and hit a shot into the adjacent fairway. i hit another one off the tee just to see what happens and the same thing happened. these balls should be pretty close to each other. i drive over there and the guys behind us are coming down the fairway and i think i see him picking something up and walking forward. i didn't think too much and kept looking for either of my balls. i found nothing and he said something and i said i was playing a titleist so he points to a ball on the ground. i go over there and its some shitty HP distance ball and i was playing new nxt tours. and then hes just staring at me all nervous and fidgety. i knew something was up and i searched that entire area for 10 minutes and found nothing. its not like the rough was so high or there was some other reason i couldn't find my ball. im POSITIVE he took both my balls. a few holes earlier, the play was super slow and we were just talking in the shade and the group ahead was on the green when they rolled up and they made a smartass comment about us driving the green. i wanted to call him out but i didn't really have any evidence but everything about the situation told me he took both of my balls and dropped the shitty titleist ball right in front of him. i wanted to fight this guy for taking my ball. i know thats stupid but why would you just steal my balls? i played terrible after that cause its all i could think about. plus the entire afternoon was ridiculously slow. it took us 2 and a half hours to play 5 holes. this anger is probably silly but its so ridiculous that he sat there a lied to my face about my balls and even dropped a decoy ball to try to fool me.

2-Suggestions: 1) Keep your balls on your fairway. 2) Keep your balls on your fairway.