Finding good balls at the range

[sportsnut]

I save them for the end of my practice session and use them with the driver, not like its a controled group but I like to see if my driver and I like anything special for future reference and possible purchase, however I do have a friend from work that keeps them and puts them in his bag for use on the course, he figures he'll never have to buy any since he likes what he finds at the range.

[mailman]

Ive noticed recently a lot of new looking top flights turning up in with the range balls when I go down.

I set them aside and save them for last and then when Im nice and warm, belt them as hard as I can as far to the right as possible with my driver :)

I dont waste my time keeping the top flights BUT the one time I came across a Pro v1 that was brand spanking new I threw it in my bag :)

Regards

Mailman

[roperdad]

My friend manages the course, so guilt won't let me take nice range balls that make their way over the fence.  I'm a contributor.  What I find on the course I drop on the range on my way out.  I hope karma shows up soon...

[SloverUT]

For the sake of me wanting to take golf balls I am lucky since my range only has the practice with the double black stripes.  It is a bit frustrating that they are mostly crappy balls to practice hitting but at least I am not tempted to swipe any of them!

[divot dave]

I have no issues taking balls that the range clearly didn't pay for. I go to a range at a place called "The FunPlex". Its more of a place to take the kiddies to go bowling, arcade games, water park etc. For some reason they put a driving range on the property. I see a lot of guys pull up and empty out their bag of old golf balls and I'll see these non-range balls show up all the time in my buckets. If I'm low on balls, I'll take a few of the better ones, usually Titleist or Callaway.

I actually feel worse about hitting the range balls over the fence. There's no getting those ones back unless a worker heads out there and picks them up by hand.

[Fourputt]

One issue with that is that I've played on some rural courses where those ARE the range balls.  No way to tell how they became range balls.  They are often the balls that the greenskeeper found while mowing and they end up on the range because that's all they can afford - they are just happy to have a practice range at all.  On my father-in-law's course, the range lies between the 7th and 9th fairways, and all are found balls.  When you hit an errant shot out there, it can be very tricky to find yours.... better keep a close eye on it until it rolls to a full stop.

[newtogolf]

I never take range balls, nor do I take coins out of wishing wells at malls, clothes out of donation bins or reach down in my friends couches to hunt for loose change.  While I'm not going to debate who owns the golf balls golfers lose on the course or "donate"  at a range I know they don't belong to me.

When I see a non-range ball, I put them aside and hit them last to get a better idea of my distances.

[David in FL]

While I'm not going to debate who owns the golf balls golfers lose on the course or "donate"  at a range I know they don't belong to me.

Exactly this.....

[zeg]

Count me as another who doesn't take range balls.

However, I'm sympathetic to those who do, at least in cases where it's clear that found balls got mixed in with purchased range balls. Given that abandoned balls on the course are generally not considered to be course property, I don't think it's exactly theft to take one. It's in sort of a grey area. If you're finding one nice ball in every couple of buckets of yellow practice balls, that's one thing. The maintenance guys probably appreciate your getting that oddball out of their supply. If you're taking a dozen out of every bucket, that's something else, though.

Legally? It's probably theft in all cases. The ball that came into the course's possession could be reasonably considered abandoned by its rightful owner, so it probably belongs to the course (or whoever picks it up). The same is not true of the ball in the bucket. You've clearly rented that ball with a promise to hit it and return it, so regardless of how you believe the course obtained it, you can't unilaterally decide it's yours.

Morally, though, I think it's much more ambiguous. But I don't want filthy range balls.

[Harmonious]

Originally Posted by newtogolf

I never take range balls, nor do I take coins out of wishing wells at malls, clothes out of donation bins or reach down in my friends couches to hunt for loose change.  While I'm not going to debate who owns the golf balls golfers lose on the course or "donate"  at a range I know they don't belong to me.

When I see a non-range ball, I put them aside and hit them last to get a better idea of my distances.

Would you pick up a $10 bill on the sidewalk, if there was no one around that it could possible belong to? You know it doesn't belong to you, either.

[Bwm318]

Im not on about taking range ball ( stamped and marked range ball ) ive found 2nike and 2 new looking pro v1s which i kept just to try the nike which i aint played before . And lets face it none off you would turn down a new pro v for free , by the way i wouldnt take any balls of the course unless i found them in a bush or something where its defo not any ones playing the course at the time

[newtogolf]

If there was absolutely no one around, yes I would pick it up.  Then, along my travels I'd give it to someone that appeared to be in need or donate it to charity.  I had this happen once on my way into the city to see the Christmas tree.  Took the money and put it in Salvation Army Kettle.

I'm answering the OP'ers  question, not condemning those that take balls from a range.  This is the last response to any potential scenarios on what I'd do if I saw or found something.

Originally Posted by Harmonious

Would you pick up a $10 bill on the sidewalk, if there was no one around that it could possible belong to? You know it doesn't belong to you, either.

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by Bwm318

Im not on about taking range ball ( stamped and marked range ball ) ive found 2nike and 2 new looking pro v1s which i kept just to try the nike which i aint played before . And lets face it none off you would turn down a new pro v for free , by the way i wouldnt take any balls of the course unless i found them in a bush or something where its defo not any ones playing the course at the time

Wrong.  Not that fond of Pro V1, so I could easily pass one up.  Just because a ball is expensive doesn't make it a temptation for everyone.

[meenman]

And lets face it none off you would turn down a new pro v for free

Wrong again - i pass by them all the time - then again we apparently all have different morals anyway.

[jamo]

FWIW, we've had this thread before, and the tilt was much more towards the "those aren't yours don't even think about it" camp than this seems to be so far.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by jamo

FWIW, we've had this thread before, and the tilt was much more towards the "those aren't yours don't even think about it" camp than this seems to be so far.

Link? I'll merge (or you can).

And FWIW I usually just hit them. I don't think it's a big deal to take 'em, either. I just typically don't.

The practice range at Whispering Woods is to the right of a LOOOONG par four. So it gets a fair number of "additional" golf balls. :)

[meenman]

Link? I'll merge (or you can). And FWIW I usually just hit them.

There definitely was one - but i tried searching every which way the other day and couldnt find it

[jamo]

To the question at hand, I'd be lying if I said I've never taken a brand-new ProV or something at my driving range, but it's far from being habitual. The right thing to do is obviously just to hit the ball just like any other. [quote name="iacas" url="/t/63500/finding-good-balls-at-the-range/30_30#post_790355"] Link? I'll merge (or you can). [/quote] If I find it I will. Unfortunately most of the the words "driving range golf ball find take" are relatively common on this site. ;-)