How Would You Handle This

[indyvai]

It's accidental if they can't see you and aren't sure you're there. If someone can see you are in a location their ball can land and still hits it, that's deliberate. People who do it are trying to send a message to speed up. To clarify I said I hit the ball back... not at them. Chances are there is a shorter club in my hand and the point is made by sending the person further back down the fairway. I've done that once... and the ball had hit my cart.

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by indyvai

It's accidental if they can't see you and aren't sure you're there. If someone can see you are in a location their ball can land and still hits it, that's deliberate. People who do it are trying to send a message to speed up.

To clarify I said I hit the ball back... not at them. Chances are there is a shorter club in my hand and the point is made by sending the person further back down the fairway. I've done that once... and the ball had hit my cart.

OK, I think I follow you now.  You are responding to the specific scenario described in the OP, I take it?  However, you didn't actually say that.  You said ... "When I get hit up on... " so that sounds to me like you aren't discerning between any different types of incidents, accidental or otherwise.

For the record, I have never been hit into in my life that didn't involve either a long distance or blind shot.  I don't know how I'd respond, though, if somebody was 150 in the fairway and could see me and hit it onto the green anyways.

Oh wait ... (a quasi-OT anecdote) ...

It has happened to me, sort of.  In college, my friends and I were playing late in the afternoon and it got dark during the 17th hole, but we finished anyway.  It was a total free for all, everybody racing around trying to finish, and one of my friends hit one, from quite a ways out (a full shot of some kind, maybe 100 yards) while I was putting that landed a few feet away from me. (We were idiots)  Needless to say, I didn't do anything other than be thankful I didn't get myself hurt. :)

[shanksalot]

This is one of my pet peeves. When you are on the green or just starting to walk off and here comes a ball that lands either on the green

of just off it. Same thing in the fairway, you just hit your shot into the green and here comes a ball rolling just behind you. If I am in the fairway

I take a tee and tee the ball up and walk away. This lets them know they came close to us but avoids any confrontation. Now if it happens again

I wait for them to get to their ball and have a conversation with them. If there is a marshal on the course I tell them and let them handle the problem.

If there is no marshal then I call the pro shop and hope they will handle it. The last thing you want to do is get up in someones face unless you

want to get into a fist fight. It is not worth it and nothing good will come out of it and it probably will screw up your game and your day on the course.

[dsc123]

Originally Posted by indyvai

It's accidental if they can't see you and aren't sure you're there. If someone can see you are in a location their ball can land and still hits it, that's deliberate. People who do it are trying to send a message to speed up.

To clarify I said I hit the ball back... not at them. Chances are there is a shorter club in my hand and the point is made by sending the person further back down the fairway. I've done that once... and the ball had hit my cart.

So by "deliberate" you mean intentionally hitting the ball when they should have known that you were in the area.  Not actual knowledge (you can't possibly know that) and not "deliberately" trying to hit you with their golf ball.

I still have trouble with this.  Maybe the guy just wasn't paying attention.  Maybe he saw you walking off and figured that by the time his ball hit the ground you'd be gone.  Maybe they had a brain fart. Can't "mistake" include a bad decision?  I dont know what the answer is, I just think that its a good "life rule" to give others the benefit of the doubt.

Also, slowing down everyone on the course or picking up someone else's ball doesn't solve anything.  Its just an excuse to puff out your own chest.  There's no other reasonable explanation.

[JaxGolfer1]

A sure way to avoid being perceived as a jerk or golfer who accidently hits into the group in front of them is one simple word, "FORE!"

[shanksalot]

Originally Posted by dsc123

So by "deliberate" you mean intentionally hitting the ball when they should have known that you were in the area.  Not actual knowledge (you can't possibly know that) and not "deliberately" trying to hit you with their golf ball.

I still have trouble with this.  Maybe the guy just wasn't paying attention.  Maybe he saw you walking off and figured that by the time his ball hit the ground you'd be gone.  Maybe they had a brain fart. Can't "mistake" include a bad decision?  I dont know what the answer is, I just think that its a good "life rule" to give others the benefit of the doubt.

Also, slowing down everyone on the course or picking up someone else's ball doesn't solve anything.  Its just an excuse to puff out your own chest.  There's no other reasonable explanation.

I have to disagree with you it's an excuse to puff out your chest. If nothing is said or done most guys will continue to hit into you. I have played this game for 5 decades and I have seen this behavior get worse every decade. People are in too much or a hurry to hit their tee shot or from the fairway. To assume that if you hit when they are starting to go off the green they will be out of the way is a sure way to eventually hitting someone. Confrontation is not the answer but it needs to be made known to that group that hitting into people is not acceptable. No need to get angry about it but it needs to be brought up. Usually when someone hits into a group they rush up and let you know it was an accident. Sometimes they wave as if to say sorry, but when they do it and don't make any effort to acknowledge their mistake they feel they have done no wrong and will do it again. If this is not nipped in the bud eventually they will be a confrontation and it will get ugly. I think resolving it up front with calmness is the way to stop this behavior. JMHO.

[dsc123]

Originally Posted by shanksalot

I have to disagree with you it's an excuse to puff out your chest. If nothing is said or done most guys will continue to hit into you. I have played this game for 5 decades and I have seen this behavior get worse every decade. People are in too much or a hurry to hit their tee shot or from the fairway. To assume that if you hit when they are starting to go off the green they will be out of the way is a sure way to eventually hitting someone. Confrontation is not the answer but it needs to be made known to that group that hitting into people is not acceptable. No need to get angry about it but it needs to be brought up. Usually when someone hits into a group they rush up and let you know it was an accident. Sometimes they wave as if to say sorry, but when they do it and don't make any effort to acknowledge their mistake they feel they have done no wrong and will do it again. If this is not nipped in the bud eventually they will be a confrontation and it will get ugly. I think resolving it up front with calmness is the way to stop this behavior. JMHO.

First, to be clear, I am not saying nothing should be said.  I'm saying its absurd to react by hitting it back, or throwing it in the water, or running the guy over with your cart or what have you.  I am not saying that asking them to stop is puffing out your chest.

So talking only about the over-reaction.....what is the goal?  Either deterrence, punishment, or self-chest-puffery.  Those are the only options, I think.  If it was an accident, there is no need for deterrence or punishment, leaving only chest puffing.

(I can't imagine that you really believe that if nothing is said or done, most guys will continue to hit into you.  99.9% of the time its a mistake.  Maybe they're in a rush and hitting too soon, but they're not trying to hit into you, and if they do, they will dial it back.)

I still have a hard time believing "deliberately" hitting the ball into people is something that occurs often enough to be the topic of discussion.  Still, if you've got the type of guy behind you who is trying to hit into you on purpose, I guess to tell you to hurry up, or just for fun, you can do react calmly, or like a jerk.  A clam response is more likely to make them feel bad (punishment) and to curb their behavior (who wants to hurt a nice guy?).  The only reason for the over-reaction is to satisfy your desire to puff your chest.

I guess a fourth option is just a complete lack of control over your emotions.

[ndb8fxe]

I was taking my second shot on a hole 18 par 5. The group from what I could tell was very near the green (near the clubhouse so carts were around). I hit a great 3w shot and as soon as I look up I see a cart entering the fairway right at my target zone( nowhere near the green). My ball lands close to the guy and he gives me the "look" and continues up to his group near the green. I didn't really think it was my fault as the guy came out from behind trees and the rest of his group was up on the green. They wrapped up quickly and went straight to the parking lot. I finished the hole behind and rushed out to the parking lot where they were finished loading up and driving away. I flagged them down and appologized. They guys didnt appreciate my apology so I dropped on in the grass and hit a six iron through the back window of their town car as they drove away. (kidding about the last part).

[indyvai]

Anyone who plays a course regularly knows where those blind spots are that leave you open to getting hit into from behind. It happens, and for the most part a wave or gesture of sorry always covers it. Part of playing in a group is to watch out for the other golfers, so if someone is put of site... another golfer should be in site, indicating to the group behind that it's not safe to play. The walking off the green scenario is the most common "hurry up" and is usually followed by a WTF gesture. When it happens twice... action is required because at that point you are allowing it. The one time I hit a ball back was this scenario and it was followed by a wave and loud "sorry!"