What do you do with golf balls that you find that you would have no intention of gaming?

[Spyder]

I don't touch golf balls that are in plain view. If I happen to be at the edge of a hazard (shrubs, woods/forest, brush, swamp, etc.) and I am waiting on the group ahead of me, I'll sometimes take a quick peek in the hazard to see if I can see a ball. If it's something I would use, I'll take it and play it - but it has to be very obvious to me that it was not freshly hit there by another player.

On the topic of this thread, if I wouldn't game it I won't waste the time picking it up. Pretty simple concept to me...

[anthony]

I use them as shag balls to hit into the woods if I'm playing somewhere without a range.

[jetsknicks1]

My son just recently stated playing so I'll give most of them to him. If they're really in pretty rough shape I'll give them to my other son so he can pound balls in the field behind his house.

[Rick Martin]

Originally Posted by bkuehn1952

I submit that leaving abandoned golf balls on the course is wrong.  One expects trash to be picked up and an abandoned nicked up Top Flite laying in the woods is just one more piece of trash.  Pick the darn thing up and toss it in the garbage bucket at the next tee or toss it into your shag bag.

Leaving abandoned golf balls laying all over the course slows down play.  I am not talking about balls in the middle of a fairway or the rough between two holes.  There are, however, always areas on a course where it is inconceivable that a ball is in play when you find it.  If everyone leaves these orphan balls lie, one must wander around checking each one: "nope, nope, nope, yep."  Worse, you find a Titleist 2 in a thick lie near the green, right where you hit your ball.  Yes, the perfect golfer announces he is going to mark and lift the ball to identify it (and probably get a slightly better lie).  The rest of us hit it only to find out it is an abandoned ball that no one bothered to pickup.

An exception for tournament play is appropriate.  When a competition is being held every ball should be left undisturbed.  Otherwise, pick the darn things up so the course isn't littered with garbage balls.

agree -well stated.

[Spyder]

Originally Posted by bkuehn1952

I submit that leaving abandoned golf balls on the course is wrong.  One expects trash to be picked up and an abandoned nicked up Top Flite laying in the woods is just one more piece of trash.  Pick the darn thing up and toss it in the garbage bucket at the next tee or toss it into your shag bag.

Leaving abandoned golf balls laying all over the course slows down play.  I am not talking about balls in the middle of a fairway or the rough between two holes.  There are, however, always areas on a course where it is inconceivable that a ball is in play when you find it.  If everyone leaves these orphan balls lie, one must wander around checking each one: "nope, nope, nope, yep."  Worse, you find a Titleist 2 in a thick lie near the green, right where you hit your ball.  Yes, the perfect golfer announces he is going to mark and lift the ball to identify it (and probably get a slightly better lie).  The rest of us hit it only to find out it is an abandoned ball that no one bothered to pickup.

An exception for tournament play is appropriate.  When a competition is being held every ball should be left undisturbed.  Otherwise, pick the darn things up so the course isn't littered with garbage balls.

We have a lot of seniors at our course and they love hunting for balls. Hell, finding a ball on our course is nearly impossible unless you GI Joe crawl through pricker bushes and shrubbery that borders the woods at our home course. Anything within reach of a 7 iron is typically a mowed ball since they hawk on a daily basis.

[phan52]

If it is what I use, I will keep them. But I usually give them to the ouside services manager and he gives them to the junior program.

[iacas]

Give them to playing partners, or save them for my kid to play with, or hit them onto the range.

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by iacas

Give them to playing partners, or save them for my kid to play with, or hit them onto the range.

I've seen your video of her swing ... pretty sure she's ready for new ProV1's or Kick X balls now!

[boogielicious]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeNut

Quite simple......I leave them lay.

People who suggest they pick up the junk balls they don't want as if they intend to seek a new/worthy home for them crack me up.   Whatta' load of BS............   LOL

Then play with me sometime and you will be surprised!

[Fourputt]

I'm sure that most of us here know our home courses well enough to have a good idea of when a ball might or might not be in play by someone else.  I choose not to keep the ones I may find under the second condition because I don't need shag balls and I play only one kind of ball at a time.  If I decide to make a change it won't be with a random ball I find in the weeds, even if there is zero chance that it might belong to another player.  I'm just picky because different balls tend to have different playing characteristics, especially in the scoring zone, and I don't need that kind of variability - I get all of that I need from my swing.

As I said earlier, I will toss or wedge them out where some poverty stricken player can cram them in his bag along with the 10 pounds of other balls he has rescued from woods, water, or whatever.  I figure if I make it easier on him to fill his bag, then maybe he will leave my ball in play alone when it's obviously not lost.

[bkuehn1952]

Originally Posted by Fourputt

As I said earlier, I will toss or wedge them out where some poverty stricken player can cram them in his bag along with the 10 pounds of other balls he has rescued from woods, water, or whatever.  I figure if I make it easier on him to fill his bag, then maybe he will leave my ball in play alone when it's obviously not lost.

The problem I have with this procedure is now there are a bunch of abandoned balls laying around in the rough or fairway.  The next player to arrive has to check whether the ball is his, another player's or decide if it is abandoned.  Better to pick it up and deposit it near the next tee (I leave them on the bench after cleaning them).  If it is in really crappy condition toss it in the waste barrel.

[tuffluck]

hrmm, i buy only used balls anyway so if i see them on the course used, unless they are a premium ball, i just leave em be.  i'll pick up prov, b330, penta, etc. just to give them a try during a round.  pinnacle, maxfli, mojo, i don't even consider touching them.

[phan52]

Originally Posted by Fourputt

I'm sure that most of us here know our home courses well enough to have a good idea of when a ball might or might not be in play by someone else.  I choose not to keep the ones I may find under the second condition because I don't need shag balls and I play only one kind of ball at a time.  If I decide to make a change it won't be with a random ball I find in the weeds, even if there is zero chance that it might belong to another player.  I'm just picky because different balls tend to have different playing characteristics, especially in the scoring zone, and I don't need that kind of variability - I get all of that I need from my swing.

As I said earlier, I will toss or wedge them out where some poverty stricken player can cram them in his bag along with the 10 pounds of other balls he has rescued from woods, water, or whatever.  I figure if I make it easier on him to fill his bag, then maybe he will leave my ball in play alone when it's obviously not lost.

Not necessarily a good idea, as it will make it much easier for somebody to hit a wrong ball. Better to keep them out of play, where they belong.

[lumpuckeroo]

I usually leave a ball lie, but once in awhile, I'll pick up a decent one to give to my son-in-law to play.  He's not picky about balls and not willing to spend money on balls, so it keeps him going and keeps him out of my bag.

[rehmwa]

obviously lost - pick it up.  I keep two shag bags.  Really nice balls in one for hitting into a net and giving away.  Crappy ones for hitting into the woods.  I like hitting into the woods on the weekend.

If it's not completely obvious that it's lost, just leave it there.

The only time my ball has clearly been taken was a couple old duffers.  They just 'figured' it was lost because we didn't get up there right away.  (I hit early and then we had to wait for a bit of traffic to clear....)

[newtogolf]

Originally Posted by Rick Martin

what if I use Pro V1s in my shag bag?

Then you have a shag bag that's worth a lot of money.

[newtogolf]

Originally Posted by bkuehn1952

The problem I have with this procedure is now there are a bunch of abandoned balls laying around in the rough or fairway.  The next player to arrive has to check whether the ball is his, another player's or decide if it is abandoned.  Better to pick it up and deposit it near the next tee (I leave them on the bench after cleaning them).  If it is in really crappy condition toss it in the waste barrel.

I don't see balls laying abandoned in the rough and definitely not in the fairway.  The balls that are abandoned on my course are in thick woods and if players marked their balls it would be pretty easy to spot their ball from the rest.  I don't work for the course and I'm not part of any golf ball rescue program so I'll just leave them there for the people that like to hunt for them and keep them.

[Chas]

Originally Posted by Rick Martin

LOL-

I thought golf was played by people a little higher on the food chain.....

lol

Some of the people I play with would grab your sandwich out of the cart while you're off looking for that stray ball ......

................................ not really.  Actually it's the brazen ducks that grab your sandwiches around here, pesky blighters.

Now that I'm more aware of the many rattlesnakes that lurk on the courses here in sunny San Diego, including a very large one spotted in light rough at a certain local track recently (I saw definitve photographic evidence), I'll be a tad more reluctant to scamper into the undergrowth to pick up a ball I see in there.