You hit your ball into someone's front/back yard... Do you retrieve your golf ball?

[boil3rmak3r]

Hole number 5 at my home course has OB right.  If you hit a big push or slice, you can easily end up across the road and into the front lawn of a homeowner.  What are your thoughts as to whether a golfer should retrieve their golf ball?

I voted #2 - If it's only a little ways onto their lawn, I'll go get it really quickly.

I figure it's sort of like when my neighbor's kids have their baseball (or football, or Frisbee, or whatever) come onto my lawn, I am ok with those kids retrieving their baseball.  Or another scenario,,, If I am walking and the wind blows my hat off and into a distant homeowner's lawn, I would definitely go onto their property and retrieve my hat.  Having said that, I wouldn't want to walk that closely to a home to retrieve a golf ball and potentially scare or anger a homeowner as to what the heck I'm doing that close to the house.

What do you do?

[Sante TwoGloves]

I live next to a Fenced in private club and I see balls everyday in one ladies yard. I have to confess I have gone and retrieved OTHER golfers balls when walking by and taken them to the range. Anything too close to the house or on the patio I pass on.

[saevel25]

Depends. If the the property isn't fenced in then I typically will go get my ball. If the owner is present, outside at the time, I'll ask them for permission to go onto their property.

If you live on a golf course you should expect to have a golf ball or two end up on your property.

[Kenny Lee]

i will retrieve my ball if i can see it from outside their property line. i will not enter their property to begin the search.

many homeowners have signs in their yard that read "private property. you can retrieve your ball, but do not play from here."

[RickK]

If the yard is not fenced and the ball is visible from the course, I will go get it.  If the yard is fenced and I can reach the ball with my 15ft ball retriever, I will get it.  I will not open a gate to a fence to go in and get a ball from a yard.

[Mac62]

Never.  Won't even reach across the property line with a ball retriever, whether it's fenced or not.  Maybe it comes from being an off-roader/dirt bike rider almost my entire life, where I'm an absolute stickler for staying off private property and out of closed areas.  I've seen people climb fences into back yards to get their balls, or stroll onto peoples' property and dig their ball out of the flower bed or whatever.  I've also seen some homeowners get mightily pissed about it, and it's hard for me to blame them.  Just because they live next to a golf course doesn't mean their yard is part of the course and fair game for people to be tromping through, any more than living next to a park would give people the right to use their yard as part of the playground.

[BuckeyeNut]

I will absolutely retrieve my golf ball!  The reality is the vast majority of homeowners would probably rather not spend their spare time cleaning the backyard removing golf balls.   If the property has a fence more than a simple "hop over", I leave it lay.  It's not worth the effort to scale a wall or tall fence......LOL

A yard littered with balls is an annoyance and you're doing them a favor by cleaning up after yourself.

[David in FL]

If the yard is not fenced and the ball is visible from the course, I will go get it.  If the yard is fenced and I can reach the ball with my 15ft ball retriever, I will get it.  I will not open a gate to a fence to go in and get a ball from a yard.

This.

[acetoolguy]

So only trespassing a little bit is OK? To me its a basic courtesy to stay off someone else's property. We have homes lining one fairway on my course also. I watch golfers ignore the 'no trespassing' signs to get their two dollar golf balls, some even try to play the shot.

[billchao]

I don't go on other people's properties, fenced in or not. I wouldn't want random people on my yard so I don't wander onto theirs.

[Lihu]

I would never knowingly walk onto someone's property just to get a ball. . .

[Golfingdad]

I would never knowingly walk onto someone's property just to get a ball. . .

Neither would I ... I would either army crawl or tip toe across their property towards my ball to help hinder detection.

[Gunther]

I've hopped a fence or two. Got chased by a rot once, didn't see him til he started barking after I was on his turf. Made it out alive but the ball didn't.

[Dave2512]

Here most courses hav signs saying not to, it's printed on the scorecard at one course. Some people put up private property signs when their yard is not fenced. Can't remember the last time my ball was near a house, not common most are not close enough to line of play.

[Patch]

I voted "never". It's trespassing, even if the "implied consent" law is thought to be in effect. Now if someone is in their yard , I don't see a problem if the golfer ask that person if they can have their ball back but I don't think they are obliged to do so. Plus, I don't think very many golfers would ask anyways.  Also, if a golfer hits a ball into someones yard, and breaks something, that golfer should own up to doing so.

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lihu

I would never knowingly walk onto someone's property just to get a ball. . .

Neither would I ... I would either army crawl or tip toe across their property towards my ball to help hinder detection.

The keyword is "help", but I'm not sure how easy it is to hide your 6'3"/250 pound figure!

[Dave2512]

Worth mentioning is yards where we play are white stakes. My next ball not usually in the same area and retrieving it would slow play.

[isukgolf]

I will not cross a fence or hedge. Where I golf a lot, sometimes its just a different color rock that designates where someone property starts. In the summer many of these house are empty because people went back north to their summer homes. I will walk a short distance to get the ball out of their yard, but again will not cross/climb any fencing or hedge type bushes. Now if I nailed their house and echoes loudly in the morning air ... I am not going anywhere near the property; in fact I will drive up on the opposite side of the fairway avoiding any eye contact with the area. :-P