Oops, played the wrong ball ...

[dave s]

Third hole two Saturdays ago.  Drove ball through fairway and into the rough of dogleg right par 4.  Made mental note of nearest tree. Cart mate drives me right to my ball.  It's sort of deep in the rough and not-so-good lie.  Also blocked out by trees between me and green. I hack it out and back into fairway with a 9-iron.  Drive to ball to hit third shot and discover I'd played a wrong ball. Called myself out and accepted loss of hole in our match.  Quickly returned the ball to original spot, looked back right to another tee, left toward green ... no other golfers in sight.  What a bonehead.  Completely my fault for not identifying my ball. 

The original ball I was playing was a Titleist ProV1 logo overrun ball.  It was marked with my usual red dot and the logo part said Phil Townstein on it. Here's the total kicker: I found the SAME Phil Townstein ball on hole #16!!!  At least this time, I looked high and low, waited, asked a group if they were looking for any balls ... then retrieved Phil and put him back in my bag.

After noodling on this most of last week, here's what happened:  My 3rd hole was adjacent to #9 fairway.  Someone teed off on #9, hit a hook drive into the same area that my ball went through the fairway and came to rest.  That golfer hit my ball, and I his.  Also keep in mind that the guy who played my ball, the Phil Townstein ball, was 6 holes ahead of us at the time he hit my ball.  Finding the Phil Townstein ball on ball on #16 meant whoever hit my ball on hole #9 was long gone because they were 6 holes AHEAD of our group.  So I most certainly didn't pick up a live, in-play ball of another player.

Fast forward to just this past Saturday:  I was playing a Callaway ball and my partner and I were getting clobbered.  Already lost the front nine and were down 2 after hole 12 on the back nine.  Time for a new ball.  Open bag and the first ball my hand touches is the Phil Townstein ball.  "Ok, you guys are in trouble now, Phil Townstein is up to bat!"  Thirteen is a par 5.  Down the middle, fairway wood to approach area, pitched it from there to 10' and made the birdie.  Next hole par wins the hole.  Next hole another birdie.  Without any help from my partner we went from two down to three UP, won the back nine and overall by one hole!

What a crazy game!  Let's see how long Phil Townstein, (whoever he may be) can hang around and continue to help me play good golf!

dave

[iacas]

Time to start ordering those Titleists around the holidays and March with the free personalization that says "Phil Townstein" on them…

[DaveP043]

10 minutes ago, iacas said:

Time to start ordering those Titleists around the holidays and March with the free personalization that says "Phil Townstein" on them…

I still have a most of a dozen that say "dave's ball" that I'd sell, but mine don't seem to be quite so easily found.  

[CarlSpackler]

 

1 hour ago, dave s said:

After noodling on this most of last week, here's what happened:  My 3rd hole was adjacent to #9 fairway.  Someone teed off on #9, hit a hook drive into the same area that my ball went through the fairway and came to rest.  That golfer hit my ball, and I his.  Also keep in mind that the guy who played my ball, the Phil Townstein ball, was 6 holes ahead of us at the time he hit my ball.  Finding the Phil Townstein ball on ball on #16 meant whoever hit my ball on hole #9 was long gone because they were 6 holes AHEAD of our group.  So I most certainly didn't pick up a live, in-play ball of another player.

That was like playing the game where you have to keep your eyes on shell with the ball under it. 

[mcanadiens]

I did this during my nightmare round on Sunday. Had a drive take a stupid-looking, 90-degree bounce into a bunker and thinned the 130-yard bunker shot over the green. I was so pissed that I didn't notice my buddy had hit his in roughly the same place. Got there and hit his ball without a moment's pause off some lousy hard dirt and rolled off the other side of the green. At about that moment I saw my own ball perched nicely on some fine grass just short of the green. 

Really, it was such a fiasco that the score was meaningless by that point.

[dave s]

1 hour ago, CarlSpackler said:

 

That was like playing the game where you have to keep your eyes on shell with the ball under it. 

Yeah, it was just crazy to find that ball on the complete other side of the course.  I mean, nobody else was playing a Phil Townstein ball with a red dot except me.  And heck, at least I put the OTHER guy's ball back after I discovered the error.  People (in general) don't put back ProV1s, I guess!

dave

1 hour ago, DaveP043 said:

I still have a most of a dozen that say "dave's ball" that I'd sell, but mine don't seem to be quite so easily found.  

For obvious reasons, I'd never put my own credentials on a golf ball.  All my buddies would find them and I'd never hear the end of it!  Tell me, did a family member with good intentions buy the balls with your name on them? Sounds like something my sister would do.

dave

[jkelley9]

I've done this although not in quite the crazy circumstantial way you did lol.

It also ALMOST happened to my Saturday. Played in the afternoon with another guy as a twosome. I prefer to walk so I was walking and he was carting. I was out-driving him nearly every hole by about 20-30 yards. On a long par 5 I hit a nice tee shot about 260 right fairway. He hits his about 230 center fairway. From the tee box you go WAYYYYY down a hill then REALLY WAYYY back up a hill to the landing area. So he carts ahead while I'm lagging behind while walking (there's a group in front we're easily keeping pace with). 

So he gets to my ball and I do the double-take like "um, I think that's mine" in my head. He grabs a club and walks up to it and I'm like "surely he checked the ball right? he's been checking every one thus far" so now I'm sweating (not literally lol) and just as he takes his backswing I foce myself to speak up (from about 20 ft back still) and say "hey sorry to be that guy to interrupt your backswing but are you sure that's not my ball?" He looks down at it and goes "OH CRAP, SORRY yea that's yours" lol.

Good times.

[dave s]

1 hour ago, iacas said:

Time to start ordering those Titleists around the holidays and March with the free personalization that says "Phil Townstein" on them…

You know Eric, my new golf name will soon become "Townstein."  I know the guys I play with!

[iacas]

1 hour ago, dave s said:

You know Eric, my new golf name will soon become "Townstein."  I know the guys I play with!

So long as mine can stay "Erik" I have no problem with that…