Have you ever lost a ball in the fairway?

[freshmanUTA]

Today I was playing a round that I planned on posting for my handicap, but on the 12th hole I ran into an issue that I had no idea how to resolve so I ultimately didn't post my score. I was on the tee box of the 12th hole which is fairly straightforward. It's a 387 yard par 4 that is a slight dogleg right. The green is hidden by a group of trees that requires a drive that carries at least 290(could be more), to have any chance of clearing. So, knowing a driver and 3 wood would put me through the other side of the fairway in the dogleg, I hit 4 iron which landed and rolled out to the middle of the fairway. Now, heres where it gets interesting. The tee box is a short walk through trees from the cart path, so on the cart path you can't see the fairway. When I drove up to the fairway, I could not find my ball. Anywhere. I was playing with my dad and we were the only people out so we spent some time looking for my ball, but never found it. We went from the beginning of the fairway all the way to the end, left, right, near the sand and anywhere else the ball could have been, but we couldn't find my ball. I planned on just dropping a ball about 235, which is about where my average 4 iron tee shot goes, and not penalizing myself because how could I? I know the ball was in the fairway, and the hole doesn't have any water so it didn't roll into water. I was just mind-boggled that my ball seemingly disappeared from the fairway. Anyone else have something like this happen to them?

[Hardspoon]

Yes, this has definitely happened to me...it's the golf equivalent of losing socks in the washing machine/dryer.  THEY HAVE TO BE IN THE DAMN HOUSE SOMEWHERE!!!

18 minutes ago, freshmanUTA said:

Today I was playing a round that I planned on posting for my handicap, but on the 12th hole I ran into an issue that I had no idea how to resolve so I ultimately didn't post my score.

You still should post your score.  There are options for posting scores in all sorts of situations, like incomplete rounds or holes not played in accordance with the rules (this case would fall under that).

https://www.usga.org/HandicapFAQ/handicap_answer.asp?FAQidx=8

Edited May 17, 2017 by Hardspoon
Added link to relevant handicap procedure

[David in FL]

First of all, how you should have "resolved" the situation is simple.  Your ball was lost and you should have proceeded under penalty of stroke and distance....period.

Have I ever lost a ball when it surprised me that I couldn't find it?  Hell yes.  Fall leaves up north, in or out of the fairway, deep rough when I was sure I never left the fairway, so many ways...

If I knew where the ball had gone, it wouldn't have been lost.  

[dennyjones]

I lost three this week where I was sure the ball landed where it could be easily found.   It sucks!  I'd almost rather hit a ball OB so I know I made a mistake than lose a ball that the guy behind me will walk up to and say,,,nice "M" on that ball.  

[saevel25]

52 minutes ago, freshmanUTA said:

I hit 4 iron which landed and rolled out to the middle of the fairway. 

Did you see it roll? I ask this because in soft conditions I have had my ball disappear before because it 100% plugs. 

54 minutes ago, freshmanUTA said:

I planned on just dropping a ball about 235, which is about where my average 4 iron tee shot goes, and not penalizing myself because how could I? 

Because the USGA rule say you should. It should be stroke and distance. 

#FollowTheRules 

[Jack Watson]

I've done it and just dropped and taken a penalty stroke but no idea if I was supposed to do something else.

[freshmanUTA]

1 hour ago, David in FL said:

First of all, how you should have "resolved" the situation is simple.  Your ball was lost and you should have proceeded under penalty of stroke and distance....period.

Have I ever lost a ball when it surprised me that I couldn't find it?  Hell yes.  Fall leaves up north, in or out of the fairway, deep rough when I was sure I never left the fairway, so many ways...

If I knew where the ball had gone, it wouldn't have been lost.  

 

34 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

Did you see it roll? I ask this because in soft conditions I have had my ball disappear before because it 100% plugs. 

Because the USGA rule say you should. It should be stroke and distance. 

#FollowTheRules 

I just submitted the score after I attempted to add the penalty strokes, but then decided to just submit a 17 hole score. I don't know why I was even afraid to, an 80 for 17 holes is not much worse than my average, even if i did feel it was a bad day. Thanks for keeping me honest guys. Oh and, yes. I definitely saw it roll and come to a stop, and so did my dad. We were both completely at a loss for words. What I did at the time was just drop a ball short of where I know i usually hit it and play the shot with the longer club. I made par, or at least, I thought I did.

[Patch]

Oh yeah. I have lost plenty of balls in the fairway. Most of them because of leaves, and few more due to rodent holes. 

Losing a ball like this, is probably the only thing that might get under my skin when golfing. 

Edited May 17, 2017 by Patch

[Shorty]

This happens to me a couple of times a year. In fact in happened to me three weeks ago in a medal round. I'm not sure what  you think the dilemma is. When a ball is lost in these circumstances it is stroke and distance. Drives you nuts, but that's golf. You don't just make a decision because you feel it is unfair. It happens a lot when there are leaves around or when it is plugged but you didn't see it.

[bm85]

Not happened to me in awhile, but I played at some junky courses when I first started.

It is disturbing in that twilight zone kind of way.

[Shorty]

I might add that we have crows that take balls. Problem is, unless you actually see it take the ball, it's stroke and distance - even when it's a hole they patrol and you have a blind shot.

[bkuehn1952]

Not in a tournament, which is close to the only time I would bother to go back and re-tee. During casual play, probably once a year on average.  As others have said, wet conditions and autumn leaves have gotten me.  A few times I have almost lost a ball because it went too far - hit a sprinkler head, rock, edge of a cart path, etc... 

I don't believe I have ever lost a ball where I saw the ball hit the fairway and roll to a stop, in clear view.  There is always some intervening factor or the ball comes to a stop out of sight

[chilepepper]

I've lost the occasional fairway ball. Usually on days with lots of leaves on the ground. Depending on course crowding I try to go with stroke and distance, on busy days I'll drop and take 2 strokes, it's not accepted rules but I feel it's accurate enough considering the delay may cause issues for following groups

[DaveP043]

9 hours ago, freshmanUTA said:

Oh and, yes. I definitely saw it roll and come to a stop, and so did my dad.

On Saturday a fox came and stole my ball from the first fairway.  Fortunately we saw it, so I could drop without penalty, but I could see something like that happening to your ball.  In your case, you should have played it as a lost ball.  If you chose not to complete the hole by going back to the tee, your score (in my opinion) should have been your most likely score, which at this stage would be 6.  

[Club Rat]

17 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

a fox came and stole my ball

I was just about to tell the same story.... Lol

Another unusual incident happened last year, my ball came to rest on a sprinkler head that was installed on a slope.
The ball could not be seen until we drove above the location due to it resting against the lower side.
Other areas in fairways which cause problems sometimes are drains.

[mcanadiens]

My bruv and I did it (maybe a few times) during the same round at a defunct goat track called Hidden Lake just outside of TIpp City, OH. 

It was especially unfortunate in my brother's case. He is a couple-times-a-year sort now and this was one of his first rounds ever. The lad finally stripes a beauty. Straight as an arrow and pounded the snot out of it. The hole was flat-straight and the ball could not have missed. We rolled up and down that shaggy length quite a while and no trace. 

Hidden Lake is housing now for a reason.

[jsgolfer]

45 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

On Saturday a fox came and stole my ball from the first fairway.  Fortunately we saw it, so I could drop without penalty, but I could see something like that happening to your ball.  In your case, you should have played it as a lost ball.  If you chose not to complete the hole by going back to the tee, your score (in my opinion) should have been your most likely score, which at this stage would be 6.  

 

20 minutes ago, Club Rat said:

I was just about to tell the same story.... Lol

Another unusual incident happened last year, my ball came to rest on a sprinkler head that was installed on a slope.
The ball could not be seen until we drove above the location due to it resting against the lower side.
Other areas in fairways which cause problems sometimes are drains.

Read more  

Add me to the list of having a fox come and steal my ball, happened in a fairway and on a green.  And on the course this happened, you can't see the back of the green due to the placement of a trap.  And the damn fox would hang out near the woods at the back of the green, sneak on the green and snag balls.    

[David in FL]

10 hours ago, freshmanUTA said:

 

I just submitted the score after I attempted to add the penalty strokes, but then decided to just submit a 17 hole score. I don't know why I was even afraid to, an 80 for 17 holes is not much worse than my average, even if i did feel it was a bad day. Thanks for keeping me honest guys. Oh and, yes. I definitely saw it roll and come to a stop, and so did my dad. We were both completely at a loss for words. What I did at the time was just drop a ball short of where I know i usually hit it and play the shot with the longer club. I made par, or at least, I thought I did.

I don't want to get OT, but since you brought up procedure, it's worth following up here...

What do you mean by the highlighted.  How exactly did you post a "17 hole  score of 80"?

Edited May 17, 2017 by David in FL