Have you ever lost a ball in the fairway?

[Groucho Valentine]

Yeah i have. A few times. Never in a round that mattered though. Thank god. 

[knucklebuster]

Many times,I hit the ball very high so on a wet course in winter the ball could go a couple of inches into the turf,if you dont see exactly where the ball lands its lost more often than not.

[arturo28mx]

50 minutes ago, knucklebuster said:

Many times,I hit the ball very high so on a wet course in winter the ball could go a couple of inches into the turf,if you dont see exactly where the ball lands its lost more often than not.

Same thing has happened to me several times. Even if you know exactly where the ball landed, it's so soggy and muddy you still can't find the ball.

[Kalnoky]

Yes, last Tuesday for the first time, I lost a beautiful drive in the fairway. There were heaps of grass clippings - everywhere. 

I was playing really well up to that point, but I admit I lost my cool after that. I will not play that course again until late summer when everything is dead.

[Hategolf]

I have too and it drives me crazy..and no, I don't give my self a penalty stroke if I'm 100% sure it landed in the fairway. Unless I'm playing with others, out of courtesy and because the rules dictates it. I do not want them to think I'm cheating them either. 

But if I'm playing by myself I'm mostly practicing, same reason why I would not hit a shot of a tree root and risk getting injured. No I don't take mulligans or give myself 5' gimmes either but I use as much honesty as I can and common sense. 

 

 

[Gator Hazard]

Wonder what the foxes do with all those golf balls. Think they would have figured out they are not eggs. Do they play?

[Hacker James]

lots of times. Most recently at a course that was reopened after a year of renovation. The grass had been mowed after a heavy rain and the clippings were deep. I lost a few balls right down the middle. So nothing unusual there.  I am impressed with the OP's assertion of hitting a 4 Iron 235 yards with  a double digit index, but then again considering his apparent age, completely understandable. Envious, yes.  Obtainable by me...not a chance.

[Pretzel]

In the fall I know I have lost at least one ball in the fairway over the years. My home course has trees lining every fairway, meaning that it gets pretty hard to find golf balls when all of those leaves start to fall.

[freshmanUTA]

7 hours ago, David in FL said:

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"?

On the handicap system on our course website, you're allowed to post as little holes as you played for the day, as long as there are more than 6. It will automatically calculate what score you would have gotten based on the handicap of the hole and such. It told me I'd get a 6 and so my true score was an 86, but I truly don't know what I would have shot so I said 80 for 17.

[oregongolfguy]

wait a minute.  are their people who haven't???

  

[Moppy]

I have plugged a ball a few times, once I knew it because as I was searching for my ball, I found the skull cap of another ball right near where I saw my ball hit and not bounce, I played that one. (I don't keep a handicap) 

Also I have noticed that if you inadvertently hit into another group, because of a blind shot when you think you have waited long enough, of which there are a few on my home course, you can "lose" a ball in the fairway pretty easily.

[todgot]

I was playing The Links at Spanish Bay in Monterey last year when a seagull swooped down and took my ball... dropped it 50 yards further down the fairway !

[David in FL]

11 minutes ago, todgot said:

I was playing The Links at Spanish Bay in Monterey last year when a seagull swooped down and took my ball... dropped it 50 yards further down the fairway !

Better that, than this...

 

[todgot]

12 minutes ago, todgot said:

I was playing The Links at Spanish Bay in Monterey last year when a seagull swooped down and took my ball... dropped it 50 yards further down the fairway !

Just realized I played it wrong.  The caddie I had working for me said to play it as it lies.  With ball moved by outside agency it should have been replaced without penalty. oops.

[todgot]

I can't recall ever losing a ball in the fairway... If it was lost I obviously didn't find it ... so it wasn't in the fairway... it was someplace else.  It could be that I so rarely hit the fairway my chances of this occurring are low. 

I was playing once at Torrey Pines after the Buick Tournament... my friend topped his drive about 20 yards in front of the tee box and we couldn't find it in the rough. 

[Shorty]

On 18/05/2017 at 5:45 AM, freshmanUTA said:

On the handicap system on our course website, you're allowed to post as little holes as you played for the day, as long as there are more than 6. It will automatically calculate what score you would have gotten based on the handicap of the hole and such. It told me I'd get a 6 and so my true score was an 86, but I truly don't know what I would have shot so I said 80 for 17.

It's amazing how computers can calculate your 18 hole score after you've played 6 holes. Next time I'm doing well after 8 holes I'll call it a day.

[1badbadger]

On 5/17/2017 at 2:34 AM, Patch said:

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. 

What gets under my skin, which is loosely related to losing a ball in the fairway is piping a drive down the middle and having the ball kick into the rough because the fairways are crowned.  There is a course in Austin which was notorious for this.  It was a nice track otherwise.  It's one thing to not be rewarded for hitting a good shot, but it's another to be penalized for hitting a good one.

[Patch]

1 hour ago, 1badbadger said:

What gets under my skin, which is loosely related to losing a ball in the fairway is piping a drive down the middle and having the ball kick into the rough because the fairways are crowned.  There is a course in Austin which was notorious for this.  It was a nice track otherwise.  It's one thing to not be rewarded for hitting a good shot, but it's another to be penalized for hitting a good one.

I once heard a guy say that golf was one of the games where a player can be penalized for something they have no control over.