Clock watching

[MarkT]

Went to watch the Leeds Cup yesterday at Cobble Hall and one 'experienced' pro would get the stopwatch out as soon as any ball search took place. Obviously it's all part of the rules but it seemed like bad luck if you were playing with his sort. He would even have half an eye on the group behind. Do people do this in a medal or just have a rough idea and then give up when things seem a bit never-ending? And is the onus on the player looking for the ball to start the clock or his/her playing partners?

 

[Beezerk]

Fast and loose with our group, we don’t time it we just use common sense and don’t take the P.
If someone turned up with a watch and started timing it I’d think they were a bit precious.

Dons tin hat.

 

[timd77]

Fast and loose with our group, we don’t time it we just use common sense and don’t take the P.
If someone turned up with a watch and started timing it I’d think they were a bit precious.

Dons tin hat.

Agree, just a rough idea of when 3 minutes is, very rare that you’re still looking for a ball after a couple of minutes, if it’s not found in that time it’s unlikely to be found. If it was an opponent and there was no sign of them stopping the search I’d probably say something along the lines of ‘looks like it’s a goner’ to gee them up to call it themselves. I’ve never been in a situation where it’s gone much beyond the 3 mins so I’m not sure how I’d react.

 

[RichA]

I set a timer on my watch, but only actively police myself.
Search for my own ball for 3 minutes then carry on.
If I'm helping search for someone else's ball then after 3 minutes I just walk away and carry on.

 

[theoneandonly]

I'll always have a look at my watch and when 3 mins is up i'll say so and walk off. People are surpisingly at judging time.

 

[Orikoru]

Just a warning, you are opening a huge can of worms with this one. We've discussed it before in the Rules section.

No I don't time a ball search and I have never played with anyone who does. Generally you just look until you get bored of looking. Often people give up after a minute or two, some take longer, but if they're taking the mick then I'll probably say "I think that's your time mate" to prompt them to move on. If anyone did get a stop watch out I would think they were pretty anal to be honest, since we only play for fun. In a pro event as you described in the OP, different story I guess.

 

[theoneandonly]

Just a warning, you are opening a huge can of worms with this one. We've discussed it before in the Rules section.

No I don't time a ball search and I have never played with anyone who does. Generally you just look until you get bored of looking. Often people give up after a minute or two, some take longer, but if they're taking the mick then I'll probably say "I think that's your time mate" to prompt them to move on. If anyone did get a stop watch out I would think they were pretty anal to be honest, since we only play for fun. In a pro event as you described in the OP, different story I guess.

If you don't time it how do you know how long you've taken? Sure a stopwatch would be OTT in a monthly medal, but you must have some way of knowing. Simply guessing isnt really good enough.

 

[Orikoru]

If you don't time it how do you know how long you've taken? Sure a stopwatch would be OTT in a monthly medal, but you must have some way of knowing. Simply guessing isnt really good enough.

It's good enough for me. I play the game for fun. If someone finds their ball after 3 minutes and 10 seconds it's no skin off my nose as we'd be none the wiser and give benefit of the doubt. Life's too short.

 

[Beezerk]

Simply guessing isnt really good enough.

I would say it is, I don’t think I’d begrudge anyone winning a comp despite them taking 3 minutes and 10 seconds to find a ball.

 

[theoneandonly]

It's good enough for me. I play the game for fun. If someone finds their ball after 3 minutes and 10 seconds it's no skin off my nose as we'd be none the wiser and give benefit of the doubt. Life's too short.

Sure, but how do you know its 3:10 vs 4:05 or maybe even 2:01 and they have missed out a 3rd of thier time to look?

 

[theoneandonly]

I would say it is, I don’t think I’d begrudge anyone winning a comp despite them taking 3 minutes and 10 seconds to find a ball.

And if its 6 mins? If you're not paying attention to the time how do you know? I don't know you, but i don't think you can guess when 3:10 has passed with any accuracy.

 

[Orikoru]

Sure, but how do you know its 3:10 vs 4:05 or maybe even 2:01 and they have missed out a 3rd of thier time to look?

Well, the latter example is irrelevant because they can give up looking whenever they want if it's short of the 3 minutes. If they're into the realm of 4 minutes it will become obvious they've taken too long and I'll drop the "I think that's gone mate". Nice and easy. As I said to begin with, you know when someone's taking the mick and it's gone on too long.

 

[Orikoru]

And if its 6 mins? If you're not paying attention to the time how do you know? I don't know you, but i don't think you can guess when 3:10 has passed with any accuracy.

Do you not have any grasp on the passage of time? I think most people would feel when someone's taken twice as long as they should.

 

[theoneandonly]

Well, the latter example is irrelevant because they can give up looking whenever they want if it's short of the 3 minutes. If they're into the realm of 4 minutes it will become obvious they've taken too long and I'll drop the "I think that's gone mate". Nice and easy. As I said to begin with, you know when someone's taking the mick and it's gone on too long.

Thats the point, if youre not making some effort to time it, you dont know how long has passed.

 

[Orikoru]

Thats the point, if youre not making some effort to time it, you dont know how long has passed.

I know enough to my satisfaction! As I said I'm not bothered if they took 10 or 15 seconds too long, and if they're still looking after 4 or 5 minutes it's obvious they've taken too long so you say something. Simple as.

 

[Beezerk]

And if its 6 mins? If you're not paying attention to the time how do you know? I don't know you, but i don't think you can guess when 3:10 has passed with any accuracy.

I think I will be pretty sure if it is 6 minutes lol. My point is I will look for what generally feels like 3 minutes, if it’s in deep rough it may only be 30 seconds as I know I won’t be finding it.

 

[Deleted member 15717]

Just a warning, you are opening a huge can of worms with this one. We've discussed it before in the Rules section.

No I don't time a ball search and I have never played with anyone who does. Generally you just look until you get bored of looking. Often people give up after a minute or two, some take longer, but if they're taking the mick then I'll probably say "I think that's your time mate" to prompt them to move on. If anyone did get a stop watch out I would think they were pretty anal to be honest, since we only play for fun. In a pro event as you described in the OP, different story I guess.

i fall into this category. You do know when it is time, and it becomes quite obvious in the majority of cases, that if the ball isn't in the relative open - you aren't going to find it anyway.

Would be a great experiment for a cross section of golfers. Stand them up, in silence, and then get people to sit down when they think they hit the 3 minutes without the use of a clock....

 

[theoneandonly]

i fall into this category. You do know when it is time, and it becomes quite obvious in the majority of cases, that if the ball isn't in the relative open - you aren't going to find it anyway.

Would be a great experiment for a cross section of golfers. Stand them up, in silence, and then get people to sit down when they think they hit the 3 minutes without the use of a clock....

No you'd need to simulate the actual looking for a ball with others whilst chatting etc and other standard distractions and see how close they get.

 

[Orikoru]

i fall into this category. You do know when it is time, and it becomes quite obvious in the majority of cases, that if the ball isn't in the relative open - you aren't going to find it anyway.

Would be a great experiment for a cross section of golfers. Stand them up, in silence, and then get people to sit down when they think they hit the 3 minutes without the use of a clock....

Might just be me, but the way you search for the ball sums it up in my mind. First I look in the area where I thought it went, if it's not there I search a bit shorter than that area, and then a bit longer than that area. Roughly one minute in each of the three areas so if you've not found it then it's game over.

 

[Beezerk]

Hang on lads you can’t start the search yet, I need to get my phone out of my bag, open the clock app and set a timer for 3 minutes.
They’d tell me to bugger off ?