Craziest ever reason for inability to identify ball

[cliveb]

Today something happened that just boggles the mind.
Came to the tee of a par 3 which appeared to be clear. Hit my tee shot which ended up in the semi rough just off the green.
Then a group of ladies appeared - it turns out they had been down in a dip and not visible.
They got to the green and one of them picked up my ball. Despite me calling to them, she walked off with it.
So I dropped a replacement to complete the hole.
At the next tee, the ladies were waiting and beckoned us to play through. I hit my drive and then walked up the fairway only to find TWO identical balls with my mark, close together. Clearly one of the ladies had used my ball that she'd picked up and hit it as her tee shot before we played through.
There was no way I could be sure which was which.
Karma for having teed off over their heads on the previous hole (even though they were invisible)?
Just thought this was such a weird sequence of events that it was worth reporting.

 

[robinthehood]

My goodness man, did you not announce to the world what ball you were using on the tee.!

 

[Imurg]

Id be more worried about not being able to sufficiently out drive the ladies to make identifying the ball a tad easier..

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Did you pick your other ball up? She pinched it, it's only fair to reclaim it.

 

[Italian outcast]

Why did you not ask for your ball back at the tee?
Was there a reason to be so bashful?

 

[Oddsocks]

Did you pick your other ball up? She pinched it, it's only fair to reclaim it.

Would have if it were me

 

[duncan mackie]

A wonderful proof of my oft stated point that it doesn't matter how definitively you mark your ball unless you uniquely mark every single one.....

Thank you for posting 🤗

 

[cliveb]

Id be more worried about not being able to sufficiently out drive the ladies to make identifying the ball a tad easier..

The ladies tee was about 50 yards ahead, so my machismo remains intact.

 

[cliveb]

Why did you not ask for your ball back at the tee?
Was there a reason to be so bashful?

Since I'd just launched a ball over their heads on the previous hole, I was too busy apologizing to think about asking for my ball back

 

[richart]

My goodness man, did you not announce to the world what ball you were using on the tee.!

I always announce what ball I am using in a club competition, and its markings. What about you Paddy ?

 

[teegirl]

I was taught to leave your bag visible to the group behind you unless you have called them through. Had they done that all would have been avoided!!
Good of you to appologise all the same ..... true gent!!

 

[Orikoru]

I don't think this is as crazy as the time Rickie Fowler couldn't identify his ball because it was stuck in a very tall tree.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I was taught to leave your bag visible to the group behind you unless you have called them through.

You'd have thought so but even seemingly sound fellows on here decide once in awhile to go for a group amble on a hole and leave no visible sign of their presence leading a golfer to hit an imperious wood tight to the flag to then watch them wander back onto said green.

I would have apologised on the tee and then re-claimed my ball on the way through.

 

[chrisd]

A wonderful proof of my oft stated point that it doesn't matter how definitively you mark your ball unless you uniquely mark every single one.....

Thank you for posting 🤗

If I'm playing with 2 balls of the same make and number I mark both the same but put an additional mark on one if them as a reminder that it's the provisional if needed

 

[ger147]

I use a different make of ball for provisionals and I play my regular balls in numerical order so would never have 2 of the same ball with the same ball number in play one after the other.

Sometimes having OCD comes in handy

 

[cliveb]

I use a different make of ball for provisionals and I play my regular balls in numerical order so would never have 2 of the same ball with the same ball number in play one after the other.

I also use a different make for provisionals. But this situation was different. I saw her pick up and walk off with my first ball and never expected to see it again. It never crossed my mind that dropping an identical ball to replace it could be an issue.

 

[jim8flog]

I would have picked the ball up and left her a note thanking her for leaving my ball in an easy to find place.

The first thing I do when buying a box of 12 balls is empty out all the boxes and switch the numbers around so that I do not have two of the same number in a box.

 

[cookelad]

I would have picked the ball up and left her a note thanking her for leaving my ball in an easy to find place.

The first thing I do when buying a box of 12 balls is empty out all the boxes and switch the numbers around so that I do not have two of the same number in a box.

Same here, first thing I do when I get a new box of balls is to re-sleeve them so I have 1-2-3, 4-1-2, 3-4-1 & 2-3-4 and play them in that order (and do the same thing for the back 9)

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

A wonderful proof of my oft stated point that it doesn't matter how definitively you mark your ball unless you uniquely mark every single one.....

Thank you for posting 🤗

Like my mate who would often end up in the same area off the tee on one of our holes - plonking his ball in deepish rough and sometimes losing it. One day he hit usual and ended up in the rough - this time he found his ball - he played it and walked a couple of yards and found another in deep grimly rough - and he knew it was one of his...but as it was marked identically to the ball he was playing he didn't know whether he had played the wrong ball or not...can't remember what we decided. Think we just played on as it wasn't a serious round.

What was the ruling and what should he have done

 

[Imurg]

Like my mate who would often end up in the same area off the tee on one of our holes - plonking his ball in deepish rough and sometimes losing it. One day he hit usual and ended up in the rough - this time he found his ball - he played it and walked a couple of yards and found another in deep grimly rough - and he knew it was one of his...but as it was marked identically to the ball he was playing he didn't know whether he had played the wrong ball or not...can't remember what we decided. Think we just played on as it wasn't a serious round.

What was the ruling and what should he have done

Lost ball
If you can't positively identify the ball in play because it has the same marks and numbers as another then it's lost