Good job I'm mild mannered.......

[Macster]

Went down last nt at 6.30 for a few holes with my son, only to discover that a shotgun start comp had commenced at 3pm.

However, sign's on the 1st clearly stated that altho groups would be coming thru, 'filter in' was the instruction.

So, we waited for the guys on the 18th to wander across and tee off, and aimed to slot in as quick as poss behind them before the next group came thru.
One of them even came across as they walked close to tell me that they were nearly finished, and stop me teeing off. However, I told him it instructed me to 'filter-in' and we'd be as quick as poss, as I didnt have a clue how many more groups were behind them anyway.

We teed off, perfectly down the middle and over a ridge 130yds from the green, and having walked up, couldnt play our 2nd as the group on the green was taking aaaaaages.

Group behind now on the tee and waiting for a min or 2, but no big deal.
As the green clears, and I address the ball, a ball lands 15yds from me and rolls closeish.
I look behind to see them all walking off the tee, having all teed off presumably, fortunately for me all not reaching me.

I played my shot and we walked on, and it transpired that was their last hole anyway, so we didnt get bothered more.

In hindsight, I wish I'd picked it up and bollocked them, but as it was possibly guests due to play in a ProAm event soon, perhaps not the best idea.

What would YOU have done ?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

My club normally has social texas scrambles once a month but limit it to 9 holes teeing off at 6 and leaving the other 9 open to members.

In your circumstance I think it was probably the "filter" instruction that was the trouble and the course would have been better off saying closed until a certain time. However having gone off I would not have been impressed to have been fired towards by a group who were on their last hole anyway. I think you acted quite correctly and did the right thing in the situation

 

[Parmo]

Taken my Hybrid and GPS unit out and measured the distance they hit it, then take a full swing with said Hybrid back to them.

 

[KeefG]

I've been in pretty much the same situation before, my mate was addressing his ball ready to take his approach into a green, his tee shot was only a 3w about 200yds down the fairway and the group on the tee could clearly see us, we'd been getting held up all round by a very slow 3 ball in front and the 3 ball behind us were a bunch of idiots!

Anyway, my mate addresses his ball and is just about to start his backswing when "thud", a ball from the 3 ball behind us hits my mates bag.

At this point he loses it and starts ranting and raving at them, none of them shouted fore and none of them seemed bothered, which wound my mate up even more....

At this point, he proceedes to tee up said ball, take his driver out of his bag and belt it back towards the 3 ball with what what probably his best drive of the day....he sent it a good 40yds straight over the top of their head!!

I couldnt do anything for laughing

 

[CarpeDiem]

Could you have thrown their ball OB? They might have got the message then.

 

[mono217]

I've been in pretty much the same situation before, my mate was addressing his ball ready to take his approach into a green, his tee shot was only a 3w about 200yds down the fairway and the group on the tee could clearly see us, we'd been getting held up all round by a very slow 3 ball in front and the 3 ball behind us were a bunch of idiots!

Anyway, my mate addresses his ball and is just about to start his backswing when "thud", a ball from the 3 ball behind us hits my mates bag.

At this point he loses it and starts ranting and raving at them, none of them shouted fore and none of them seemed bothered, which wound my mate up even more....

At this point, he proceedes to tee up said ball, take his driver out of his bag and belt it back towards the 3 ball with what what probably his best drive of the day....he sent it a good 40yds straight over the top of their head!!

I couldnt do anything for laughing

Had to lol

But back to the post you did the right thing and if it was not there last hole you could have said something on the next.

 

[vig]

If the instructions clearly stated "filter in" and you had drove off without a sign of the group behind then YOU did nothing wrong.
Had it been me I would have either hit the fecker back towards them, giving a "fore" shout of course OR waited for them to come down the fairway. Depends how close it was to me and how wound up I was.

I have been known to give chase to inconsiderate individuals who have shown a total disregard for etiquette

 

[golf_bug]

there is no excuse for them teeing off if they saw you within range, ragardless of what competition format they are playing in. Not only does it demonstrate a complete lack of respect, if is very dangerous.
I think there should be an unwritten rule that if a ball lands close to you during play, you can pick it up and keep it!

 

[Herbie]

So let me get this right.....
The assumption is that the following group all had perfect eyesight and that they knew exactly how far they could hit their balls that day and knew that by hitting their balls that they would in fact reach you and that no one called 'FORE!' and their intention by doing this was what????

No one was hit by a ball, you didnt do anything at the time when you had the chance yet the suggestion that you should pick up someones ball and bollock them or the suggestion by others that you should throw their ball away makes me feel I would rather be at a club where people made mistakes rather than deliberate acts of danger, abuse, ball tampering etc.

No one hurt, you did the right thing and moved on, but you failed to forget about it. If it was so important to you a calm and friendly approach or simply waiting to see what they say is all thats needed, or even report them to the club.

These things happen, Ive played 30yrs and still make those mistakes, I drove a green a couple of weeks back and had to go cap in hand an apologise because I never expected it to go that far, had someone picked up my ball and lobbed it then they would get a lot more than they bargained for for doing so.

Ive never known so much instant aggression in the game as there is today, I have been struck by golf balls several times, I have had countless near misses, yet I have never felt the need to do something more than a casual word and often the apologetic view someone else has of the situation can often enlighten rather than annoy and sometimes it was my own fault.Only once did I feel the need to punch someone who hit me with a ball, as when he appeared, he made no apology and couldnt give a stuff and was agressive himself(for a short time) once in 30 yrs of the game.

It is very very unlikely in golf that someone deliberately wants to hit someone with a ball, yet so many people seem to behave as though thats what they think golfers want to do.

Leave it alone and move on as one day you will make a mistake and do the same or similar, or if it bugs you that much, address the issue at the time, politely!

Dont touch someones ball unless you are absolutely certain their action was deliberate and threatening, but then I would do more than pick up someones ball if I thought that about someone.

Why not see it as a good shot rather than a gauntlet!

 

[Macster]

HNJ: You're assumption that it was a 'shot out of the blue' that perhaps they had no idea could reach me is wayyyyy off.
Our 1st is 350yds, and I drove well over the ridge that is 130yds short of the green with a 4Wood, and whilst I may have been 'slightly' obscured by the ridge, they would have been clearly able to see the group putting out on the green, meaning we were still waiting to play.

I've played 20yrs, and the group behind me were members too, so no-one was in any doubt about whether I was 'in reach' or not, it was clearly a case of impatience at having to wait a few minutes, and nothing more.

I didnt say anything as I was with my son, and didnt want a scene, and its only in hindsight that I wish I had.

Whatever it is, its dangerous.

 

[golf_bug]

HNJ: You're assumption that it was a 'shot out of the blue' that perhaps they had no idea could reach me is wayyyyy off.
Our 1st is 350yds, and I drove well over the ridge that is 130yds short of the green with a 4Wood, and whilst I may have been 'slightly' obscured by the ridge, they would have been clearly able to see the group putting out on the green, meaning we were still waiting to play.

I've played 20yrs, and the group behind me were members too, so no-one was in any doubt about whether I was 'in reach' or not, it was clearly a case of impatience at having to wait a few minutes, and nothing more.

I didnt say anything as I was with my son, and didnt want a scene, and its only in hindsight that I wish I had.

Whatever it is, its dangerous.

Agreed. There is no need to put someone at risk when you can wait 5 minutes.

 

[thecraw]

Stamp their ball into the ground then stand watching them try to find the fecker, then casually shout back I heard it land but didnt see it.

Thereafter drill your bags supply of golf balls at them while shouting as many swear words as you can think of before chasing them from the course waving your 5 iron above your head lika a tomahawk.

Smash up their cars in the car park and finally set fire to their golf bags, thats what I would have done.

 

[KeefG]

Stamp their ball into the ground then stand watching them try to find the fecker, then casually shout back I heard it land but didnt see it.

Thereafter drill your bags supply of golf balls at them while shouting as many swear words as you can think of before chasing them from the course waving your 5 iron above your head lika a tomahawk.

Smash up their cars in the car park and finally set fire to their golf bags, thats what I would have done.

LMFAO

 

[HomerJSimpson]

As someone who got hit in the back and injured during a medal round last year I think you acted with great reatraint. Having only just got onto my knees by the time the guy got up to me (I hadn't even played my 2nd shot so was obviously still in range) the only thing I wanted to do was implant my sand iron into his skull and my fist into his face. Realising I'd be the one barred (probably for good) I tried to struggle on but once it stiffenend up swinging a club became way too painful.

Suffice to say I made it very apparent what had happened afterwards to those in the know and at the time asked the forum what I should do re letter of complaint etc. I was advised I would come out the better man to let it ride which I did. It sounds a very similar situation to mine and clearly not a shot out of the blue.

 

[Herbie]

I understand now, everyone here who gets a ball on a, err, golf course and therefore is entitled to to take any measure they see fit. Even after admitting they may have been obscured from view slightly .

So without knowing what the ball strikers reasons were, without asking for any clarity, the 'I'm right' rule of thumb comes into play.

I understand now, thanks.

 

[Herbie]

HNJ: You're assumption that it was a 'shot out of the blue' that perhaps they had no idea could reach me is wayyyyy off.
Our 1st is 350yds, and I drove well over the ridge that is 130yds short of the green with a 4Wood, and whilst I may have been 'slightly' obscured by the ridge, they would have been clearly able to see the group putting out on the green, meaning we were still waiting to play.

I've played 20yrs, and the group behind me were members too, so no-one was in any doubt about whether I was 'in reach' or not, it was clearly a case of impatience at having to wait a few minutes, and nothing more.

I didnt say anything as I was with my son, and didnt want a scene, and its only in hindsight that I wish I had.

Whatever it is, its dangerous.

Read more carefully, the assumptions I quote are the assumptions clearly indicated by post I responded to, not MY assumptions. By your response I can detect that I have just inadvertantly knocked a ball too close to you, havent I?

 

[Macster]

If a ball flies near me from an adjacent fairway, ie a hooked/sliced shot, its an accidental shot, ie not intended to hit anyone, and I would still very likely heard the 'Fore !"
No issue.

If I'm on a green 300yds from the tee, and a ball lands 30yds short and runs across the green........quite likely a 'shot out of the blue'.....
No issue.

However, quite why you fail to see how a ball landing 10yds from me off a Tee 220yds behind me, when they know I am waiting to play a shot, isnt just ever so slightly out of order and downright dangerous,........is beyond me.

*shakes head*

 

[Herbie]

If a ball flies near me from an adjacent fairway, ie a hooked/sliced shot, its an accidental shot, ie not intended to hit anyone, and I would still very likely heard the 'Fore !"
No issue.

If I'm on a green 300yds from the tee, and a ball lands 30yds short and runs across the green........quite likely a 'shot out of the blue'.....
No issue.

However, quite why you fail to see how a ball landing 10yds from me off a Tee 220yds behind me, when they know I am waiting to play a shot, isnt just ever so slightly out of order and downright dangerous,........is beyond me.

*shakes head*

Its only out of order if you have established their action was deliberate or not, or irresponsible in some way from 'their' perspective. Has anyone ever questioned something like this and got the response "I did it deliberately and Im gutted I didnt hit you"?
Maybe the guy thought he could play as perhaps his normal shot there would not reach you? Who knows? I dont and Im sure you didnt find out, nor did you wait to see if you got a humble apology. you can shake all you want and be facetious, demonstrating the OTT reaction to things I mention. 200 yds is a common MAX dist for an awful lot of golfers to hit let alone 220, why is it suddenly assumed they could reach you, by you and them? Maybe it was just a case of a guy hitting one better than expected but not seeing or realising it was good enough to reach you. If your best shot off a tee was a certain dist you are unlikely to expect more, but its still poss it could happen one day. If every golfer waited till the once in a blue moon possibility was avoidable, then every hole would have to be played out before someone teed up. Golf relys on judgement to compliment pace of play and sometimes mistakes are made in various ways, I would rather keep the mistakes than take 6 hrs to play a round.

Any course that has alternate play due to volume is bound to get conflict, aggression, errors by the bucket load.
I have yet to meet a golfer who has NOT done what these guys did by accident/misjudgement or just ignorance of the game. but I have met no end who over react to anything, and often its their own fault allowing things to annoy them or placing themselves in situations where accidents can happen. The times when you are likely to see a deliberate attempt by someone to hit a ball at another are a miniscule number and often committed by the over reacting players who feel they have the right to compound a mistake by a deliberate act of smacking a ball back to those on the tee!!!!???? Judge jury executioner springs to mind.

Also, I must ask, did the ball pass you or stop short of you? you were not clear about this, you hit 220 so did this guy hit further than you or stop short?
If he stopped short you have definitely made a mountain from a mole hill as most people do in these cases. i dont remember the bounce being right next to you or something

 

[HomerJSimpson]

[quote200 yds is a common MAX dist for an awful lot of golfers to hit let alone 220, why is it suddenly assumed they could reach you, by you and them? quote]

Quite a change of tact from the everyone has the potential to hit the ball miles on the how long do you drive thread

In my opinion if someone is only 220 yards away and you go because you don't think you can reach it isn't so much wrong from the perspective of whether you can or can't get there, but totally wrong in terms of etiquette when you are firing towards a guy (playing your last hole anyway so what will a few minutes matter) who hasn't and can't even play his second shot and move on.

 

[muttleee]

At this point, he proceedes to tee up said ball, take his driver out of his bag and belt it back towards the 3 ball with what what probably his best drive of the day....he sent it a good 40yds straight over the top of their head!!

I hope he wasn't playing in a competition at the time as there's a penalty for taking practice shots.