DaveM
Tour Winner
Any balls I find I give to the juniors or any of the kids playing, when I find them.
Lost ball ownership rights
- Thread starter The_ACE
- Start date
In answer to the OP, I think the question of who "owns" lost golf balls was clarified in a reasonably well publicised legal case a few years ago, when a couple of fellas visited a local course after closing with scuba gear and recovered hundreds of balls from a lake.
A prosecution followed, and whilst the defendants argued that lost balls weren't owned by anybody, the Courts decided that they were, in fact, owned by the golf club.
So whilst every right-minded club owner or pro will never bat an eyelid if you find a ProV in the rough (do ProV users go in the rough?), you are actually committing theft every time you pick one up and put it in your bag.
A prosecution followed, and whilst the defendants argued that lost balls weren't owned by anybody, the Courts decided that they were, in fact, owned by the golf club.
So whilst every right-minded club owner or pro will never bat an eyelid if you find a ProV in the rough (do ProV users go in the rough?), you are actually committing theft every time you pick one up and put it in your bag.
Oddsocks
Ryder Cup Winner
So effectively every time I find a ball I should hand it in to the course........,, can't see that happening can you
You didn't actually read what I wrote, did you?!!
I said "so whilst every right-minded club owner or pro will never bat an eyelid if you find a ProV in the rough" - and of course they couldn't care less. But they would doubtless get a tad miffed if someone started removing hundreds of pounds of lake balls, as was the case in the incident I referred to.
Of course your pro won't expect you to hand every ball in that you find - but given the outcome of that case, and the legal ramifications of it, the fact remains that, technically at least, you will be committing theft by keeping them.
Scouser
Tour Winner
So if i lose my car in a multi story car park?!?!?
Or my phone on bus????
Ownership can no transfer because the owner can not find it...... btw yes i have "stolen" golf balls from a course .....but dont tell any one
I rarely keep a ball long enough to remember any distinguishing marks so were the club to hold an ID parade in the bar for any of mine I'd never pick it out in a line up.
I remember the case of the guys who raided the pond being prosecuted and to be honest if the club were doing it annually (as I think they were) and making a profit selling them then of course it is theft. However I don't think any of us need fear a knock of the door in the wee small hours and a raid from the Sweeny over that Pro V you pocketed on the 9th
I remember the case of the guys who raided the pond being prosecuted and to be honest if the club were doing it annually (as I think they were) and making a profit selling them then of course it is theft. However I don't think any of us need fear a knock of the door in the wee small hours and a raid from the Sweeny over that Pro V you pocketed on the 9th
Oh dear. I really didn't want this to descend into a debate about the Theft Act and the judicial system in the UK, but if you insist on poking fun, then I'm going to insist on stating a few facts.
The first one being that once cases have progressed through the Courts in this country, there will be times when some legal findings create precedents, and the rulings in some cases are so significant that they become what are known as Stated Cases, where the outcome of subsequent similar cases in the decades which follow will rely on the earlier finding.
I do not for one moment think the incident I referred to will be a Stated Case, but it will either follow an earlier precedent or will have set one itself - that being that abandoned golf balls on a course are the property of the club. Don't argue the toss with me - dispute it with the UK Courts. It is a fact.
And please don't even get me started on your observation that "ownership cannot transfer because the owner cannot find it" - that is, with the greatest respect, codswallop. There are instances under the Theft Act where legal ownership of property can be abandoned by the owner, and if that property is subsequently found by another person it can be appropriated (that's someone assuming the rights of the owner, by the way) without any offence of theft being committed. Ownership, as such, will have been transferred, precisely because the original owner could not find it. But it does only apply to certain types of property.
The bottom line is that no golf club owner or pro is going to make a formal complaint if someone finds a few balls during their round and pops them in their bag. I said as much in my first post. It does not alter the fact that technically the finder commits theft. Again, argue it out elsewhere if you want to.
If you want to test the facts, pop down to your golf course under cover of darkness and have away several hundred abandoned golf balls. In those circumstances I doubt you'll find your club owner or committee will be quite as understanding. Then you'll find out what the law says in relation to ownership of lost golf balls on courses - and I think you'll find it will be an expensive lesson.
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Scouser
Tour Winner
Sorry Billy i was not poking fun and I agree with your last thread. I know a little about the law process for the setting of precedents and the like and am also aware that the transfer of proerty can be done if no one claims items that are lost with in a set time scale for example if I hand a wallet in to the police station and no one claims it and there is no way to ID the owner I will get a phone call to come and claim it.
If I find it in the street and keep it surely that is (i forget the terminology) theft
If my remark came across as flippant I am sorry it was not my intent
But back to the OP if you find my ball on the course please post it back to me!
If I find it in the street and keep it surely that is (i forget the terminology) theft
If my remark came across as flippant I am sorry it was not my intent
But back to the OP if you find my ball on the course please post it back to me!
And if my long winded rant came across as a load of sanctimonious rubbish I, too, apologise! Bad day at the office, not that it's any excuse!!
Scouser
Tour Winner
Awww Im feeling the love
USER1999
Grand Slam Winner
Paff. I hate these love ins.
Scouser
Tour Winner
Awww dont be like that....there is plenty to go around
It'll end in tears when we revisit GPS or not!!
Scouser
Tour Winner
Nah the love is stronger than GPS..... but long drives....thats another story
