Lost ball "sportsmanship"

[Smiffy]

If I am playing in a "proper" competition I will look for their ball as if it were my own. Unless it's about the 5th or 6th time that they've done it, in which case the novelty has begun to wear off and I'll just have a passing, casual glance.

 

[wolfie]

If I am playing in a "proper" competition I will look for their ball as if it were my own. Unless it's about the 5th or 6th time that they've done it, in which case the novelty has begun to wear off and I'll just have a passing, casual glance.

I will always look for their ball as if it were my own, at the end of the day if I hit it into the long stuff I would want him to do the same for me. Its the proper thing to do.

 

[BTatHome]

Not when your playing Matchplay

 

[HawkeyeMS]

Wrong that you even asked the question.

You look for it as if it was your own ball.

Is the right answer.

A friend of mine's Dad was playing a match once against a guy from the club who he had never played with but knew many people who had and didn't want to play with him again (which says a lot). Anyway, my mate's Dad hit his ball into the trees and they both went to look for it. Once they had got to what my mates Dad thought was 5 minutes he told the guy to stop looking.

What happened next is the single most shocking bit of sportsmanship I have ever heard in any sport.

The fella, bends down and picks ip my mates Dad's "lost" ball and gives it back to him as he'd already found it but didn't say anything.

Needless to say, my mates Dad walked off the course there and then.

 

[Imurg]

Is the right answer.

A friend of mine's Dad was playing a match once against a guy from the club who he had never played with but knew many people who had and didn't want to play with him again (which says a lot). Anyway, my mate's Dad hit his ball into the trees and they both went to look for it. Once they had got to what my mates Dad thought was 5 minutes he told the guy to stop looking.

What happened next is the single most shocking bit of sportsmanship I have ever heard in any sport.

The fella, bends down and picks ip my mates Dad's "lost" ball and gives it back to him as he'd already found it but didn't say anything.

Needless to say, my mates Dad walked off the course there and then.

To my mind that's cheating and deserves a DQ.
The ball WAS found, the git just decided to not tell your Dad's mate so.
I may have been inclined to give him a 9 iron without Vaseline...........

 

[Richardb1012302]

Act blind

 

[User20205]

If I am playing in a "proper" competition I will look for their ball as if it were my own. Unless it's about the 5th or 6th time that they've done it, in which case the novelty has begun to wear off and I'll just have a passing, casual glance.

I played 36 holes at Crowborough last summer on a society day. The novelty of looking for other peoples balls in the heather had begun to wear off on the second 18!!!

 

[DCB]

Okay, lets put a slightly different slant on it.

It's matchplay as per OP. It's a par3 and your opponent plays one short and wide of the green and it drops into the thicher stuff 5yds off the fairway. He plays a provisional which he puts on the green.

What do you do with his original ball in the rough ? he says not to worry about it as he's on the green with his provisional.

What do you do next ?

 

[StrangelyBrown]

What do you do next ?

I look for it

 

[User20205]

Okay, lets put a slightly different slant on it.

It's matchplay as per OP. It's a par3 and your opponent plays one short and wide of the green and it drops into the thicher stuff 5yds off the fairway. He plays a provisional which he puts on the green.

What do you do with his original ball in the rough ? he says not to worry about it as he's on the green with his provisional.

What do you do next ?

It depends. Where I am, If I'm giving any shots away. If I'm on the green and not giving any shots then no if he doesn't want to. If I've missed the green and he's getting a shot, I would have to insist, it would only be polite of me

 

[MashieNiblick]

As the context was matchplay I thought this was going to be a thread about how hard you'd look for it if it was in the deep doo-doo and the prov was sitting pretty.

My approach, in a match is to look for it as hard as the guy who lost it. If he is clearly not too bothered and gives the impression he'd rather not find it I won't spend ages looking after he has gone on to his provisional.

On the other hand if the provisional is also lost or is in potentially worse shape, and he's keen to find the first one, I'll search as hard as he his.

Only proviso is that if there's a gorse thicket, looking in there is his responsibility. I'll check the bluebells.

 

[DCB]

So, what's wrong with having a good root about in the rough hoping to find his ball ?

 

[jgozza]

Will always look for it and hope to find it for them, but hoping they take a few shots trying to get it out from the woods or long stuff ;o)

 

[Oddsocks]

On the first tee, it's a clean slate and I will look for an opponents balls as if it were my own. But as the round progresses I will look with the same effort they look for others, if their trying then likewise, but if it's an have arsed effort on their behalf I repay the favour when it's their turn.

In our traveling group we have one guy who is always in the bundu/lumber/cabbage and your cOnstantly looking for he's ball, yet when you get a stay one away he just walks off. I now do not look for he's balls, Because it's the same way he treats others within the group, it grinds me to be like this, but if there is 4 people looking for he's ball on 90% of the holes, why shouldn't he repay the same manors.

Now matchplay, I'm in that cabbage like a jack Russell down a rabbit hole, the deeper the better, but I want it found...... Full 5 min allowance too

 

[HawkeyeMS]

Okay, lets put a slightly different slant on it.

It's matchplay as per OP. It's a par3 and your opponent plays one short and wide of the green and it drops into the thicher stuff 5yds off the fairway. He plays a provisional which he puts on the green.

What do you do with his original ball in the rough ? he says not to worry about it as he's on the green with his provisional.

What do you do next ?

If he declared the 2nd ball a provisional then you could still look for and find his original within 5 minutes and he would be obliged to identify it and it then becomes the ball in play. He doesn't have to look for it but he can't declare it lost. A ball only becomes lost if certain conditions are met.

Of course, the question is, is it unsporting behaviour to go and look for his ball even though he doesn't want to?

 

[DCB]

Of course, the question is, is it unsporting behaviour to go and look for his ball even though he doesn't want to?​

You are playing a match against this person. Do you want to make it easy for him and let him off the hook when he's in trouble ?

If it's within the rules it's not unsporting behaviour.

 

[Mungoscorner]

I cant understand why some are suggesting they'd take a different approach if it were a matchplay game ? Golf is all about fairness and honesty in my oppinion.When i played county scratch league matches at my last club i would always try and be as helpfull and courteous as possible,and if it were a home match and my opponent was unfamiliar with the course i'd always offer advice or loan them a course planner.
At the end of the day if i win a match,i'd like to think i did so by playing better than my opponent,and not because i'd given them bum info or been uninterested in where there ball had landed in the rough.

 

[HawkeyeMS]

You are playing a match against this person. Do you want to make it easy for him and let him off the hook when he's in trouble ?

If it's within the rules it's not unsporting behaviour.

I agree, personally I don't think you looking for it is any worse than him not looking for it. If he didn't want to look he shouldn't have declared a provisional.

 

[wull]

Stand on it and walk away.

:rofl:

i had an incident last year in a team match @ bridge of allan golf club.i think it was the 7th hole which is a downhill par 4 @ roughly 300 yrds.it's blind and to the left of the green is a dyke which is OB and over the dyke is thick tree's.

my first ball went left and because its a 9 holer and this was the 2nd time round we thought it was borderline out,so i hit a provisional and the same again...it went left but not as bad.we searched for a while close to the wall before i finally found my 1st ball a bit closer to the green,it was nearer than we thought.now i then thought "my 2nd ball must be even closer to the green" and i headed over to get it along with my clubs.....

at this point my opponent walked down towards where my 1st ball was and when i collected my 2nd ball and clubs he was already on his way over to his ball which was to the right of the green.

i never found my 1st ball again,i searched and searched for ages,he never came back over.i shouted to him and asked if he had seen it but he said he hadn't and that he took my word for it that it was found....hhhmmmmmmm!!!

on the previous hole i was dormie 4 up and i lost that hole and the current one we were on.i then missed a short putt to win on the 8th hole and the same on the 9th.i was fuming.......

lesson learnt though,in the future i will drop my hat or glove so i will never lose a found ball again.

 

[bladeplayer]

On the first tee, it's a clean slate and I will look for an opponents balls as if it were my own. But as the round progresses I will look with the same effort they look for others, if their trying then likewise, but if it's an have arsed effort on their behalf I repay the favour when it's their turn.

As OS says alot depends on the tone of the game realy , early doors id look as if it were my own & expect the same in return , if he was been a bit of a tit or there were some crappy nonscence going on through the round , i wouldnt even walk over let alone look , my opinion , lets have a friendly & fair match in which the best will win , if thats not what ya want look for your own ball & keep stum .. im easy either way ..