Morally wrong or just plain wrong… or not wrong at all?

[Slab]

I'll guess if you've played for any length of time then its safe to say we’ve all lost balls into water (so none of this holier than thou/look at me up on my pedestal answers required) whether that’s ponds, rivers, streams, lakes, seas, even oceans. I couldn’t even put a rough number to what I’ve lost but certainly three figures
Many (dare I say most?) of us will even have on occasion (even if it was just that one time) deliberately chucked a ball into water (perhaps after it misbehaved on the putting green) I even had a mini Tin-Cup moment once a few years back when I was sure I could make the carry, but three water balls later convinced me I really couldn’t

But has anyone just fired a dozen balls into water for a bit of practice and what is it that would make it so wrong to do it?

Living near the coast I’ve often wanted to take my driver and fire a few scrappy balls off the beach into the water but something always tells me not to but I don’t really know what’s so wrong about it when I think about the countless balls already in there

I get that a ball isn’t going to degrade/break-down anytime soon so that alone tells me it would be morally wrong and probably is the main reason why I haven’t done it. I also know that some ponds (probably the minority) will be drained or ‘fished’ to retrieve lost balls every few years or so... but other than that many water balls will remain a water ball pretty much forever. We all know this but continue to play the game anyway (which brings us back to why none of us are entitled to be morally outraged at this topic)

Clearly there’s no difference in the environmental impact (whatever that impact is) of a ball accidentally dunked into a body of water and one deliberately thrown in after a poor putt or one hit in there with a club for practice

What do you folks think. What would you do if you were walking along a beach or a river bank and saw someone hitting a few practice balls in there?

 

[Hobbit]

I’d probably think “idiot.” But that’s because he only gets to hit them once.

 

[inc0gnito]

Just go do it. Chances are you’ll do it once, get your kicks and never feel the need to do it again.

Only time I’d like to do it is if I was up really high. Like off a high cliff or on top of the big building in Dubai. Just for the thrill of seeing how far that little egg could go.

 

[Imurg]

ProV1 - totally wrong
AD333 Tour - morally wrong
TopFlite - totally justifiable.

 

[KenL]

Pointless and irresponsible.

At my club we have signs up telling people to not fire balls into the sea intentionally at the warm up area.

 

[Slab]

Pointless and irresponsible.

At my club we have signs up telling people to not fire balls into the sea intentionally at the warm up area.

Aside from being novel (fun) the informal practice means it would have a point so cant agree with the first part

its likely I do agree with the second part of being irresponsible but (assuming I don't hit towards humans, boats etc) why is it irresponsible? (or at least, what makes it more irresponsible than hitting one in water during a game?)

 

[Capella]

The ponds on a golfcourse are regularly emptied of golf balls by professional divers. Not only for them to make a profit, but also because they don't degrade and if you just left them in, the pond would look like an IKEA ball bath after a few years. If you just chuck golf balls into the ocean, nobody is going to get them back out. I know a few golf balls won't make a world of difference, but we do have a massive problem with plastic in the oceans as it is and that stuff is starting to show up in our food chain and basically everywhere. I see no reason to contribute to that problem further.

 

[Slab]

The ponds on a golfcourse are regularly emptied of golf balls by professional divers. Not only for them to make a profit, but also because they don't degrade and if you just left them in, the pond would look like an IKEA ball bath after a few years. If you just chuck golf balls into the ocean, nobody is going to get them back out. I know a few golf balls won't make a world of difference, but we do have a massive problem with plastic in the oceans as it is and that stuff is starting to show up in our food chain and basically everywhere. I see no reason to contribute to that problem further.

I get that (and already acknowledged the ponds being cleared thing) but as you say ball recovery doesn't really apply to rivers & open water (and maybe even lakes) but many thousands of us are still out there every weekend sending balls into open water

Just playing devils wotsit, surely we cant just fall back on intent to decide if its ok or not for a ball to be hit into the sea

And if its not ok to put a ball into water intentionally or otherwise, might there still be a defining line, is it ok if its in a comp but not in a social game

I struggle to find the positives about a golf ball going into water but I & thousands will still be on the course this weekend taking that 'risk'

 

[Canary_Yellow]

Post the same question on the green peace forum 😂

 

[PaulyMcK]

Pretty sure you can buy "Fish Food" Golf Balls, also pretty sure that there is a place in Dubai where you hit these type of balls into the Ocean.

EDIT: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ecobioball-Eco-friendly-Golf-Marine-Environments/dp/B00XC9KRRC

 

[shortgame]

Only time I’d like to do it is if I was up really hig

Done it a few times (when young and irresponsible!) whilst playing cliff top courses - deliberately aimed the wrong way to smash spare balls into the sea.

Was it responsible? No
Was it fun? Hell yeah!

 

[Doon frae Troon]

Done it a few times (when young and irresponsible!) whilst playing cliff top courses - deliberately aimed the wrong way to smash spare balls into the sea.

Was it responsible? No
Was it fun? Hell yeah!

Likewise.
I also used to practice on the hard sand of the beach when snow/frost/ice was on the ground.
Really sharpens up your striking.

 

[backwoodsman]

Do it deliberately and its morally wrong. When all is said & done, it's just litter - ie a foreign object dumped it a place it shouldn't be - and you wouldn't just chuck a crisp packet in the sea (would you?)

Do it accidentally while playing and its a whole different argument - which in the end, revolves around whether we should be playing at all. We've already mucked about with tbe environmental balance by creating tbe course. We know we will lose some balls whether we like it or not- and accidental or not, it's still litter. All in pursuit of a fundamentally pointless pastime.
In not more than 2000 words, and using both sides of the paper, justify the existence of golf!

On the other hand, sod it, I'm off down the club & I'll not be happy with less than 40 points ...

 

[Lord Tyrion]

I played for a number of years at a links course on the edge of a beach / water. Never deliberately hit one in the sea, never thought of it, never saw someone do it. Maybe we were all tight or maybe we realised it was litter. Probably a mixture of the two.

 

[Sweep]

I agree with the comments that, in the end and once you have had your fun, it’s just litter. Just because you can’t see the litter doesn’t mean it’s not there, which is what caused the plastic pollution of the ocean in the first place. We are all, or should be, on a mission to stop littering the ocean.
This is entirely different from a ball going in there by accident. One is deliberate, the other is accidental. There is no need to deliberately pollute the ocean. Of course, as with any part of human life and indeed as with human life itself, there is always a trade off with the environment. You could of course save the planet within 70 years just by ensuring all humans stopped reproducing. I am not sure anyone is advocating that.
As for the environmental impact of golf and whether we should be playing at all, I would argue that the environmental benefits of our game outweigh the negative impacts, but that’s a whole new thread.

 

[patricks148]

hit the occasional ball in the sea at Nairn off the tee, usually off the 5th tee. if the tide is out i usually play it if its in someone else will find it later. I also used to practice on the beach a fair bit walking the dogs, but don't take them to Nairn since Baldrick died. lost a few when the tide is close, but again once its out someone else would find it. used to reg pick up lots of good balls of the beach when i did walk along there on a reg basis.

When i was a member at Torvean there was a pond in front of the 17th green with a little island on it. often hit crap balls onto that off the mat in winter. wondered over there a couple of weeks ago and it had been cleared for the new course, and there were hundreds of balls just sitting there, went over the other night in my wellies and the island was gone

 

[robinthehood]

The fact you had to ask means you already know the answer. I guess you were hoping for some kind of consensus that doing it would be ok.

It isn't.

 

[Slab]

I agree with the comments that, in the end and once you have had your fun, it’s just litter. Just because you can’t see the litter doesn’t mean it’s not there, which is what caused the plastic pollution of the ocean in the first place. We are all, or should be, on a mission to stop littering the ocean.
This is entirely different from a ball going in there by accident. One is deliberate, the other is accidental. There is no need to deliberately pollute the ocean. Of course, as with any part of human life and indeed as with human life itself, there is always a trade off with the environment. You could of course save the planet within 70 years just by ensuring all humans stopped reproducing. I am not sure anyone is advocating that.
As for the environmental impact of golf and whether we should be playing at all, I would argue that the environmental benefits of our game outweigh the negative impacts, but that’s a whole new thread.

I'm pretty much of the same view just still niggling me and unclear where the line is; lets say its just a few practice holes solo after work and you lose three balls to water, no-one bats an eye to that litter yet you still deliberately chose to hit practice shots near/over water when there's perfectly good ranges etc

 

[Sharktooth]

If you have seen the amount of crap I have seen in many oceans, a few golf balls is the least of your worries.
Unless you’re Kramer of course.

 

[Slab]

The fact you had to ask means you already know the answer. I guess you were hoping for some kind of consensus that doing it would be ok.

It isn't.

Nah not really, the day a forum changes my morals or behaviour like that is the day I log off the internet

What I do do on the beach is occasionally take a weighted iron just for exercise swinging or use an old iron/wedge and make crude sand balls to smack