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Helping each other locate and look for balls

I have a rare gift, I usually don't see the ball flying over 150yds, however, I am great at finding balls. It must be my cheap nature, as I don't like buying new balls, but I rarely loose a ball other than into the water. I also try to help out my fellow golfers as much as I can.
 
Depends on who I'm playing with, with some I feel like I need to help look more so golf balls don't magically appear where they weren't.

Outside of that, if pace of play is OK, I'll help.
 
I always help look. I figure it helps the pace of play if you have more eyes looking for the ball.
 
Jman said:
Depends on who I'm playing with, with some I feel like I need to help look more so golf balls don't magically appear where they weren't.

Outside of that, if pace of play is OK, I'll help.
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You mean if I hit a white ball in the woods and come out with a white ball, that's wrong? (This really happened)
 
Best way I can help is by being a good tracker off the tee or from the fairway. As a walker I'll find my ball first then help others but I will not go into an exhaustive search, if it's not where I thought it ended up I'm not deploying hope as a strategy.
 
I'll always help except for that rare occasion as you describe. I'll still help for a few holes hoping they take the hint to reciprocate but if they don't, I'm pretty much done after that. If I know where their ball is, I'll certainly point it out for the sake of saving time but no more searches.

I view common courtesy as hand in hand with some degree of appreciation. If a person appreciates the effort even fractionally or even better, helps me out too, I'm all in. If not, then I'm fine to keep my distance. Must be the Bronx in me. ;-)
 
Jman said:
Depends on who I'm playing with, with some I feel like I need to help look more so golf balls don't magically appear where they weren't.

Outside of that, if pace of play is OK, I'll help.
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Push off the tee 50 yards into woods.

Ball magically found right on the edge near the OB stake

#ItsMagic
 
I've gotten to be pretty good at finding lost balls, as most of my tee shots are "off-center" at best. The old guys I play with attribute it to me being young, but I figure its just years of hitting crappy drives that has me trained... that and some corrective lenses.
 
Jman said:
Depends on who I'm playing with, with some I feel like I need to help look more so golf balls don't magically appear where they weren't.

Outside of that, if pace of play is OK, I'll help.
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Haha, so recognizable... Last Saturday a playing partner sliced the ball deep into the woods, we could hear it hitting several trees. We go in to look for it, could find it. I turn around, and suddenly he "found" the ball, beautifully sitting up on a maintenance path with a clear path to the fairway. Probably the cleanest ball I've ever seen, not a scratch on it. Magic.
 
Always help if I'm playing with others. And the ones I'm most likely to play with always help me too.

If I see folks on the adjacent fairway looking, I'll keep my eye open as I walk by. Found more than a few balls for others that way.

rollin said:
...How about you? Are you one to help? Will you go out of your way to help when time allows and/or when practical to do so? Or are you guilty of being one to not be bothered?
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Jman said:
Depends on who I'm playing with, with some I feel like I need to help look more so golf balls don't magically appear where they weren't.

Outside of that, if pace of play is OK, I'll help.
Click to expand...

mikedean441 said:
Push off the tee 50 yards into woods.

Ball magically found right on the edge near the OB stake

#ItsMagic
Click to expand...

Mash said:
Haha, so recognizable... Last Saturday a playing partner sliced the ball deep into the woods, we could hear it hitting several trees. We go in to look for it, could find it. I turn around, and suddenly he "found" the ball, beautifully sitting up on a maintenance path with a clear path to the fairway. Probably the cleanest ball I've ever seen, not a scratch on it. Magic.
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I would imagine in real competition this can be quite problematic. May be even as annoying and unfair as sandbagging. and while I don't play in competitive golf I have seen the magical "found every single ball" person before.

in fact my last round played was with a threesome who were having (probably) their usual friendly casual wager game and one of the guys was that guy who magically found every single ball he lost. Sometimes its so obvious that I find it hard to believe they can be buddies. I can only imagine if he cheats among buddies in a friendly wager than how much he must cheat when it really means something.

But anyway there was one point (mid round) where one of the guys was relatively near me and he stumbled across a Willson in the rough while the "magic ball finder person" was looking for his ball on the other side of the fairway. So he asks me "are you playing a willson?" I said "no but thanks, my ball is right there".
Well the "magic ball finder guy" heard our conversation and soon as I said no, he says out loud - "WELL, I GUESS I LOST THAT WILLSON I WAS PLAYING"

It was just so darn obvious to me that he heard his buddy ask me about a found willson and then he played it off like to make it sound as though he all of a sudden was looking for a willson. After a while of enough of his phony garbage I almost wanted to call him out on it myself at that point. I just have no respect for cheaters and to do it among friends in a friendly wager just makes me think even less of a person. It almost gets insulting imo like as if your basically saying to all your buddies your jerks. When you think people are that stupid to me that's an insult.
 
If I am playing with someone and they are in the woods, I will hit my ball and then go search with them.
 
I always help and if they are taking a long time I suggest they hit while I continue to look and give them any balls I find. I'm horrible at tracking balls so I often ask them to keep an eye on my ball from the tee box so they know from the start I'm blind when it comes to finding mine.
 
I always help and usually find a couple of other balls while looking for the original ball :)
 
I'm pretty good at tracking balls. I mark a spot where they enter the woods, and unless its really deep in leaves we usually locate the ball. I also expect others to help me find mine when I can't find it - at least give a bit of an effort or cursory look. I find that most people are helpful.

Once this year I was playing with a guy who hit his ball into the woods. I knew the brand he played and how he uniquely marked his ball. He "magically" found it on the edge of the woods and was preparing to hit it when I yelled over to him that I found his ball in the fairway. It must have hit a tree and bounced out. Awkward moment!
 
GenErr said:
I'm pretty good at tracking balls. I mark a spot where they enter the woods, and unless its really deep in leaves we usually locate the ball. I also expect others to help me find mine when I can't find it - at least give a bit of an effort or cursory look. I find that most people are helpful.

Once this year I was playing with a guy who hit his ball into the woods. I knew the brand he played and how he uniquely marked his ball. He "magically" found it on the edge of the woods and was preparing to hit it when I yelled over to him that I found his ball in the fairway. It must have hit a tree and bounced out. Awkward moment!
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haha busted!
 
I'll always try to help when I can. I make a point to stand off to the side and watch where playing partner shots are going in case one goes wayward.

I know that appreciate it when partners help me, but if I'm on my third slice of the day by the 9th hole, I'd rather re-tee than have me and the guys tromping through the woods yet again.
 
I've always been good at keeping an eye on everyone's ball and can usually help them find them quickly. One trait I have an issue with is 'golfers' who look away in disgust when they hit a poor one. That's when they should be paying the most attention. Fortunately it's not the norm. Most golfers are watching and begging for a good bounce...me included.
 
Eh...I will help somebody look for their ball for about 45 seconds---which is 30 seconds longer than I spend looking for my own lost balls.

#letsmovealong
 
I play a lot as a single and will always help but when and how depends on the circumstances. I will first go to my ball (unless it is in the middle of the fairway and way past where the other person is looking). If it is clear to play, I will hit and then go help. If it is not clear to play, I'll often leave a towel with my ball (when there are lots of leaves, it is amazing how hard it is to find a ball again) and go help look for their ball.

In order to keep pace of play quick, it's not productive for everyone to immediately look for a wayward ball. The person whose ball is lost should look first while everyone else should take care of business. If then the ball hasn't been located, an extended search party then makes sense for a reasonable time. If the wayward ball has been found when everyone has hit theirs, then people are often well situated to spot the next shot.
 
I usually can keep my eye on a partners ball. Mine on the other hand not so much. This past weekend I lost 2 golf balls which were in the rough. I went to the spot where I saw them land and nothing. Either burried or someone picked them up. Strange either way.
 
I'm more than willing to help people look for balls but if it starts happening every bloody hole it becomes annoying. If it gets to that point I'll still help look but devote far less time.
 
I always help even tho I'm not a great tracker. But I'm a horrible golfer so I will look really quick and if should be findable and is lost somewhere in the rough ill just give myself a free drop (if I'm not playing for anything) and if I knew it went deep in the woods or something I will just take the normal drop
 
SaffaClint said:
I'm more than willing to help people look for balls but if it starts happening every bloody hole it becomes annoying. If it gets to that point I'll still help look but devote far less time.
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I should add that I'm a good tracker so that makes helping find balls easier but it still gets tiring.
 
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