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Hitting "into" the group ahead or hitting it "close"...

What happened to all the rule sticklers? Where's @OGputtnfool? 'Cause I'd wager the proper penalties are not being self-imposed by all these ball movers/stealers. Lol
 
Canadan said:
I find both to be aggravating (generously speaking).

My perspective is that you should be a shot away from the people in front of you. If you're rolling shots up near the green while they are still putting, I still think it's a bad look.
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Agreed... not sure what it accomplishes... if the goal is to get them to hurry up, I would think hitting near or into a group would likely not achieve the desired result.
 
Mikey Lawless said:
Years ago, one of the guys I played with frequently was a real hot head. There were a few times, the group behind hit "into" our group. There was someone in this thread that said when that happened, their ball would be chipped into the woods.....Not this feller! He hit it right back at 'em. They'd holler and shake their fist. But one time, a guy gets in his cart and rolls up to my buddy, gets out of the cart and walks briskly up to him, only to take in the full 6'7" at 240 pounds of my buddy, who was glaring at this guy. Then, the guy offers up a meek apology. I'll never forget that.

However, my friend's hot-headedness was one of the reason I gave up golf 20plus years back. He could be a very unpleasant person to play with.
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I would have found different friends to play with rather than quit.
 
PatsFan said:
I would have found different friends to play with rather than quit.
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I hear ya. Looking back, that probably would have been the better choice. But at the time, it just got to the point that is wasn't fun. It was also about the time I got serious about mountain bike racing.
 
I've hit into a group, with a blind tee shot, a couple of times. Both times I was at one of the Mesquite NV courses.
When I found out what I did, I apologised. No further issues.

Normally I won't hit with anyone in front of me that I think is even remotely close enough. It's just not worth taking the chance.

Back in the day when I was bullet proof, if someone hit a ball near me, (10-20 feet) and they could see me, I would pick up their ball. I figured if they wanted their ball back, they would come to me, and ask for it back.

Over the years, I've actually been hit 3 times with balls.
 
i "hit into a group" a couple of years ago. it is a 285 uphill par 4 and my drives are around 230 to 240, tops, now. not sure how but i caught one and it landed on the front of the green. i went and apologized numerous times....the guys were cool and kept saying what a nice drive it was...i still felt crappy about it.
 
We have one hole on my home course that's a blind tee shot over a hill, so if the group ahead is down there hitting their second shot you won't see them. The members who regularly play the course know to park one cart up on the top of the hill within sight of the tee box until we've all hit our second shot and are clear, but people who don't play the course regularly don't think about doing that, so people (accidentally) get hit into once in a while. If we know there's a group close ahead of us, we'll usually drive up to where we can see over the hill before we hit just to make sure.
 
If I hear it land close to me or a member of my 4some it’s too close....anything within a pitch shot distance is too close.

understanding circumstances - it came from a blind shot.

I’ve Been hit more than once. It’s not fun.
 
Last year something in my swing went awry. My normal shot is a fade bordering on a power fade and turns into a slice the harder I swing. Whatever went awry caused my shot type to vary from slice to straight to hook. I didn't know where the ball was going so I didn't get on a course until I had that figured out. I didn't want to take the chance of hitting someone.
 
in my younger more petulant days I hit into a few groups I felt were overly slow in a attempt to hurry them up.

I have since figured out that is a terrible way to go and don’t do it anymore. I try to make sure they are way clear.

I have hit into groups on accident a few times. Blind corners or a cart I didn’t see and thought they had cleared. Hitting into groups is terrible and I would feel really bad if I actually hit someone.
 
chile said:
i did get hit into while waiting to take my second shot on one hole...the group was polite enough to walk up and apologize, saying they didn't think they would reach me.
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That kind of stuff happens. A course I play a lot has a couple blind but driveable par 4’s. I’ve got onto them before thinking the group cleared when it’s been the group in front of them.

Otherwise my philosophy is if I have even a 1% chance of flying into them I won’t do it intentionally. If there’s a small percentage chance that I may roll it close to them, I’ll hit.

The only guarantee is if I hit and they’re in range it’ll be a laser beam right at them. If I wait I’ll block it 225 to the FW to my right and feel rather silly that they weren’t within 100 yards of the ball anyways.
 
Ive accidently hit into people before. Usually gets a no bid deal type reaction.

Had one group who thought I was hitting into them........... I waited till they got to their cart. They stood there. Once they got in to sit down, I went to hit. I chunked it, They yelled, "serves you right asshole!!" haha. I was so confused. Then a guy from the clubhouse came out to talk. Told him what happened and he said, "well, they are way behind so Ill just tell them to play faster and they won't have to worry about your chunked ground balls" :LOL:

in terms of being hit into, as long as there's no chance it could hit me on the fly, then hit away. If it lands back like 20 yards or so, then so be it. Happens down here a lot due to hole layout. ball is not going to hurt you.
 
Last week we had a group hit into us... on a par 3.... where the tee box on the hole in front of us was clearly visible (and occupied, as was the fairway on the hole in front of us).

First time anyone's ever hit into my group on a par 3. We were on the green at the time. Ball came up just short on the fringe.

I ignored it. My buddy casually picked it up and put it in his pocket.

The 2nd guy in the group behind us stepped up to the box and addressed his ball. I stood my ground on the green and stared at him while he hit at us.

He sh@nked it.

We just moved on. Didn't happen again.
 
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Happens once, its an accident.. happens twice, I address it.. happens a 3rd, we have a problem

If im the perp, I make sure to go up and apologize, not pretend like it never happened, and I'm sure to tee off last from then on
 
I do think "hitting into" and "hitting close to" s different. I see it as "hitting into" means that the ball traveled at or past the group, wherein "hitting close to" indicates that the ball landed behind the group but close enough to hear it and get their attention.

The longer I have played golf the more I realize that these things happen, especially on a crowded course. Life goes on. Luckily, I have never been hit with a drive in the air, but I have had some bounce close. I have on occasion hit a ball closer than what I would have intended, and when that happens I am always driving up to apologize and let them know it was unintentional, and more room would be given. I have also been known to buy a round of drinks for a group that is flustered because it's a lot cheaper than bail money in the long run.

And I would not be at all upset about someone hitting my ball into the bushes if I get it close to them. Heck, it would save me the trouble on my next shot.
 
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