Today, my buddy and I were trying out a new course. We got paired with a twosome of other mid 30's guys. In terms of build, I am a former wrestler and quite stocky. Each of our partners had to go 6'2", 230+ at a minimum. Looking at us tee off, we were not exactly the group one would expect to get sand kicked in our faces.

First hole is a relatively short par 4. As we get done putting, I notice a ball about 10 yards short of the green landing. I couldn't see which guy in the group behind us hit it, but it did not come from the tee. Looking over the group, the youngest was probably in the 40's and the oldest needed a cane. I figure: Someone laid up from the trees. No big deal.

The third hole is a longish par 5 with the 4th as a difficult par 3. As one might expect, groups tend to backup. Because of where you had to park carts, when exiting the green on the par 5, you walk back towards the fairway about 15 yards and slightly right of the green. As we were walking to our carts, a ball comes through the trees and hits the path about 5 yards from our carts (and 10 yards from us). The two big guys laughed when I screamed "Jesus F..... Christ" loudly. No fore. No apologies. Nothing.

While waiting on the 4th tee, we told the marshall what happened. He said he would keep an eye on things.

A few holes later, we had to wait on a short par 5 to hit our shots. In no way were we out of position. As we were putting, we saw the group in the fairway. Three balls were within 50 yards of the green. They laid up, no problem. One guy was waiting about 200 yards out. Considering we had already been hit into twice, we were joking about him not waiting until we got into our carts before he hit. After we holed out, we started to walk back to our carts when we realized the jerk was hitting. Three of us were still on the green!!! Frankly, it looked like it was coming right at us when we lost it in the haze and covered up. Luckily, Jerk missed right and rolled into the bunker.

After calling the guy an A-hole, I walked into the bunker and stepped on the ball. Had I had anything but a putter, I would have hit it back toward him.

When we got to our carts he apologized and said "I pushed it a bit, sorry." One of the big guys replied, good thing you didn't hit it straight."

What would you have done?

BTW - on the next tee, we had to wait so we got to watch them try to hole out. Jerk walked into the bunker. Complained about his lie (the bunkers were soaked hard from rain and were basically hardpan) and hit it over the green. How he missed my size 10's footprint over the ball is beyond me?

As luck would have it, the Marshall saw the incident and had a long talking to with them. Although he didn't kick them off the course, he made them wait a group at the turn to separate us.

What more do you want? He didn't hit you, you called him an a******, and he apologized.

This doesn't happen much to me, but when it does I find it better to not confront them and say anything to them. Instead, I just step on the ball and put it deep in the ground hoping they get the message that way. Last thing I want to do is start a yelling match on a peacefull course, so this is the best solution in my mind.

I think you did nothing wrong. They hit into your group more than once and knew what they weren't suppose to and who cares if you didn't get hit. You could of very easily whether he left it out right or not.

Last thing you want to do is get into a shouting match and you go and step on someones ball?
First time; tee it up right where it is, wherever it may have finished, obviously a ball can't tee itself up.
Second time; use your discretion, but be quick about it.

Once is OK, meaning it could be an accident. Twice I'll stop and say somethin to the guy if it looks like he definitely hit into my group and if it happens again then there is no doubt in my mind that it was intentional so I'm gonna do somethin about it. I played twilight at a muni and a group hit into us 4 times, after that I rifled everybody in the groups tee shots back to them with a 3 wood.

The first time, well that can happen. The second time they get the what the hell look. The third time I have just recieved a new ball. I have never had anyone with the balls to try and come get it and they usually get the point. I am as impatient as the next guy, if you are playing slow pick up the pace or let someone play through. If everyone is backed up where do these guys think they are going. Sounds like a good marshall.

I totally argree with Steve, what more could you really ask for...

that would get you hit into on purpose... it's more ignornant to do that to someone's ball than to confront them, and see what their intentions were...

i bet it's a very small percentage of idiots that actually hit into people, knowing they could possibly hit them... i've had people hit into us, but i never thought they were purposely trying to...

Clearly they were in the wrong as the marshall intervened. How much would an apology be worth if they actually hit someone in your group? I've been hit by a ball on the fly and had one flown over my head for no reason at all. Douchebags like that should be kicked off the course....there's no excuse.

Like anyone who has played alot, I have hit into people and been hit into. Almost all of the incidents fell into one of the following categories:
1. Blind or semi-blind shot.
2. We are off the green but not far "enough." Someone fires misses the green and it comes at us. Not good manners, but people make mistakes.
3. Wrong Fairway/Errant Shot. It happpens and I would never get upset over this.
4. Someone hits a bomb drive or 2nd shot on a par 5. The ball usually rolls up to you and isn't really dangerous.

What upset me about the incident was it appeared intentional and it was extremely dangerous.
1. There was nothing "blind" about the shot. We could easily see him and he could easily see us on the green. Indeed, we saw him "waiting" for us.
2. It wasn't like he hit a 250 yard shot that rolled toward the green. It was appeared to be an iron/hybrid and it came into the green out of the air. Had it hit one of us, it could have seriously injured one of us.

So use your words like a big boy. (You are an adult, right?) Excuse me, but you just hit your ball into my group, and I would really appreciate it if you would not do that again. You could have hurt one of us, and then we would have a real problem.

No? I guess the answer your looking for is that since you were all bigger than the group behind you, it was OK to curse and stomp on their balls, and if they wanted to make anything of it, you could have kicked their asses! Be the bigger man.

How I react depends completely on the attitude of the person who has just hit the ball. Everyone has hit a flyer at one point that runs into the group in front. My worst was a 5 wood from some rough that ran a good 70 yards further than it should have and onto the green where they were putting out. The fact that I was screaming fore when I saw it was going into them and apologised as soon as I got to the green meant that they saw the funny side. If someone does this to me that's not a problem, but if someone does what these guys were doing then that is completely different. They should be saying sorry as soon as they are within shouting distance, not only after someone has called them out and once is an accident, more than twice is stupidity.

First ball that gets hit into my group gets tee'd up. It can be pretty funny watching people get to their ball and find that it is sitting on a little white peg in the middle of the fairway. It's a nice way to send a message to be careful.

After that, I just throw it into the bushes. While I've been tempted to hit the ball back, I know that this is just asking for trouble.

I agree. Golf is a game of honor. Have you never hit into someone ever?

F*ckin with someone's ball/lie is stupid and Karma only comes back to bite you in the balls later on in your round.

Last time I hit into someone was on a 350 yard Par 4 in Florida. It was the second hole and I must have hit a sprinkler head or something...I don't hit it 350...not even close. Anyway, I get up to the green and my ball is teed up on the fringe just left of the front of the green. Pin was in the back.

Was that necessary? The ball landed NO where near anyone and obviously someone had to tee it up. Do that enough to the wrong person and just expect balls to come flying at you all the time. Same with stepping on someone's ball.


-mini

I don't understand the vitriol directed at the initial poster. Maybe I have anger management problems as well but seems to me if someone hits a 200 yard approach while you are in plain view and STILL ON THE GREEN, the main issue lies with the person in the fairway, not the people putting out.

Hitting deliberately into the group ahead is one of the most despicable acts that can be performed on a golf course. Yes I've rolled up lucky drives to the group ahead but that is a completely different scenario. Flying a ball into a group in your line of sight is sheer selfishness and utter stupidity.

Thanks. Losing one's temper on the course is never a good idea. Furthermore, physical confrontations on the course are an even worse idea and doing what I did risked starting one.

To be honest, the entire sequence of events was surreal and I didn't handle it as well as I could have.

Holy cow... That got me to wondering about the legal implications (strictly legal, nothing else). I'm sure it's come up in court many times. If one is hitting into you they could probably claim failure to control or something that is close to an assumed risk of playing on a golf course? But if you hit someone else's ball back at them towards the tee they might not have much problem charging you with assault with a deadly weapon? I assume it would get a lot worse if you actually hit someone and likely murder if you killed someone?

I've never heard of teeing it up, but i'll certainly remember that next time it happens. I can't recall a deliberate time being hit into, or hitting into someone. Usually it's off the tee box when someone really catches one, or the course does a terrible job with scorecard yardages. ie my friend and i only hit 300 yards with assistance (ie downhill, downwind, hard fairways, cart paths) so hitting it inside the 100 yard marker on 400 yard holes doesn't happen. I would by no means be offended if my ball was sitting on a tee after making an error of this sort. Just remove the tee and be more careful.

First time....no problem, maybe unintentional. I wave to let them know I noticed and am not happy about it. They usually yell back to apologize or pretend they did not see me.

Second time....my head starts to boil and I yell "what the f**k?"

Third time....I get the Glock out of the bag and fire a couple of rounds on the ground. There is never a fourth time and the group behind me suddenly dissappears....I wonder why :-)

This is what I would like to do but the adult in me says, relax and enjoy the game.

You joke, but here in Texas people do carry guns. Frequently. Legally. Several of the guys I play with have their CHL, and use it. I guess that's where my attitude is different. You start launching golf balls at someone, or shouting things, you're liable to start some serious trouble!

I hit into people quite regularly. I find it funny that some of you get so upset. If I have a difficult shot off the tee or into a green I wait until someone is standing exactly where I want my ball to land and fire it right at them! I must say that my scores have improved dramatically since implementing this technique. I also use my playing partners as intermediate targets while they tee off from the closer tees.

The apology should not have been regarding the push, the apology should have been, "Sorry, I should have waited for you guys to finish your hole and walk off the green. I'll be a little more patient next time."

Put it on a tee....that's pretty much the 'industry standard' for sending a message.

Teeing it up, as far as I'm concerned, is the golfer's way of saying "this is the last time you're going to do this without consequence, and I want to make sure you know". Granted, I don't disagree with the stepping-on of the ball...it's just that not everyone will recognize or notice that it was done intentionally...as did the guy you dealt with. If you tee it up, that's a pretty obvious message.

What I don't understand is you're going to wait anyways....you might as well let the group ahead of you finish out. I once hit a 3 wood 265 into a green that I thought I had NO chance in reaching.... fortunately the ball rolled into the guys leg no through the air. Good thing too, he left me a 10 footer for eagle..lol

Seriously though, I've been hit once , no warning, nothing. Felt like I was shot, and hit me in the upper right shoulder on the back. Obviously I went to my knees, and the guy appologized, but it completely ruined my day.

I would rather wait 2 extra minutes on the tee and then hit right away on my second shot than to wait both spots. Atleast I can play a hole at a time.

Personally the last time in happened that a ball went past me, my father in law, and fiancee... I went to where the ball was and flipped it into the hazard. I wanted to fire it back, but who knows what happens then...

In line with this topic, is the 4 some that looks for balls forever in the bush while you wait on the tee. Hey go look, wave the group ahead and away you go. I'm by no means the best golfer in the world, but nothing worse than a 4 some with a combined cap of 20 following a 4 some combined to 80... can be really frustrating, I know they are trying and having fun great, but the starters should pace the tee times out a little more. I know golf courses would loose money in a sense, but why not 15 minutes tee time intervals??? Might speed up play with less waiting..

When was the last time you played on a weekend in less than 5 hours.... seriously..... I play with a guy at my club (7 cap) we walk, play 18 in less than 3 hours almost ALL the time. He bugs me because he says I'm slow....How a 4 some in a cart takes 5 hours is beyond me.....

Thanks for letting me rant!!

It happens.... If you're going to freak and retaliate on the first time it happens then well... golf probably isn't the game for you... Golf is a game of patience, and is very mental... Focus on your game not something that happened unintentionally...

Last time I hit into a group ahead of me was on a long par 3, came around the corner, saw no balls on the green, no carts (the cart path went behind some bushes), launched a 1 iron to about 10 ft from the hole, and then I see some guys walking out from behind the bushes.

Things happen, if its the first time then most likely its not intentional.. I mean heck if you're going to be an a** like that and do it once I'm sure you will continue to do it.

If it keeps happening then action should be taken.

But be mature about it... seriously... Teeing it up is one thing, it just signals them to be careful, but messing with their lie, or throwing it into a hazard, Grow Up.

What would your boss, or another professional think of you if they saw you doing that? It's ridiculous. Do you really think that is a good way to handle things... Adults act like that and wonder where their kids learn that type of behavior from...

Hey I understand where your coming from, but until your get hit, you'll never know the feeling. Yes, it's not the most adult way to handle anything, but I didn't scream and yell, I didn't make a scene, and yes it was the wrong thing to do. I'll agree 100% but at the time, it was the best I could do, since I didn't want to get into a nice "discussion on why you've hit into, and over us numerous time...". It's a discussion you'll never come to an agreement on..never. Most people that hit into groups multiple times, don't really care how you feel, just themselves... I'm stereotyping, and very well could be wrong, but the last time that happened, we let them through since he was in a big hurry, they held us up for 4 holes, and we all watched in amazement as he hit two chunked bunker shots on 18, and walked away without raking.. nice guy

But I'll divert an agree with you, but how would you deal with it ????

take out your sharpie and write or draw a little message on their ball, hehe

lol ........

Like "hi stop hitting at me..."

or

"I'm ment for holes not humans..."

Funny thought though...

OK, we've all hit into people on accident. The best response I got....

My buddy and I hit it above average - I can poke it 280 on a center hit drive and he can go about 300. This summer we were playing on a cow pasture of a course. Got to the 7th hole, a par 4 330yrds. The group ahead of us was on the green. The fairway was hard as a rock and our balls must have rolled 30+ yards. My ball ended up about 15 yards short of the green and his about 5 yards short. Yes not exactly "hitting into" the group but not what you want to be demonstrating. As we approached our balls a guy from the group ahead started walking towards us from the next tee box. I'm thinking "oh no, we pissed him off." With this great look on his face he says, "Those were AWESOME drives!" The guy was genuinely impressed. We said thanks and wished him a good day.

Did you read his post... it was the 3rd time... 3 strikes your out right. They were older he says, so I would bet money they know not to hit until the group is off the green or they are out of range. People just think this isn't a big deal, and it should be. What if you kill someone by striking them in the head? I think stepping on the ball is not a big deal, albeit immature, it is a message just like talking to them, and if nothing is said then they may never learn.

I like the wrestler description!!!!