60 replies to this topic

[chirotennis]

Had a situation arise today, and want to know who was technically correct...

Pulled up to a 315 yd par 4, Group ahead of us was putting.  I am by no means a huge hitter, about 260-270 off the tee.  I teed up and proceeded to pure one; the ball trickled up to the fringe.  I gave the obligatory wave, didn't think much of it as it is a huge green and it trickled up there.  I see one of the guys get pissed, walk over and hit my ball back about 150 yds...

Needless to say, I was perturbed...

About 5 holes later, another 330 yd par 4, they were putting...  No way I am making it there, caught another good one, about 290-300.  The same guy sees it land, gets in his cart and drives back to my ball and proceeds to hit it back again!
I caught up to him and confronted him about it, he said (paraphrasing of course, with language removed on both sides) no matter what you should never tee of on a par 4 if they are on the green.  Could also be one of the reasons they were playing a TERRIBLE 5 hour round...

I was always taught that if they are on a par 4 on the green and the green is well outside your average to go ahead, at the most you might roll one up there, definitely not put anyone in danger...

Thoughts?

[jnradioactive]

This is WRX, everyone can reach 330yd par 4's. What were you hitting? 5 Wood? Hybrid?

Edited by jnradioactive, 25 January 2013 - 06:32 PM.

[SHIVAN]

A lot of people get caught up in the "It coulda....". Fact is, it didn't make it and you were not hit, so apparently I knew what I was doing.

Now, that being said, I do not hit if I think my best ball could get to +/- 30yds of them.  If I can make it to 30yds to them, by puring whatever club I have in my hand, I wait.  It's my own rule.  Other people are way more liberal with their choices.

[Augster]

You were in the right.  Was the ball landing where they could hear it land?  That might F up their putting strokes.  Nobody's in danger, but it can mess up your stroke all the same when you hear that ball land.

If you were only carrying it, say, 50 yards short of the green (or more) and rolling the rest, that shouldn't distract anybody during their putting.

As a rule, you only wait for the green to clear on par 4's if it's possible you can reach the green with a pured swing.  Even if it's going to roll up there, nobody wants to be putting and have one roll through their legs.  If you KNOW it's possible to reach, don't hit.  The worst thing waiting is going to do is give you space on the course for your second shot.  Waiting gives you a buffer between your group and the group ahead.

That guy was a tool, btw.  I guess he likes touching other guys' balls.

[Fade]

I don't see any correct or right behavior / statements in the first post. If you have any chance to get close to the group in front, wait as a courtesy to them. Remember that the guy on the receiving end has no way of knowing that these were rare, pured shots.

[sui generis]

First time ... oops, sorry! Second time ... you are the Bozo in this story; no excuses.

[chirotennis]

jnradioactive, on 25 January 2013 - 06:32 PM, said:

This is WRX, everyone can reach 330yd par 4's. What were you hitting? 5 Wood? Hybrid?

Never said I reached a 330 yd par 4... Hit less than 300 on that hole with a huge roll out on dead winter grass and hard ground (it was 45* out)...

sui generis, on 25 January 2013 - 10:24 PM, said:

First time ... oops, sorry! Second time ... you are the Bozo in this story; no excuses.

The second time I hit a driver to 290 with the roll on a hole that was 330 to the front edge...  Is 40 yds too close when obviously it's nowhere near the green?  I am asking seriously, no sarcasm intended...  I've never been scared/upset by that.

The first time, I quite possibly should have waited...  Didn't think it could get there, and we were getting some crazy roll outs on the dead grass today...  Like I said, it trickled up to the fringe, probably carried 270...  I gave the wave and sorry, truly didn't think it would get there.


I'm not asking this question as a rant, I truly want to know...  The first one is questionable, I understand, they should be clear from a pured shot.  But the 2nd one?  No chance of getting there, couldn't get close enough to scare them if my life depended on it.

[kgk]

No, 40 yards is not too close, especially when they're on the green.  The guy in front of you is a tool, that's all.  A real golfer would have appluaded your shot.

[SHIVAN]

40 yards is not to close.  If I was 40yds from someone and they hit my ball, the very next thing I would do is call the pro shop and ask for the course manager to come out and chat with them.

[Mountaineer]

I believe you're in the clear my friend. Pretty immature of the player in front of you to hit the ball back on both occasions. I can see if he's upset about the first shot if he's that focused about putting maybe, but no need to have a temper tantrum and hit the ball back... Though to slow up his group by driving 30-40yds away from the green just to hit your ball back on that second occasion is absolutely absurd.

Bottomline: He can be pissed about the 1st one (i guess). He has no reason to be pissed about the 2nd one. I don't believe he can be justified for hitting your ball back. Maybe only if they were in your landing zone.

[Gutz_it]

Your in the clear bro
Unless your flying it there and putting them at risk then there is no harm done
I'd bet if he was behind you and you were waiting for the green to clear he'd be whinging and grumbling

[dspavin]

I would have waited, but the guy was a tool to hit it back

[leaningtiger]

Nobody got hurt. The ball rolled onto the green. Big deal! People need to chill out and not concern themselves with what did not happen. Even if your ball rolled up and hit someone's foot, what harm has been done? If you take golf so seriously that a ball rolling onto the green or landing 40 yards short while you're putting bothers you, get over yourself!

[jnradioactive]

chirotennis, on 25 January 2013 - 10:59 PM, said:

jnradioactive, on 25 January 2013 - 06:32 PM, said:

This is WRX, everyone can reach 330yd par 4's. What were you hitting? 5 Wood? Hybrid?

Never said I reached a 330 yd par 4... Hit less than 300 on that hole with a huge roll out on dead winter grass and hard ground (it was 45* out)...

Guess you don't get jokes...or etiquette

[jnradioactive]

As for those who say a ball rolling onto the green while you're putting is "no big deal"... while not dangerous it is very rude and i would be pissed, very pissed... (and I bet some of the people saying it is no big deal would be pissed too). or those that don't think its rude then i guess think burping, farting and scratching yourself in a restaurant isn't rude either. Which from what I've seen lately may just be the case.

You set the tone with that 1st shot, after that you were already a stupid m'fer in that guys mind , now that same stupid m'fer is getting close again 5 holes later... I bet 40yds wouldn't have seemed that close if it wasn't the same stupid m'fer who rolled one onto the green just 5 holes ago.

See what I'm saying? A little personal responsibility goes a long way, you'd be a better man to just admit your mistakes rather than look for validation from other clods.

[SHIVAN]

Am I misunderstanding fringe?  I do not think the first ball made the green.

[jnradioactive]

SHIVAN, on 26 January 2013 - 09:08 AM, said:

Am I misunderstanding fringe?  I do not think the first ball made the green.

The reference to rolling on the green was in response to the poster who said "Nobody got hurt. The ball rolled onto the green. Big deal!"

The rest of my post was in reference to the original post, do you really thinking rolling balls up on  the fringe while people are putting is not rude?

[SHIVAN]

jnradioactive, on 26 January 2013 - 09:21 AM, said:

SHIVAN, on 26 January 2013 - 09:08 AM, said:

Am I misunderstanding fringe?  I do not think the first ball made the green.

The reference to rolling on the green was in response to the poster who said "Nobody got hurt. The ball rolled onto the green. Big deal!"

The rest of my post was in reference to the original post, do you really thinking rolling balls up on  the fringe while people are putting is not rude?

My thoughts on the matter were clearly articulated in my first response to the thread.

[jaskanski]

jnradioactive, on 26 January 2013 - 09:21 AM, said:

do you really thinking rolling balls up on  the fringe while people are putting is not rude?

Probably not as rude as whacking it 150 yards back down the fairway when it didn't go anywhere near you. YMMV

[jnradioactive]

jaskanski, on 26 January 2013 - 09:28 AM, said:

jnradioactive, on 26 January 2013 - 09:21 AM, said:

do you really thinking rolling balls up on  the fringe while people are putting is not rude?

Probably not as rude as whacking it 150 yards back down the fairway when it didn't go anywhere near you. YMMV

True but if the 1st act never happened the 2nd act wouldn't of happened. Some dogs you poke with a stick and they do nothing some dogs turn and bite you, best not to poke dogs with sticks...

[jaskanski]

jnradioactive, on 26 January 2013 - 09:37 AM, said:

jaskanski, on 26 January 2013 - 09:28 AM, said:

jnradioactive, on 26 January 2013 - 09:21 AM, said:

do you really thinking rolling balls up on  the fringe while people are putting is not rude?

Probably not as rude as whacking it 150 yards back down the fairway when it didn't go anywhere near you. YMMV

True but if the 1st act never happened the 2nd act wouldn't of happened. Some dogs you poke with a stick and they do nothing some dogs turn and bite you, best not to poke dogs with sticks...

The first incident was clearly a massive over-reaction to a benign act. The OP had no intention of causing injury or distress, even if the shot was an example of poor estimation of distance control. A wave as an apology was offered and it was declined in a rather oafish and rude manner.
The second incident (hard to call it an "incident" really) was completely uncalled for by the guy who drove in his buggy to hit a ball 30 yards behind him - nowhere near and not worthy of note for anybody with an ounce of sense.
Clearly, there is a gulf between intention and outcome in this matter and if you are of the opinion that OP is out of order for his part in the incident, you are wrong. Thuggish behaviour from the guys on the green is all too commonplace these days and if they really expected anybody not to tee off on any par 4 while they were putting out, it would certainly amount to a lengthy round of golf (as it did).
Whilst we're on the subject of poking dogs with sticks, you should probably not use a bone either - which clearly you like to do on occasion to prove a point with a fair amount of baiting.

[puttingmatt]

You can expect all kinds of responses. You should not hit into anyone.
Don't care if its rolling on green, The fact that you took out the driver
and not know your distances is no excuse. Congrats on the shot, but
this is how you will remember your day ( When I drove the 315 yd. par four )
You disrespected the group in front by not allowing them to leave the green.

[jnradioactive]

puttingmatt, on 26 January 2013 - 10:13 AM, said:

You can expect all kinds of responses. You should not hit into anyone.
Don't care if its rolling on green, The fact that you took out the driver
and not know your distances is no excuse. Congrats on the shot, but
this is how you will remember your day ( When I drove the 315 yd. par four )
You disrespected the group in front by not allowing them to leave the green.

Precisely

[Jspangler]

Dear lord, we are in for a lot of very long golf rounds in the future. The fact is you rolled a ball to the fringe from 330 yards out and I'm pretty sure you couldn't get it there again if I asked you to. You offered an apology and it was not accepted that's him being rude. I see this a lot on a couple of course I play every idiot thinks he can smash is 350 yards so he stands on the tee box til the green clears then proceeds to hit it 190 yards and so far right he's gonna spend the next 15 minutes digging through the trees. So put it behind you and congrats on the shot, don't let "those" people make you feel bad about another mans childish behavior.

Edited by Jspangler, 26 January 2013 - 03:33 PM.

[chirotennis]

jnradioactive, on 26 January 2013 - 08:44 AM, said:

As for those who say a ball rolling onto the green while you're putting is "no big deal"... while not dangerous it is very rude and i would be pissed, very pissed... (and I bet some of the people saying it is no big deal would be pissed too). or those that don't think its rude then i guess think burping, farting and scratching yourself in a restaurant isn't rude either. Which from what I've seen lately may just be the case.

You set the tone with that 1st shot, after that you were already a stupid m'fer in that guys mind , now that same stupid m'fer is getting close again 5 holes later... I bet 40yds wouldn't have seemed that close if it wasn't the same stupid m'fer who rolled one onto the green just 5 holes ago.

See what I'm saying? A little personal responsibility goes a long way, you'd be a better man to just admit your mistakes rather than look for validation from other clods.

If you look at the response I posted to your first statement, I did say the first one probably should have waited...  Even though, I have played this course before and 99% of the time I am nowhere near that green...  However my real question was about the second one, I didn't think 40 yds off the green was too close...  Not looking for validation, honestly wanted to know what people thought about the second one...  Other than these 2 drives I was in my normal avg driving distance all day around 265...  Honestly thought the first one they were completely safe, and 99% of the time they are...

[jwrogers]

The guy was a dirtbag and he was wrong.  You are a #humblebragger.  End of story.

[QEight]

chirotennis, on 26 January 2013 - 05:23 PM, said:

However my real question was about the second one, I didn't think 40 yds off the green was too close...  

40 yards is not too close. Especially if the had to drive to your ball...

And just for the future, not each response needs a counter response, even on the interweb.

[Hateto3Putt]

If I were the group on the green on a 330 yard par 4, I'd be pissed if you didn't hit your tee shots while we putted. (yeah, that's how much I hate slow play)

I've had balls roll onto the green from the tee.

Know what I tell/told the guys? "Nice Shot".

Your guy on the green is a putz.

[ABgolfer2]

If there's a 99% chance I can't reach the green I hit an iron to keep things moving.

[jnradioactive]

ABgolfer2, on 27 January 2013 - 03:11 PM, said:

If there's a 99% chance I can't reach the green I hit an iron to keep things moving.

Exactly, or 3 Wood, 5 Wood, Hybrid etc...  Percentages for the average golfer for a full wedge are better than a 1/2 wedge anyway,  he knew he could get it close. Im not buying it