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How many people actually go into the woods to look for their lost balls?

I tend to make several visits into the woods during my rounds, either to look for my ball, or someone else's. Invariably I leave with two or three extra balls each trip, that were not the "lost" one. Usually they're pretty easy to spot, which makes me wonder how hard people look for balls hit into the woods.

Last night, without even trying, or taking extra time, my golfing buddy and I found six golf balls, in nine holes, while searching for lost balls! Not all of them were great, but there were probably four keepers!

I also find that the pricier the golf course, the more balls left in the woods.

Personally I'm OK with this, because I know when I retire and am on a fixed income, I won't have to worry about buying golf balls!

Rant - I hate following people who waste time searching for balls. In my humble opinion, if you can't find the thing after a minute, consider it lost, and reach in your pocket for another. The same goes for the folks with ball retrievers who spend 10 minutes fishing balls out of a pond. They should do that, if allowed by the club, after their round is over! But that's another topic in itself! Rant done.

I will usually walk along the edge of the woods to try and find my ball, don't really venture into the woods unless I see a ball. Even without trying too hard I can usually come up with a couple of balls to throw in the shag bag.

Yeah, unless I'm looking for my own or helping one of my playing partners look for theirs I dont purposly venture into the woods but a will walk along the edge and if i spot one, i'll grab it

Mine are usually so far into the woods that looking for them is a lost cause unto itself.

I did up until I ran across three Cottonmouths the other day...Now, it's 'take a drop' until winter...

Are you kidding? It's an integral part of the game! But <itch itch> be careful in the <scratch scratch> woods. You might <itch itch> want to wear long pants and long <scratch scratch> sleeves! Got any Calamine lotion on ya?

I will if it is a slow day during the week and no one is behind me. If I hit into the woods I will give a quick maybe 1-2 minute look if the course is busy, if I do not find the ball in that 1-2 minutes I will take a drop. I think the worse hold-up is people taking 15-20 minutes to look for a ball, I have seen that at a couple course's that I use to play (note I said use to play).

My eyes get as big as saucers when someone in my foursome hits into the woods. It does seem that the more expensive courses have more balls that are easy to find. Last fall we were playing, a nice course, and one guy was struggling, so two of us went into this "brush" that lines the left side of this fairway. In about a minute and a half, we EACH picked up 18-20 balls. About half of them were keepers, so it was worth the minute.

If I'm playing back home, in Ohio (or Indiana with my brother-in-law) I will not go into the woods. If I even see poison Ivy, I'll get it. Colorado is dry enough that it isn't a concern.

Pass that lotion, would ya? I feel itchy.

I usually am good for a courtesy glance. I will actually spend more time looking for my partners ball then mine. If there is no one behind me, and there usually isn't, I play very early in the A.M., I might spend a couple of minutes looking. If I find some Nikes, my neighbor loves those, so I toss them into his front yard when I get home. I have another neighbor who is into Slazangers and Pinnacles(I don't know why, maybe he's masochistic) so when I find those rocks, I toss them into his yard. I usually keep the Pro V1's I find. I used to sell them on e-bay, but after giving them an honest couple of rounds, now I keep them.

If no one's behind me I'll go into the woods and look for them myself whether I hit it in there or not. I think I've bought a grand total of three sleeves of golf balls in the last 5 years, and those were a Pro V1s, V1xs, and NXTs cause I wanted to try them all out when they were fairly new.

I usually visit the water or woods a couple of times per round with my own shots. I never scout for balls unless I'm also looking for my own or one of my partners. I have an 18' retriever that I carry and I usually leave with more balls than I started with. I never spend more than a minute looking for mine or any if there's someone behind me. Came up with 4 ProV1s and a couple of Pinnacles yesterday. The last 3 years I've seen a marked improvment in the quality of lost balls. It used to be mostly Top Flights.

guys I play with find good premium balls and they keep them. I find only top-flites as a rule, so such is life. lol.

I play with a guy who's bag is full of balls, his cart is chucked full of balls, and he's still looking for balls every chance he gets. He doesn't sell them, just saves them, it gets annoying,lol

stagday

Keith - lucky neighbors!

I only look for mine or whoever´s playing with me, and try to make it short if there is someone following...

I guess here in Portugal people tend to look carefully for theirs, and other´s, cause I dont find too many, I have found about 3 dozens in less then 5 months playing, and they look quite beaten...

But the other day we where playing behind some turists that left behind even their Ts...

When I was down in K.C. this spring there was no one on the course, so I did some hunting. During one round I came away with 15 Prov1/1x, 5 Callaway HX Tours and 2 Nike Ones. It seems like the quality of the balls is related to the greens fee. Higher greens fee = more premium balls. I find most balls when looking for a ball someone in my group has hit in the woods or water. I will walk by a few places on my home course that tend to attract balls but don't usually go out of my way to look for them.