golfrewind.com

Ok, this might take a sec - bear with me.

So this morning, I go to the course I regularly play at as I'm working from home this week and can squeeze in 9 holes before work. I just got a shipment of Nike Tour Accuracy TW balls for the fall yesterday, and wanted to try them out.

So I go out, and it's a drizzly morning. There's nobody else but me in sight when I tee off. I play one ball the first hole. Second hole, poor first shot, hit another. Third hole, one ball off the tee, 3 or 4 from the same spot in the fairway to gauge distances. Pick up, on to 4, where I hit 2 balls, pick one up and putt one out. 5th hole I hit 2 balls. 6th just one. 7th 2 off the tee, a couple from the fairway.

You get the picture.

Now, when I was on 3 green, I see two people walking towards the first green. As I'm heading to 8 green, I see two guys coming up the third fairway. So there are people behind me, but there was never anyone on the same hole as me. In fact, from 6 green you can see all the way back to the 4th green - nobody. I mean NOBODY behind me. There are others on the course, but nobody within at least 2 full holes of me.

So I hit two balls off 9 tee and both into the green. The first one is over and leaves me a long downhill putt from the fringe, the second is 3 feet. So I go to the ball that was on the fringe and putt it - way short. So I take the ball back to it's original spot and putt it again. Way short again. Putt it a third time...

"HOW MANY BALLS ARE YOU GONNA HIT?"

I look around, and realize it's coming from an older guy serving as start/marshall, who's standing up at the clubhouse which overlooks the 9th green, about 150 yards away.

I look behind me. NOBODY. Not a single golfer in sight. So I ignore the grumpy old and putt out.

So I'm walking up to the clubhouse and I say to him, "What difference does it make?"

Him: "How many holes did you pay for?"

Me: "9. What difference does it make how many balls I play?"

Him: "You know you can't do that."

Me: "Really, where does it say that?" (The rules board is on the wall right next to us, and I know - and I assume he does, too - that it doesn't say you can't play more than one ball)

Him: "Well, it's not written anywhere."

Me: "Exactly, thank you very much."

Him: "Well, it's not written there, but you know you can't do that."

Me: "I was practicing the putt I had just missed."

Him: (pointing at the practice green) "That's what that is for."

At this point his says, "What do you have to have an attitude for?" and the situation deteriorates from there, ending with me asking him again where the rule is that I can't hit two balls, etc. etc.

Here's my question: There was NOOOOOOOOOOOBODY anywhere within sight of me - not even within sight!!! Of COURSE I'm not going to sit there hitting 2 balls off every tee, a couple out of the fairway, etc., if there's anybody else around. But the course was clear for two full holes behind me! As in, I'm putting on 9 green, and 8 tee is still empty, which is a good 700, 800 yards away. I mean, it's me and me out there.

Is this that completely unheard of? Has nobody ever played a practice round on an empty golf course and played several balls per hole?

Of course I don't play more than one ball and practice that putt I missed if there are other people out there, but the course was EMPTY...

Was I wrong to do what I did? I do wish I hadn't addressed it the way I did, but I felt I was getting from this guy for no reason. He could have just as easily waited until I got to the clubhouse and addressed it politely if he had a problem with what I did. But to yell at me from the clubhouse when there's not a soul in sight?

Any thoughts?

If you didn't play there a lot, I would say find another place... the guy sounds like he has a chip on his shoulder. Everyone who is serious about the game who is in a practice round practices putts from several angles and twice if they miss one when they just hitting one ball to begin. If you mess up a shot on the fairway or the tee, and you want to try another angle then you try it again.
Guy just woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

I do this all the time when there is no one behind me, and I'm sure many of the Forum members do too.

Starters and Marshalls need to be reminded that we're all out there to have fun and "hit the ball." As long as we're not holding anyone up, or messing up the course, they should leave everyone alone.

Its ironic that marshall's are never around when there's a slow group holding everyone up, or when a golfer is messing up the course (not fixing ball marks, not replacing divots, not raking traps, etc...)

Old farts can get all in a tizzy over nothing. As long as you weren't holding up others, I don't see anything wrong with what you did. We've all attempted a putt a second or third time on a green. And if that old guy tells the truth, I'll bet he's done it too. He's probably played more than one ball on a hole before, too. Don't let it bother you.

That's what I was thinking!

I know! I always replace my divots, and I fix sometimes half a dozen pitch marks on any green. In fact, I was fixing someone else's when this guy yelled at me.

No, you were fine - if there's nobody on the course and I'm playing alone and practicing, I'll hit more than 1 ball here and there just as you did. I don't think there's anything wrong there. The old guy was just being obstinate - I wouldn't worry about him. I doubt he has any authority anyway. if I was in your position, I would've walked up to him afterward and just said you were hittin' a few practice balls and wasn't holding anybody up and you weren't abusing the course - no harm done so don't break my stones. You can say that nicely and move on.

Like I said, I do wish I had handled it a bit better, but it's aggrivating when someone yells at you from 150 yards instead of starting the "discussion" off on the right foot. As I said, I would have preferred he just wait until I got up there and addressed it to me somewhere along the lines of "You know, I normally don't like to see people playing multiple balls" or something of the like. I would definitely have reacted more politely than I did.

I don't see an issue with what you did.

You should have stormed over, threw down your clubs and asked, "You talking to me?" "I know you're not talking to me!" "That's it old man, you're going down!"

What was I thinking?

"Its ironic that marshall's are never around when there's a slow group holding everyone up, or when a golfer is messing up the course (not fixing ball marks, not replacing divots, not raking traps, etc...)"

Or dragging their feet on the green and leaving spike marks all over the place.

I must say you are 100% ok with what you are doing. Next time you find your ball on a simalar part of the green and similar pin position you would have learned. Sometimes you need to get a feel for the greens, nobody was behind you therefor you were not holding people up or abusing the course. Sometimes at golf courses you do get a couple grumpy people, the main thing is dont let them make you grumpy, you just stay calm and easy and thet them worry about being grumpy!

I think that what you did was fine. If you remember, I had an old guy yell at me for hitting multiple balls on one hole, on an empty course, in near darkness. He wasn't even a marshall, he was a member who lived on the course. I let him have it a little bit, just like you did with the marshall. Sometimes these people forget that it's a golf course for crying out loud. They're meant to be played on, and if you're not damaging it, or disturbing anyone else's round, then what's the problem already. Don't let it get you too heated up. I don't think you did anything wrong.

I've often done that when the course is empty and, like you, I always would replace more divots/repair more ball marks than I made. I must say, you probably handled it better than I would have...like bnelson0308 said, if he's a marshall why isn't he out on the course? I probably would've been a smart- and said, "If you're so concerned about it, why weren't you on my for doing the same thing on the other 8 holes, like a marshall's supposed to?", and walked off. Either that or I would've pointed out that your "transgression" was no worse than his lack of diplomacy. You handled it at least as well as I would've.

Shade

If I was feeling especially devilish I would've have ignored him as if he didn't exist. Guys like that hate that sort of thing. You didn't do anything wrong.