Chipping green behavior

[TheCityGame]

I was practicing chipping at a course the other day. The chipping green is right next to the first tee. I had 10 or so of my own balls, and I was the only one at the green.

 

 

Guy comes up with a half (small) bucket of range balls, maybe 15. I start hitting chips to the back left pin from over the green (just a corner of the green). The guy proceeds to chip balls the entire length of the green up the opposite side, not really near me.

 

Then, after chipping, he walks to the first tee, and tees off with his buddies. Left every one of the range balls where he hit it.

 

Do you think that's weird?

 

This isn't a chipping green like you find at some courses where it's just covered with range balls and you do what you want. It was devoid of balls, except for mine.

 

And, it was clear my balls weren't range balls. Different color.

 

Seemed kind of "Word not allowed holish" to me, but maybe he's thinking, "hey, I'm leaving the guy some balls". But, really it felt like, "OK, I'm good. Someone else will take care of that."

[teejaywhy]

My course usually has range balls on the chipping green so it doesn't seem strange to me. But I guess different clubs may have different cultures.

[Mr. Bean]

[quote name='teejaywhy' timestamp='1427912568' post='11262733']
My course usually has range balls on the chipping green so it doesn't seem strange to me. But I guess different clubs may have different cultures.
[/quote]

Around here it is more or less everywhere forbidden to use range balls on practice greens, for very obvious reasons.

As for OP, I would have told the guy 'Hey, please come back and tidy up the green, I am still practicing here!'

[sheldonjhacker]

Next time just say..."Hey selfish, entitled D-bag, get some self-awareness and pick up your golf balls!"

[bk52]

I hear you and I also would have been mildly irritated. From my experience, many chipping greens are littered with range balls and my expectation is if I want a clean green, I have to clean it myself. In long run you are probably lucky. Even though you had the range balls to clean up, at least he eventually left you alone.

[f22beaver]

That would be pretty usual where I do my practicing. I'd say it's fairly condoned by the pro as he usually is out there giving his lessons with the range balls. Now, having said that, it was probably a bit of a dick move that he just left them there where he hit them. He could have at least tried to corral them together into a bunch for the next person coming along.

[tobaccoroad]

If it is really a problem, I would take the 30 seconds or so to pick up 15 range balls and put the basket on the side.
Hopefully the guy that left them would see you do this and realize his mistake.

Not sure that calling people out vocally is ever a good answer unless it is a safety issue.

[HighSpeedScene]

[quote name='tobaccoroad' timestamp='1427979255' post='11267689']
If it is really a problem, I would take the 30 seconds or so to pick up 15 range balls and put the basket on the side.
Hopefully the guy that left them would see you do this and realize his mistake.

Not sure that calling people out vocally is ever a good answer unless it is a safety issue.
[/quote]

This, x100.

People spend more time complaining than it would take to resolve the issue (not directed at you OP). People can obviously do whatever they want, its my decision how much I let it affect me.

[TheCityGame]

I basically just started knocking them off the green, looking in his direction until I caught his eye.

Hardly enough to start a thing over, but at least I figure he thought to himself, "should I have cleaned those up?"

[sigmapete1]

I would have picked them up and hit them at the range.

[llewol007]

There is a semi private club that has the same ongoings. Just normal practice there. Its not uncommon for people to do that. That is why I bring my own shag bag full of yellow golf balls to signify which is mine versus the typical white range balls. Yes he should have focused on holes that did not interfere with you but what are you gonna do.

[dplasters]

What? No, those are now free range balls for me..... in the shag bag you go for the next range session.

[VNutz]

Sounds like a D-Bag move to me. A chipping green near a first tee is a bit different than a chipping green next to a driving range. Leaving your mess for somebody else to clean up is never a good move IMO.

[sigmapete1]

So does this mean that when I scavenge the chipping green for abandoned range balls because I just want to hit a few shots and not an entire bucket, I am actually doing a service rather than being a cheapskate?

You're welcome everyone.

[HoffTTM]

I have seen some clubs with a sort of v shaped broom thing you can use to clear the chipping green of range balls quickly, however I would expect to find it clear on arrival and clear it myself after finishing

[mshills]

I've seen both, and it's usually pretty clear. If there aren't already some balls on and around the chipping green, then IMO, it's mildly rude (but really not that big of a deal) to leave your range balls there. That said, probably two-thirds of the chipping greens that I've seen in my lifetime already have range balls there, so I wouldn't think twice about leaving another dozen balls behind.

Far more common rude behavior around chipping greens, again IMO:
[list]
[*]Use of a putting green clearly labeled "No Chipping" to practice chipping or worse, [i][b]pitching[/b][/i].
[*]Dominating an entire area of the practice green and practicing in such a way that renders multiple targets useless for anyone else.
[*]Related to the above, if I'm using one target and have four or five balls there with four or five more to come, please select another target so that we don't mix up our balls.
[/list]

[teejaywhy]

I guess I see it differently. Instead of seeing a dick, I see a nice guy who paid for range balls and left them for others to use.

So much manufactured outrage on this forum.

[2bGood]

[quote name='HighSpeedScene' timestamp='1427980337' post='11267807']
[quote name='tobaccoroad' timestamp='1427979255' post='11267689']
If it is really a problem, I would take the 30 seconds or so to pick up 15 range balls and put the basket on the side.
Hopefully the guy that left them would see you do this and realize his mistake.

Not sure that calling people out vocally is ever a good answer unless it is a safety issue.
[/quote]

This, x100.

People spend more time complaining than it would take to resolve the issue (not directed at you OP). People can obviously do whatever they want, its my decision how much I let it affect me.
[/quote]

Yes - this....


I have practiced/played all over the place and have found that there is allot of different local practices when it come it little things like this. At my club we have high end balls left out at the chipping green for use only at the chipping green. You collect the balls off the green, hit them and leave them on the green when done. I have also been to places where you bring your own balls to chip, or use range balls an collect them.

When a stranger comes to my club and they don't follow what we do here, I am just polite and let them know how it works at our club. When I am the stranger I tend to ask what the local practice is. No big deal.

[tmanker]

Very normal to me. I don'tsee his any different than me hitting range balls and leaving them. This is typical practice at the nicer courses I play.

[bazinky]

Poor chipping green behavior is one of my pet peeves. At the course I used to frequent near my house, I used to frequently see guys show up with a full bag of shag balls and proceed to cover the green with their shots, despite the fact that there are several other golfers trying to practice at the same time.

Some people seem unable to realize that they are not the only ones at the facility.

Thankfully, I've moved on to a private club where I have yet to encounter this behavior.