Better Players "Rolling the Ball in the Fairway". What's the Point?

[502 to Right]

[quote name='HnyBgrDontCare' timestamp='1381551301' post='7990511']
Why do you care about what someone else is doing? Why not worry about your own game? If he's just getting out for a few hours to enjoy the day, who cares what he does? Seriously, he paid for the round, there's no bets / tourneys who cares? It's ALL practice until its tournament day.
[/quote]

Why do you care that we care?

[Guia]

I don't care what he cares about what you care. Does anyone really care?

[33 Handicap]

Wow.Golfers are crazy bunch. You guys are arguing about rolling a ball. If they want to roll the ball who cares as long as you aren't betting them or playing a tournament against them...does it matter? Why are you concerned about their handicap?

[HighSpeedScene]

[quote name='HnyBgrDontCare' timestamp='1381551301' post='7990511']
Why do you care about what someone else is doing? Why not worry about your own game? If he's just getting out for a few hours to enjoy the day, who cares what he does? Seriously, he paid for the round, there's no bets / tourneys who cares? It's ALL practice until its tournament day.
[/quote]

Honey badger doesn't care!

[HighSpeedScene]

[quote name='33 Handicap' timestamp='1381553395' post='7990595']
Wow.Golfers are crazy bunch. You guys are arguing about rolling a ball. If they want to roll the ball who cares as long as you aren't betting them or playing a tournament against them...does it matter? Why are you concerned about their handicap?
[/quote]

Nobody is really concerned. Speaking only for me, I'm trying to understand how it can be viewed as not cheating. That's what I find interesting about the whole deal. Some dude wants to roll his ball while out playing, he's only hurting himself, so I couldn't care less. Others may care. I just want someone that does it to admit they are cheating when they do.

[Splitter]

Sounds like a bunch of politicians in here. This is black & white.

If the local rules don't stipulate LCP you are not following the rules. Last time i checked, that was called..... cheating. Even if your group says its ok, its still cheating.. its just group cheat. . But.....

1. No one (or very few) care that you cheat. It's just a conversation about what cheating is. Methinks that ya'll are a little too defensive..

I play with guys all the time that roll the ball. I don't care. I don't think less of them. If it helps you enjoy the game, roll away! And if we play for money, I'll cheat and roll my ball too. But I won't post that score on my HC.

I really don't understand why people who do this cant just admit that it is cheating? What's the big deal.

Once in a while, if our group gets behind and we're trying to hurry, I'll drop a ball near where a ball vanished. I know the ball is within 10 yards, I just can't find it and don't want to hold up the group. And I don't count the drop.

I don't think it's helping my score, (because I believe I'd find my ball if I spent 5 minutes wandering in circles) but it is cheating. And if we're playing skins, I'll dq myself from the hole.. I don't feel guilty or defensive about it, but again, I won't post that score.

The men's club I used to play in allow LCP for every round. Even in perfect conditions. It's an easy way of keeping the rollers even with everyone else. I've always wondered if that was cheating since it wasn't a local rule and we HAD to post scores immediately after the round.... But never cared enough to look it up... Because it doesn't bug me as much as some of you defensive types think it does.

ENJOY the game, no matter how you play it.

[Lionstar]

I'll ask again. For those that do this,,or even if you have an idea why,,,why would a good player roll the ball a few inches from an already perfect lie? Again,,the players I see do this are good,sometimes very good players, but they do this on nearly if not every shot. I don't understand the point of doing this.

[KjBowen]

If I play a course that's in real ba shape I will play preferred lies.. Or if it's winter.. If the course is in shape then I play the ball down no matter what

[secretmidam]

Play the game by the rules. Play it down. Anything else is just plain not following the rules. I refuse to pay with people like this, what a joke. Bet they don't call penalties on themselves either.

[Lionstar]

[quote name='jwclubbie' timestamp='1381584269' post='7991267']
Play the game by the rules. Play it down. Anything else is just plain not following the rules. I refuse to pay with people like this, what a joke. Bet they don't call penalties on themselves either.
[/quote]
Of course not. They seem to do this as part of their preshot routine. If their lie is already perfect, they still do it,,and I've seen this with hundreds of players over the years. I'm sure they don't do this in a tourney,,so I'm completely at a loss to understand why they ever do it.

[Fourmyle of Ceres]

I've no idea why some people make that a habit. Maybe in some cases it's a sign of having spent 4x as much time on a driving range as on a golf course over the years. I say that because it's what those dudes remind me of. They're standing there in the fairway rolling the ball exactly like they reach for the next ball when hitting iron shots at the driving range.

I think it betrays a state of mind in which "playing golf" consists of repeatedly trying to strike a perfect golf shot. People on this forum have said that for them golf is all about trying to strike the ball perfectly as often as possible. If all the game is to you is a series of chances to hit perfect shots, of course you're going to always roll the ball into a perfect lie. Perfect, perfect, perfect. It's all gotta be about perfect.

[GWD]

You could ask one of them the reason.

On the tee, I'll tee my ball with the name on the impact point. Maybe it helps me concentrate on the spot or the ball better. That could be why others roll the ball.

[Craglyboy]

Are there really people getting irate about people doing this in casual rounds? What does it matter.

Ill be honest in casual rounds I will do it, I will also practice difficult lies big whoop.mif I'm playing on my own I'm practicing shots not worrying about a score, if it's a tournament round then of course I don't touch the ball, well I do at the moment as we have winter rules.

[Fourmyle of Ceres]

Craglyboy,

I dunno. If you roll it when you're not keeping score and you're rolling it in casual rounds where you are keeping score and you roll it when you're by yourself and you roll in tournaments when it's out of season...

Just what percentage of the time does that leave you actually playing it down? Five percent? Ten percent?

Sounds kind of like a smoker who quits smoking except after meals, when he's stressed, first thing in the morning, last thing at night and when he's in the car. But never at work unless nobody else is around.

[Lionstar]

[quote name='garywdixon' timestamp='1381584815' post='7991297']
You could ask one of them the reason.

On the tee, I'll tee my ball with the name on the impact point. Maybe it helps me concentrate on the spot or the ball better. That could be why others roll the ball.
[/quote]
I have asked a few times. The answers are either "I dunno" or else " because I want to".

[jabrch]

I guess the difference between practice or practice rounds and tounament play or competition don't matter to some. IMO - so long as you aren't playing against someone in a competition, you can play however you want. I don't judge you...

That said, as someone pointed out to me, this is a serious golf board with a rules forum. It's unreasonable not to expect some people to want to, and to want others to, adhere to all the rules, all the time.

[MelloYello]

[quote name='Fourmyle of Ceres' timestamp='1381584757' post='7991293']
I've no idea why some people make that a habit. Maybe in some cases it's a sign of having spent 4x as much time on a driving range as on a golf course over the years. I say that because it's what those dudes remind me of. They're standing there in the fairway rolling the ball exactly like they reach for the next ball when hitting iron shots at the driving range.

I think it betrays a state of mind in which "playing golf" consists of repeatedly trying to strike a perfect golf shot. People on this forum have said that for them golf is all about trying to strike the ball perfectly as often as possible. If all the game is to you is a series of chances to hit perfect shots, of course you're going to always roll the ball into a perfect lie. Perfect, perfect, perfect. It's all gotta be about perfect.
[/quote]


Well, I get the point, but don't make sweeping generalizations.

For the most part I do in fact view golf as a series of chances to hit great shots. Every shot is a new and different challenge.

But I've never heard of this moving the ball to a better lie thing.

[MaydayGSXR]

lol, this thread and the people in it... oh the humanity.

[MtlJeff]

[quote name='jwclubbie' timestamp='1381584269' post='7991267']
Play the game by the rules. Play it down. Anything else is just plain not following the rules. I refuse to pay with people like this, what a joke. Bet they don't call penalties on themselves either.
[/quote]

So if you play a public course and get paired with someone who moves his ball, you will ask him to play on without you?

[Lionstar]

I'm not upset nor irritated. My question is ; WHY ROLL IT IF YOU ALREADY HAVE A PERFECT LIE??? AND YOU'RE A GOOD SINGLE DIGIT HC PLAYER??? AND WHY DO YOU DO THIS EVERY SHOT??? I'm curious and confused about this behavior.

[highflyer13]

Lol some of you take life way too seriously...

[MtlJeff]

[quote name='Lionstar' timestamp='1381615866' post='7992649']
I'm not upset nor irritated. My question is ; WHY ROLL IT IF YOU ALREADY HAVE A PERFECT LIE??? AND YOU'RE A GOOD SINGLE DIGIT HC PLAYER??? AND WHY DO YOU DO THIS EVERY SHOT??? I'm curious and confused about this behavior.
[/quote]

I think eventually it just becomes routine. When it's winter rules at our club, i'll often move the ball even if it's lying OK. Not sure why i do it, i guess because i can. I don't do it when the club is summer rules, and truthfully i don't think it affects my scores. Out of my best 5 rounds this year i think 4 of them were during summer rules

[zanemoseley]

I play a scramble league every year that rotates on the 5 local courses, we allow you to move/adjust your ball within 1 club length. Most of the time I play when I'm not playing league its with league buddies or a couple other casual golfers. Courses here aren't the best so I'd prefer to not hit off hard pan or other crap. Hopefully in a few years I will be shooting sub-80 and at that point I will likely start not moving the ball. For now I play for fun a practice and don't wanna kill my wrists or make the shots any harder than I have to with my skill level.

[Fourmyle of Ceres]

[quote]No, I didn't. Honest... I ran out of gas. I... I had a flat tire. I didn't have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn't come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car. There was an earthquake. A terrible flood. Locusts! IT WASN'T MY FAULT, I SWEAR TO GOD![/quote]

[Bobalu]

A lot of mentions in this topic of improving lies during so called "Casual or Practice rounds". I hear so many sandbaggers state after such rounds, "I'm not going to post that low score because, it was just a practice round" and "It wasn't official because I was working on stuff". They selectively justify posting some rounds but not others for handicap purposes- after the fact depending on how well they scored. Go lower than usual, then call it a "practice round". Think of all the "practice" golf they play. They are much better than their official handicap. It's a bit of a sham, don't you think? Watch out on tournament days, when they somehow play the "round of their lives".

[Guia]

Commenting on some rolling them as practice. If you are really practicing then you should practice from indifferent/bad lies, that
is what you face when playing for real. You learn nothing of value from a rolled lie that you wouldn't learn at the driving range.

Roll them if you want, but, your not playing golf.

[Guia]

[b] Brandt Snedeker says there are CHEATERS on Tour. Who are they?[/b]


I wonder if he is talking about those golfers who improve their lie? Anyone you know come to mind?

[puttingmatt]

Rolling the ball , improving the lie, is what hackers do !! Can't really call out
better players, since better players play the ball down !!

[OldGolfer87]

[quote name='Lionstar' timestamp='1381448965' post='7983965']
I seem to run into this at least every other round. WHY would a decent,,even good player ALWAYS roll the ball in the fairway before taking a shot? It almost seems to me that it's become a bad if not unbreakable habit for these guys. It invariably is done by players with good swings and who seem to follow all other rules in golf. Of course these are casual rounds,,but what gives here?
[/quote]


If a player is playing just for the fun of playing and not playing for money or handicap or maybe even a score , why does it matter so much what he is doing with his ball , shots or anything about how he is playing ????? i guess i am asking why does it matter to you so much ?? and shouldn't you be more concerned on what you are doing and not the actions of others .... and does worrying about other player actions take away focus on what you are trying to accomplish in your own game ??

[Ballgofarboy]

[quote name='Golfjunki71' timestamp='1381456446' post='7984679']
Amazing how many low handicaps break multiple rules. I'd be scratch if I picked and chose what rules to follow.
[/quote]

Doubtful unless one of the rules was not counting all your strokes.

I have played where fairways were terrible and poorly kept. Guys play winter rules year round and this is in FL! I recently came back from a golf resort, fairways were beautiful. I never touched the ball and overall did not see any difference from hitting those balls vs anything that is rolled in substandard fairways.