Fall Golf, Dreaded Leaves, and Lost Balls!!!!

[dd564]

I took my son who is 13 out for 9 holes today. 

We have only been playing shorter course (courses with no par 5's).

But today for the first time, I took him to an "actual" Par 72 course.

 

I strategically booked a tee time at a course that wasn't busy and had open tee times behind us.

The weather turned out to be great, but it was very frustrating because of lost balls.  We shared a cart, so we could play fast. This is only his 5-6 time out ever, but I'm wondering if it was a mistake because we lost more balls after decent / good hits than I've ever had.

 

By the third hole we had a foursome breathing down our back who we let play through.   Then 3 holes later another 4some we let play through.

We finished 9 holes in 2 hours, so I don't think we were playing exceptionally slow considering we waited for two foursomes to play through.

 

On the 8th hole we both shot an extra driver in case we couldn't find our first, and despite watching them land and having a "good idea" of where they ended up, we gave up after driving by the area once or twice with a golf cart.

By the 8th hole we had someone up again behind us and we eventually just gave up looking for our next ball and skipped to #9.

 

Any tips for how to handle this?

I've had this happen before where I'm trying to help others watch their ball, only to then go where I think my ball went and not find it. Then when I ask someone else if they had an idea, it's a "Uh, I didn't see where it landed".  Like maybe it would have been better if we had walked it so we both could just start going straight to our ball after hitting rather than zig zag from ball to ball.

 

Good news on the day, I came the closest I've ever been to a whole in one.  About 7 feet from pin, and my son, playing his first par 5 hole ever was putting for par (but missed).

 

Still a fun day, but losing balls after decent drives was maddening, along with the feel or urgency to keep playing.

 

 

Edited October 5, 2020 by dd564

[Hawkeye77]

It's always harder to find balls in general (for me) on courses I don't play a lot - just don't have a sense of what's up there or where your ball may go on certain wayward shots.  Add leaves and it's going to be a more of a problem.  

 

Sounds like you did the right thing letting other groups through.  You had a good plan to start with, no reason to question it.

 

Play the extra drives if you want, but time wise and ball wise, maybe just be prepared to abandon the original ball more quickly if that's an issue and drop and hit from there so you aren't potentially looking for 4 balls.  Maybe play found balls and divorce yourself from any emotional attachment to them, lol -- it is frustrating to watch folks search forever for a ball that isn't worth a quarter, but that's golf, lol.  Not saying that's what you were doing, just a thought.

 

Yes, walking and each heading off to their own ball is a great idea.

 

Day out with your son was the point, mission accomplished!

Edited October 5, 2020 by Hawkeye77

[xkilgorextroutx]

I play yellow balls in the fall here in the northeast to find them easier in the leaves. For the most part, if you know how far you normally hit with your driver, it'll give you a good reference point as to where to start looking. 

[caniac6]

I played early today, and the hardest thing for me was the heavy dew, and the low angle of the sun. Hit one right on the button, and never saw it.

[dd564]

5 hours ago, Hawkeye77 said:

It's always harder to find balls in general (for me) on courses I don't play a lot - just don't have a sense of what's up there or where your ball may go on certain wayward shots.  Add leaves and it's going to be a more of a problem.  

 

Sounds like you did the right thing letting other groups through.  You had a good plan to start with, no reason to question it.

 

Play the extra drives if you want, but time wise and ball wise, maybe just be prepared to abandon the original ball more quickly if that's an issue and drop and hit from there so you aren't potentially looking for 4 balls.  Maybe play found balls and divorce yourself from any emotional attachment to them, lol -- it is frustrating to watch folks search forever for a ball that isn't worth a quarter, but that's golf, lol.  Not saying that's what you were doing, just a thought.

 

Yes, walking and each heading off to their own ball is a great idea.

 

Day out with your son was the point, mission accomplished!

 

Golf with my son is a new favorite thing. He's a quiet kid and it's a great way to spend good time together, so yes. On a 10 scale, a day golfing and losing balls is still a 9.5.

He was playing bright orange balls which was helpful. I went from lime green to yellow and wasn't having much luck. If it's under a leaf the color doesn't matter much.

 

I think walking it might be the better path and yes, we were using cheaper balls. But you would actually like to have a "real" score on a hole, especially after decent drives vs giving up a lot of balls on the course.

 

Just trying to keep that experience a 9.5 or better, and yes, need to keep in perspective playing found balls and cheap balls aren't worth sweating over.

 

[dubbelbogey]

For me, orange balls come out during the leaf falling season, much better than yellow or green. Of course, nothing helps when a ball ends up under a leaf. We generally play with the "leaf rule" in effect, and are not going to declare a lost ball with the usual penalty on a shot that clearly hits a fairway. I've had rounds where the leaf density was so thick, I've lost 8 or 9 balls on good shots. (Typically, a ball lasts me two or three rounds). For me, it's also a time to clear out the shag bag of the old balls.

 

 

 

 

[Hawkeye77]

1 hour ago, dd564 said:

 

Golf with my son is a new favorite thing. He's a quiet kid and it's a great way to spend good time together, so yes. On a 10 scale, a day golfing and losing balls is still a 9.5.

He was playing bright orange balls which was helpful. I went from lime green to yellow and wasn't having much luck. If it's under a leaf the color doesn't matter much.

 

I think walking it might be the better path and yes, we were using cheaper balls. But you would actually like to have a "real" score on a hole, especially after decent drives vs giving up a lot of balls on the course.

 

Just trying to keep that experience a 9.5 or better, and yes, need to keep in perspective playing found balls and cheap balls aren't worth sweating over.

 

Sounds like a 10 to me!

[Kilo1545]

Play later in the day and you'll probably find 2-3 for every 1 that you lose.  😉

[Carl Spackler3]

I also find yellow helpful this time of year

[Gsea]

There's a thing called leaf blowers your course might want to invest in 🙂

 

[dd564]

The golf later in the day idea is a good one.

Probably will find a couple for each lost ball.

The picture of the course above looks great with the leaves all blown away.

 

[wkndhckr]

This happens to me sometimes when they didn't mow low enough or haven't mowed. Also the yellow and green balls look like fallen leaves to me and I haven't seen success with those. I had a bad habit of picking up the tee before the ball hit the ground or getting mad at bad shots and not watching the ball. 10x worse playing by yourself.

[PhilsFanDrew]

It may sound counter intuitive but walk if you can.  I find it much easier to locate the right line if I am able to walk straight from the tee to the ball.  If I have to walk over to cart path after tee shots I find it easier to lose the line of the ball.  Another option would be to move up a tee box and hit less than driver.  Hit the longest club you are more likely to hit more fairways with.

Edited October 6, 2020 by PhilsFanDrew

[rkillian]

10 hours ago, PhilsFanDrew said:

It may sound counter intuitive but walk if you can.  I find it much easier to locate the right line if I am able to walk straight from the tee to the ball.  If I have to walk over to cart path after tee shots I find it easier to lose the line of the ball.  Another option would be to move up a tee box and hit less than driver.  Hit the longest club you are more likely to hit more fairways with.

I agree with this. I am more likely to loose a ball if I am riding. Especially if we have to go to my partners ball first. Walking I can go straight to it.

 

I've been thinking of trying a neon green ball. The leaves on the ground by me are more yellow than anything else. Some are orange/red/brown. The courses I play do an ok job with the blowing the courses off but if I'm way . But I can usually only get out for an evening 9 and by then there's more leaves on the ground anyway. I'm thinking the matte neon green may stand out enough against the normal leaf colors. 

[dd564]

I thought  matte lime green was a good option, but heck, there are fallen leaves that color as well.

Starting to wonder if white isn't the best.

 

Agree with the comment of walking and going straight line with the ball.  Driving cart was tough because you lose the line on which it was hit.

 

[Sean2]

On 10/5/2020 at 10:29 AM, caniac6 said:

I played early today, and the hardest thing for me was the heavy dew, and the low angle of the sun. Hit one right on the button, and never saw it.

I have the same issue. With the sun in your face sometimes you have to walk past where you think your ball is and look back to see it.  

 

 

[Roody]

The "leaf rule" is a common thing up here in the Northeast this time of year. We usually play a lesser quality ball, and if we lose it in the leaves it's a drop with no penalty. As Hawkeye said, divorce yourself from any emotional attachment to the golf ball, and you'll be fine. 

Speaking of, the leaves haven't dropped in force here yet, but they will soon. I'll have to fish around in the shag box in my basement for some appropriate leaf balls. 

[Jackal66]

I usually play a neon matte finish ball.

During autumn, I change to a white ball.

It is still hard to find.

We walk and that helps a lot.

I  use ratty balls until all the leaves are down, and dark brown.

 Spending time with your Son, and teaching him etiquette, and how to let others play thru, how long to look for a ball, how to follow a ball, etc. that is priceless.

On a scale of 1 to 10, that is 100.

 My Son and I play several days a week, and we walk.

 These are the best times of my life.

With a pull cart, walking is easy for us.

Enjoy the time.

[platgof]

I played a course that also didn't keep up with the mowing, and it was rough trying to find the ball all day. I know the frustration cost strokes as well. The grass was deep in the fairway, seriously!

[Naptime]

I give myself 30 sec to find the ball.  If it clearly landed on the course in leaves drop reasonably close without penalty and move on.

[nikeblades00]

Another idea is hit the ball straight! No many leaves middle of fairway! Ha im kidding, I agree it can be frustrating. Maybe just go with expectations that you will lose some balls but you are here for the fun and family bonding!

I played 9 holes twilight last night and I found so many balls in the leaves. It was actually fun finding prov1's and Tp5's! 

[eastriver]

has anyone ever tried these blue golf ball finding glasses?  I've been tempted to give them a try, especially this time of year.  I mean, what if they actually work?!?!?

 

[dd564]

1 hour ago, eastriver said:

has anyone ever tried these blue golf ball finding glasses?  I've been tempted to give them a try, especially this time of year.  I mean, what if they actually work?!?!?

 

 

Someone I know has tried these and said it wasn't worth it.

But he may have been more in the weeds than these glasses are useful for.

 

[dd564]

Played again yesterday.  

Only used found balls since I have a bucket of those piling up. Stuck with white which seemed to work pretty well.

Lost a few early, but got better later in the day.

Sure helps if you can keep the ball on or near the fairway.

We were also walking which helped. Walk in straight line from tee-box to ball and avoided a lot of issues.

 

[elwhippy]

Leaves start to drop. New balls go into storage until April. Simples. 

[Dr. Block]

4 hours ago, dd564 said:

Played again yesterday.  

Only used found balls since I have a bucket of those piling up. Stuck with white which seemed to work pretty well.

Lost a few early, but got better later in the day.

Sure helps if you can keep the ball on or near the fairway.

We were also walking which helped. Walk in straight line from tee-box to ball and avoided a lot of issues.

 

Yep, I rarely lose balls when I walk.  I lose them pretty frequently when I ride. 

[Roejye]

I've completely given up trying to find a gamer ball now and just using found balls. Thankfully we have a nickname for the course we play "lost balls", so I have plenty. I actually have had better luck with white balls than colored. Great that you've found something you can do with your son, and sounds like it was a really good day, aside from losing balls on good shots.

[Naptime]

Bring a battery powered leaf blower if you can.  Would do a good job on leafy greens too.

Edited October 15, 2020 by Naptime

[Gsea]

Hello, where are you guys playing public parks? Pass a hat around for the course to make the investment 🙂

 

[chippa13]

That's great until 2 minutes later when a gust of wind blows them right back.