How close is too close?
 

Just wondering what are the rules for hitting balls from near the houses. We had someone this morning about 10 feet from the house. This is probably the 6th time we have had this and was wondering what exactly is the convention?

Golfers should not go onto private property to hit their golf ball.

The "Good Golf Guide" put out by The Villages has a section on Common Etiquette.

One of the points:

"Please NEVER play or retrieve a ball from the yard of a resident. Report any damage of private property to the homeowner."

most folks will not mind one retrieving an obvious find in their yard. Common sense would rule when it comes to hitting from some ones property....and we all know there are some out there that either don't have it or don't care....fortunately they are the isolated rare bird.

btk

The technical answer to the question asked is this: If it is on golf course property then by the rules of golf we have to play it where it lies. If it is on the home's property then it is an out of bounds ball and we re-hit from the tee or use a provisional if played.

SO I assume the easement is an ok place to hit from. It just seems mighty close.

Some parts of homes and lanais CAN be and often are right up to the set back which is ten feet. I don't know how one would determine what is an "easement". If it is not your property it may be golf course property. But it MAY be out of bounds and shouldn't be hit, but allowed to be retrieved. BUT I would never attempt to retrieve an errant shot from someones yard.

You should call your sales rep and ask.

Not only a lack of common sense and decency but cheating to Golf Gods to boot. If a ball goes out of bounds, it's a stroke and distance penalty (i.e., you have to hit again from the same spot you hit the errant shot).

Now personally, I have nothing against informal "friendly golf". However, there's nothing friendly about hitting a ball out of someone's yard.

The easement is your property. It just gives some others such as utility companies the right to come onto your property.

Oh good point. I didn't see your post before responding.

Shcisamax, it does depend on whether the ball that was hit was on your property (or otherwise out of bounds). There should be a white stakes to indicate where out of bounds begins. Was the ball in question hit on your side or the golf course side of the white stakes?

Maybe other than a tee a golf ball is the "cheapest" part of playing golf. However, some will go to any length to retrieve their golf ball. Hit a provisional ball if you think it is out of bounds (marked by white stakes) and do not retrieve a ball from someone's yard. It ain't nice!

Easement or property is not the question as Pturner, and others, state: If it is on this side of the white stakes then play it where it lies. If on the wrong side of the white stakes then leave it be unless the homeowner has a sign like "you may retrieve your ball". But never, never hit from the other side of the stakes.

The actual question, as posed, is very simple to answer as there is only one answer.

As you know by now, there's never "one answer" on TOTV!

Russ is right
 

Russ knows his golf.
We live on Palmer and are happy to say no one has ever played off our yard. Also, only had one group come into yard to find a ball.

So we can assume the white stakes are on the outside of the setback. So that last 10 feet is "out of bounds" so to speak. The player should not be playing the ball from the area of the setback.

Yes, the white stakes would not be placed in your yard. At least they shouldn't be:)

The set back or the easement has nothing to do with it. A ball on a resident's property is out of bounds. If you are playing by the rules of golf, the penalty is stoke and distance, i.e., from where you hit the last one. I live on a golf course and have no problem with someone retrieving their ball from my yard. I've only caught one person about to hit from my lawn. When I asked him not to hit from there (from my laini) it was obvious he knew he was in the wrong. I have seen folks driving golf carts into resident's yards - also a no-no.

Do the walk of shame pick up your ball say i am sorry even, if you don't see anyone. White stakes is stroke and re hit from where you came, red stakes are two club drop from point of entry.:sigh:

Since I am not a golfer, my immediate reaction to the original poster's subject line was that the question was about the distance between houses!

I was prepared to relate a story about when my older daughter bought a mobile home in a mobile home park and I worried about how close she was to neighbors. She quickly reminded me that our home in St. Louis, where she grew up, was less than 10 feet from the neighbors on either side of us! The fact that that home wasn't at all mobile didn't occur to me as a distinction!

Naturally, now that I live here in TV, where one neighbor is almost exactly 10 feet away, while the other is more because we are on pie-shaped lots pleases my daughter no end!

SWR
:beer3:

You are of course spot on. However people playing executive courses seldom follow the rules of golf because they don't know them or don't care. For those who do know them and do care far too often course personnel are edging them along with this "please play ready golf." your backing up the course. This is more evident during prime season. I live on a championship course and for the most part people are fine. However I did have one guye drive his cart onto my property and I have had a few come on my property to retrieve their ball, except of course those golfers that hit the house and fear they did damage and so just drive by as fast as they can. The worse of this comes in prime season when there is more play but even then given the position of my home its not enough to really notice.

Actually not spot on. Red stakes offer many options for placement of the ball not just two club lengths from point of entry. And yes out of bounds are stroke and distance but you should hit a provisional from the tee if you think you may be OB. This speeds up the process.

Too close
 

Okay, I'll admit it.
I'm 68 and before moving to The Villages about 8 months ago, I'd played golf maybe 4 or 5 times in my life.
So I'm new to the game and don't play by USGA rules. I limit myself to executive courses where out of bounds stakes are few and far between. If I hit a ball any where near someone's house that generally means I'm on the "away" side of the golf cart path. So, out of courtesy, I simply pick up my ball, toss it gently over to the fairway side of the path, and hit my next shot from there. If the "real" golfers think I should charge myself a penalty stroke for this maneuver, I really don't care. And neither do the guys I play with. We're not playing for money. And we're not trying to maintain or establish a handicap, so who cares.
We're just having fun.

Actually, we don't want this to become a blame game thread...we just wanted to know how close the ball can come to your property. Our dogs are very happy watching the golfing but when someone walks up close to the lanaii with a club in their hand, they bark ...as they should do ...and we don't like to disturb the neighbors.

Everyone is at a different stage in their golfing journey. It isn't the rules that are important here but people's consideration of others.

We are "recreational" golfers ourselves and here (in AL) we play "Bubba Rules", i.e. we are proud we got out of bed by ourselves, use of our "foot club" is permitted and while at TV have occasionally hit into someone's yard. If someone is outside or on the lanai, we ask permission to retrieve a ball; if not, we very carefully walk into the yard and retrieve the ball and find a nice open shot on the course. However, even "Bubba Rules" prohibit hitting the ball from someone's yard. The penalty is loss of riding in the cart privileges and you must buy two beers for your partners at the 19th Hole! And that is the truth!:1rotfl:

Now that's spot on!:eclipsee_gold_cup:

If my ball goes in someones yard, I don't want the ball, because it goes crooked. I want straight balls. I hit one on 9nth hole on Cane, and the owner threw it back out!!!:laugh: Out of bounds, is not always marked by white stakes. Sometimes explanations are on score card, like over fence, Out of Bounds etc, etc, etc. Anyway, Happy Mothers Day to all the Moms out there.:BigApplause::D

I've actually seen very few OB at The Villages that are not marked with stakes. Perhaps some home owners have removed them but TV does a very good job with their signage. And I really don't care if foursomes have their own rules about OB (I usually will just drop one on the course and hit from there with one stroke). We are discussing the OB situation and what the rules say. Education on golf rules is important. Rules are there to help the player and the game. If you choose to not follow them or make up local rules then that is what you do. As long as you are not taking money out of my pocket I really don't care. But every golfer should at least understand the basic rules. It makes for a better and faster game.

Off the subject: Do you know that the red stakes with the green tops on them are for environmental reasons? If you hit it past those stakes you are not even supposed to try and retrieve your ball. Even if you can see it in plain sight.

Off the subject: Do you know that the red stakes with the green tops on them are for environmental reasons? If you hit it past those stakes you are not even supposed to try and retrieve your ball. Even if you can see it in plain sight.

Wonder how many time a day that rule is broken?, "Hey it;s a brand new PRO V

I've just read over 25 responsies to your original question. Over 50% have very little if anything to say that actually answers your question. Some have had partially correct answers. Believe the following covers it from the perspective of a golfer who actually knows the rules:

Many golf holes bordered by homes have white out of bounds stakes to deliniate the boundry of the golf course. Any ball outside the imaginary line drawn between the two stakes between which the ball lies is "out of bounds" and cannot be played regardless if it is in or out of your property. A ball beyond the last out of bounds stake on a hole can be played since out of bounds ends at the last stake. In this situation as in any other situation where there are no OB stakes the player should consult the scorecard to see if any other deliniation of out of bounds is indicated. If out of bounds is not deliniated by either of the methods described, call the golf pro and let him figure out how to deal with the problem. Having played many hundreds of rounds of golf, I can't recall seeing a single house that is situated within the confines of a lateral hazard which is deliniated by red stakes. If yours is, I would be more concerned about snakes and other vermin rather than an occassional golfer trying to play a shot from a water hazard in the middle of your lot.

The two biggest problems you really have are golfers who have no knowledge of or disregard for the rules of golf. Second is the golfer who has not been blessed with any common sense. TV is abundant with both types described.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Russ_Boston
Easement or property is not the question as Pturner, and others, state: If it is on this side of the white stakes then play it where it lies. If on the wrong side of the white stakes then leave it be unless the homeowner has a sign like "you may retrieve your ball". But never, never hit from the other side of the stakes.

The actual question, as posed, is very simple to answer as there is only one answer.

As you know by now, there's never "one answer" on TOTV!
See Russ, I told ya.

The golfers are just out for a good time, having fun, and so should you. Turn on your sprinklers next time.