Obligation to help look for a lost ball.

Do you expect your playing partners to help you look for a lost ball?
Personally, I do and that is why I traipse from one side of the fairway to the other to help my playing partners find their lost balls. Unfortunately I play with some golfers who seem to think it's beneath them and flatly refuse to help.
Take yesterdays round for example. Teed off in a 5 ball, yes I know a bit of a no no, but that's what they do over here. I hit a poor drive that ran into the rough. The other four hit better drives. I go to my ball, the shortest drive, whilst everyone else goes to their balls. One guy plays his second and then realises that I've not played my second and asks, "have you got it?". I think to myself, "of course I haven't effing got it, why do you think I'm walking up and down looking at the ground". I found it, hacked it out into the semi and played my third whilst the other three stood in the fairway twiddling their thumbs. This was a pretense of the rest of the round. Me playing poorly and the two guys in the buggy having nothing to do with the rest of the group. The final straw came at the last. Hit an average drive which kicked left towards the water. Go and look for the ball. The two guys in the buggy are no more than 15 metres away yet refuse to get out and help look for it. I find my ball next to the water, attempted to play it and moved it 3 inches so declared it unplayable and took a drop out sideways. When I went to play my next shot the two pratts in the buggy had moved forward in the fairway, making me wait for them to get out of the way whilst they played their shots. On completion of them playing their shots they continued up the fairway to the green. I picked up, disgusted at their antics.
As a result I've informed the Society Secretary that I will no longer be a member whilst this type of behavior is tolerated. Am I making a mountain out of a mole hill or is my prejudice against their nationality clouding my judgement?.

I help people look for a ball provided they've made the effort to look where it's gone. If I've watched, why haven't they? Don't mind if they've lost sight of it, but it annoys me when they've simply turned away in disgust.

I see so many golfers looking 100 yards further than they've ever hit it simply because they don't look where it's gone.

On the other hand, I'll look for my own first if both players have hit drives that might result in a lost ball, especially if we are on opposite sides of the hole.

Sounds like you were playing with a right bunch of numpties.

You may want to avoid playing with them again.

As SR said, make sure you know where your own ball is first, then help your partners to find theirs.

In short yes I do because I would do the same but...
I agree with Super, if they don't help themselves then it's a cursory look and move on, especially if being pushed from behind. What annoys me is when a partner hits it into what could potentially be trouble, a suggestion is made that they hit a provisional and they say "Nah, we'll find it".
Another thing that gets quite tedious and annoying is when a playing partner persists with trying to smash a driver when clearly they're just not hitting it straight...therefore frequent ball searches. In that situation the further the round progresses the less time I spend helping.

Always help. Do for others as you would hope they would do for you. Gentlemanly sportsmanlike conduct may be a bit of an outdated concept these days but that's the way my moral compass points.

Besides, it's usually me in the scheize needing the help!

If partners/oppos don't help I would make a point of making sure they knew about it, but fortunately that doesn't happen very often with us.

Last April I played at Austin Lodge Kent with a society and brought my friend along as a guest, 28 handicapper so we had to be patient however he did not once watch his ball off the tee which frustrated me and the rest of the fourball. I did as his friend help him look but the majority of the time he couldn't find the ball. Our round took around 5 and a half hours after letting two four balls through and he scored 1 point. The handicap secretary of my society pulled me to one side and said that the other two in my fourball had complained. I had to give my friend a very stern word about watching his ball and he came to one more venue of which he still didn't watch his ball but he fared a little better (9 points). He has never played since. We all have a degree of patience but although he was my friend I had lost it, is it so hard to make an effort to keep your eye on your own ball?

Christ 4putt that sounds like the round from hell, and in a 5 ball as well! Were you not tempted to suggest that you split up and send the two unsociable gits in the buggy off on their own in front of you?
 
I don't automatically expect my playing partners to help look for my ball, but most people do and that is appreciated and I always convey my thanks when the ball is found. I always help my playing partners look for their lost ball, with the exception of when playing in a competitive singles matchplay event, where I have to confess that I don't always look with quite the same enthusiasm or thoroughness. Come on, that can't just be me surely?
 
Harry I'm sure your friend is a very nice bloke and extremely good company, but if I had been in that fourball and he had scored 1 point off a 28 handicap, that might just have spoilt my day out as well!

I always help, regardless of situation and whether they looked where it went properly or not. I'm frankly amazed that this isn't standard practice but then I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I'd expect paying partners to help me likewise.

I'm surprised the other 4 with you got back without injury 4putt. If not physical, then some verbal. That's truly pathetic behaviour from your playing 'partners'.

Harry: your friend is seriously a genuine 28 with scoring like that?

More like a 56

He made double or triple to score that point. Would have been at least 60 over for the other 17 holes. Really bad day or loft?

I'll help look but in certain undesirable areas, like briar bushes and snake pits, I won't be as enthusiastic. I don't mind looking as I normally come out with plenty of other balls that either go in the cowpat bucket for whacking away or get put back into play if they're good ones.

I must admit I do get a little narked if I spend time looking for someone's ball and they don't reciprocate for me later on. Makes me less enthusiastic and I spend less time with them if it happens later in the same round.

I never liked looking for my own ball, let alone anyone elses. But I did look and expected help in searching for my ball.

I am an advocate for mowing the grass!! rough should not be more than 2" long (5 cm).

IMO, long rough is a big reason for slow play.

navyblueshorts wrote:I'd expect paying partners to help me likewise

They have to pay to play with you Navy?  

BlueCoverman wrote:

navyblueshorts wrote:I'd expect paying partners to help me likewise

They have to pay to play with you Navy?  

Well, it is a bit of a privilege I guess   .

Is this thread about Scolari?

28 is the highest men's handicap so there is not really much he can do other than dress up as a woman and play off the reds. Prior to that the lowest score I'd ever seen was a lowly 15 but I found 1 to be astonishing. Golf just isn't for some people and I think he is in that list.

BlueCoverman. Yes I suggested on the second hole that the two pratts in the buggy played as a 2 ball but if fell on deaf ears. Other than a 3 ball which we let through on the 3rd the course was empty so speed not an issue.

Think I might have been tempted to say that we were playing on in a 3 ball and you 2 tw@ts in the buggy could either go in front or wait behind!