Ball Tracking

[thatjasonlee]

Hey guys, 

I am having a really hard time tracking my ball on the course, and I was wondering if anyone has tips around how to find your shots?

I am losing a few balls per round, and while one or two of them are clearly OB, or in hazards, I am losing balls that I didn't think should be lost. I watched them land somwhere in the rough, and sometimes bounce, but once I take my eye off the landing area, I lose it completely. Does anyone else have that problem?

Just wondering how you guys know where to look for the ball? Or have any tips for keeping track of where your ball should be. I have one friend that always know where my shot and his shot goes. But when I don't play with him, I run into all sorts of trouble, and it's frustrating as hell.

[RickyBobby_PR]

When you see it land to identify something that gives you an idea of location reference like a tree or bush, etc? 

[Murv]

Are you walking or riding? Makes a big difference. When walking, line up the last spot you saw your ball with a tree or other land mark and walk straight at it. When riding, do the same thing but look at the landmark while riding. If your not driving you have no control. Even if you are, you may have to go to your partners ball first. Sometimes you may have to drive back to where you can regain your line.
If riding but not driving, let your partner drive to his ball and you walk to yours. After he hits he can come to you.
Best idea....keep the ball in the fairway.

Murv

Sent from my SM-N975U using MyGolfSpy mobile app

[thatjasonlee]

16 hours ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

When you see it land to identify something that gives you an idea of location reference like a tree or bush, etc? 

This is going to make me sound like such a fool, but here goes.

I usually try to do that, and while I have my eye on the area, I can tell distinctly that it is one specific tree I hit the ball around. As soon as I go to put my club away and look up...BAM, they all look the same to me. There are a few times when there is a distinct red maple (I'm in Canada) that makes it way easier...but a lot of times, all the firs looks exactly the same.

[thatjasonlee]

15 hours ago, Murv said:

Are you walking or riding? Makes a big difference. When walking, line up the last spot you saw your ball with a tree or other land mark and walk straight at it. When riding, do the same thing but look at the landmark while riding. If your not driving you have no control. Even if you are, you may have to go to your partners ball first. Sometimes you may have to drive back to where you can regain your line.
If riding but not driving, let your partner drive to his ball and you walk to yours. After he hits he can come to you.
Best idea....keep the ball in the fairway.

Murv

Sent from my SM-N975U using MyGolfSpy mobile app
 

Thanks Murv. I do have trouble keeping track and differentiating the trees, but this mention of line of sight gives me a bit of an idea. Maybe I can mark the line with a tee or something while I am on the tee box, and after everyone hits, have a reminder of what the direction is. Let me give that a shot and see how it goes.

[RickyBobby_PR]

8 minutes ago, thatjasonlee said:

This is going to make me sound like such a fool, but here goes.

I usually try to do that, and while I have my eye on the area, I can tell distinctly that it is one specific tree I hit the ball around. As soon as I go to put my club away and look up...BAM, they all look the same to me. There are a few times when there is a distinct red maple (I'm in Canada) that makes it way easier...but a lot of times, all the firs looks exactly the same.

I get it. There’s a course I play that has some mounds down the right and o have mis counted more than once and spent longer looking for my ball than should have.

I used to be like you and it took me awhile to get better at figuring out a way to keep what tree, bush or other landmark it was. I look for the most distinguishing mark I can find

[dlow206]

I have trouble finding my ball at times as well. Lost one that was like only a couple yards off the fairway lol. Sometimes I just need to focus better on watching and remember exactly where it landed and what the landmark on the course is. 

[thatjasonlee]

On 7/9/2020 at 9:46 AM, RickyBobby_PR said:

I get it. There’s a course I play that has some mounds down the right and o have mis counted more than once and spent longer looking for my ball than should have.

I used to be like you and it took me awhile to get better at figuring out a way to keep what tree, bush or other landmark it was. I look for the most distinguishing mark I can find

 

On 7/9/2020 at 10:01 AM, dlow206 said:

I have trouble finding my ball at times as well. Lost one that was like only a couple yards off the fairway lol. Sometimes I just need to focus better on watching and remember exactly where it landed and what the landmark on the course is. 

On 7/9/2020 at 10:01 AM, dlow206 said:

I have trouble finding my ball at times as well. Lost one that was like only a couple yards off the fairway lol. Sometimes I just need to focus better on watching and remember exactly where it landed and what the landmark on the course is. 

 

Thanks guys! Comforts me to know that this is not just a problem for me. I really thought for a while that something was wrong with how I see things on a golf course that was making me lose those balls! LOL.

Quick update though, I tried using the line of sight method suggested above, and it kind of works. I still had a trouble finding a couple of shots in the last round that took a while, but walking along the line of sight really made things easier.