Running out of balls

How pathetic is Eddie Pepperell?

How many balls did he have in his bag to start with?

Did he really run out?

Why didn't he borrow one from his playing partners?

If I was a pro denied a place in the Turkish Open by a charlatan who says he's out of balls, I'd be tempted to smack him in the mouth.

How pathetic is Eddie Pepperell? No idea but no more so for this incident.

How many balls did he have in his bag to start with? He hit five in the water so probably had five to start with.

Did he really run out? Any reason to doubt him?

Why didn't he borrow one from his playing partners? Kaymer confirmed Eddie did not even ask them.

The full Kaymer quote

Kaymer wrote:Eddie hit his shots to the green, then came over to tell us he had run out of balls......I thought he lost four or five. We are about 80 percent sure it was five, 20 percent four. He was quick, so it was hard to keep track. He did not ask if he could borrow one from me or George. It did not look like he wanted to play. He did not putt with his putter on the third hole; he putted with a wedge. So there was a lot happening.

I have never seen anything like that before. I only watched it on television, in ‘Tin Cup.’ This is the first time I have seen it live.

Eddie was obviously having a rough day if he had already resorted to putting with a wedge. But he didn't break any rules, didn't insult anyone and didn't damage the course so is there really anything to worry about?

It is a strange one. I've played that course on a number of occasions (not from the same tees obviously) and that hole is reachable for me if I've hit a good drive or a lay-up if not. Why a professional player would continue to hit balls into the water is beyond me. He obviously didn't want to be there if he was putting with his wedge. I imagine he had some issues off the course going on that needed his attention, but why not just feign an injury and withdraw if that was the case? I think on reflection he may well be disappointed with himself in the choice of action he chose to take. Can't imagine that present or future sponsors will be overly impressed either.

Perhaps not his greatest moment, however I did get a laugh out of his reply to Max Homa on the Twitter machine. Max said his mum had given up her job delivering prison meals, and Eddie said too bad, he'd been looking forward to meeting her (or words to that effect) 

A player has to play the same make and model of golf ball from start to finish.
If his playing partners were using a different ball to him (even a Pro V1X would not be acceptable if Pepperell uses a Pro V) then it is not permitted.

A pro might also realistically expect not to lose many balls in the course of a round, whilst I'm unsure of how many holes they'll use a ball for, maybe 3-4 holes, so if he had 6-8 balls in his bag, surely that would be considered enough for 1 round?

Who carries more balls than 6-8 in their bag anyway? Pro or amateur.

Me. I carry loads. Can't be bothered taking them out. Find some, top up with ones in better nick and forget to move the others to the spare bag.

Guy I play with carries 4/5 and has run out before.

Roller_Coaster wrote:Me. I carry loads. Can't be bothered taking them out. Find some, top up with ones in better nick and forget to move the others to the spare bag.

Guy I play with carries 4/5 and has run out before.

If you run out, then your score is gone anyway and you're clearly playing terribly.

***But he didn't break any rules, didn't insult anyone and didn't damage the course so is there really anything to worry about?***

Well, he did break the rules because he didn't complete the hole, so he was dqed. It's the example it sets that I think is so bad though. He walked off when he could have carried on. What would have happened if one of his playing partners had injured himself?

It's awful to see this "it's all about me" attitude. It's pervading right through golf now, especially in qualifying events. It seems it's ok to walk off whenever you want if you aren't playing well or not going to qualify.

***A player has to play the same make and model of golf ball from start to finish.
If his playing partners were using a different ball to him (even a Pro V1X would not be acceptable if Pepperell uses a Pro V) then it is not permitted.***

The one ball rule is implemented by the European Tour, but in their version it's a two stroke penalty to use a different ball. One of his partners used the same ball anyway.

I think it's a terrible indictment of his attitude.

super_realist wrote:

Who carries more balls than 6-8 in their bag anyway? Pro or amateur.

I like to have as light a bag as possible and would rarely have more than 6 balls in the bag unless I find something decent enough to pick up on the way around. As Super said in a later post if you lose 6 balls what is the point in continuing anyway. Although I would reluctantly ask a playing partner for a ball should it come to that. But for Eddie in a pro event I say just walk off and get the first flight home. Why should he stick around just to endure the pain and satisfy the old boys that watch the sport.

George1507 wrote:
I think it's a terrible indictment of his attitude.

As I said above I would probably continue but don't see why anyone else should if they don't want to. We know for a fact a few of the worlds top players support Trump and therefore anti abortion laws, anti immigration laws, the sexual harassment of women, detaining of children without their parents etc and yet they might continue to play after losing all the balls in their bag? Would it really be sensible to judge a persons attitude based on one moment of sporting discontent? I think not.

McLaren wrote:

George1507 wrote:
I think it's a terrible indictment of his attitude.

As I said above I would probably continue but don't see why anyone else should if they don't want to. We know for a fact a few of the worlds top players support Trump and therefore anti abortion laws, anti immigration laws, the sexual harassment of women, detaining of children without their parents etc and yet they might continue to play after losing all the balls in their bag? Would it really be sensible to judge a persons attitude based on one moment of sporting discontent? I think not.

His attitude towards golf, the European Tour and his fellow players.

George1507 wrote:

McLaren wrote:

George1507 wrote:
I think it's a terrible indictment of his attitude.

As I said above I would probably continue but don't see why anyone else should if they don't want to. We know for a fact a few of the worlds top players support Trump and therefore anti abortion laws, anti immigration laws, the sexual harassment of women, detaining of children without their parents etc and yet they might continue to play after losing all the balls in their bag? Would it really be sensible to judge a persons attitude based on one moment of sporting discontent? I think not.

His attitude towards golf, the European Tour and his fellow players.

As far as I can tell Eddie is doing way more than most to connect with the fans. He does more media stuff for the ET than many of the bigger stars. This coupled with his social media presence probably means he has more good will towards him than most. Or you have guys like Wallace berating his caddie as if he is chattel in public?

It would be an overreaction to throw Eddie under the bus for this one incident.

I’m leaning towards Mac on this one. If I had anything to do with the ET I would be having a word with Eddie to see if anything was the matter.

The again, as George says, if I was a jobbing pro who couldn't get into the event as first reserve, I'd be pretty ****ed off at his attitude.

You wouldn't be a jobbing pro because you need to be in the R2D top 70 to qualify.

I'm not sure why anyone would be remotely bothered by this. Guys enter tournaments, take a swing on the first tee and pretend to have an injury just to get the appearance money and no one bats an eyelid.

Some guys turn up, hack up 5 greens or racially abuse the GOAT and no one on here cares. This is a strange place super.

Exactly feign a wrist injury, withdraw and nobody is any the wiser. Deliberately smash golf balls into the water until you have none left, grabs the headlines and is taking the piss.

McLaren wrote:Some guys turn up, hack up 5 greens or racially abuse the GOAT and no one on here cares. This is a strange place super.

You still going on about that Mac? Give it a rest.

I will NEVER let it go.

I think Botox Woods is big enough and certainly ugly enough to stand up for himself, don't you?
He isn't worried about it, why are you?

super_realist wrote:

Roller_Coaster wrote:Me. I carry loads. Can't be bothered taking them out. Find some, top up with ones in better nick and forget to move the others to the spare bag.

Guy I play with carries 4/5 and has run out before.

If you run out, then your score is gone anyway and you're clearly playing terribly.

Well, I'd rather carry on (99 times out of a hundred) as it's my hobby and I enjoy it beyond shooting a good score. Even on the terrible days of losing 3 or 4 balls. Might grab an eagle or an ace somewhere, might hit a worldy, might try a couple of things I wouldn't normally do. I don't go out and practise much so my once or occasionally twice a week is all I get. I'll take all the balls I want to. I might need to stay out if the person I'm playing with needs a marker. All sorts of reasons to take more than a few, I would argue taking a few is more stupid as it removes choice of continuing.

I believe Woods only had 1 ball left when he won at Pebble and smashed his first out at 18 on one of the days, who'd have been more of a stupid cnut then?

I wasn't saying you shouldn't carry as many balls as you like, just that it's incredibly unlikely that any golfer, especially a pro will require to have more than that in a bag.
How many times for example have you lost more than two balls in a round, far less 6+
Even a pro who switches ball during the round depending on the wear is unlikely to need 6-8 balls unless they are having an absolute disaster.

Me I always have more in the bag than I need, just in case that day comes when I have a mare and end up looking like a div because I've run out of golf balls!

Just back from four rounds in Portugal, took 11 Pro V1's came back with 12 after finding 2 almost new ones!

Interesting thought on this which contradicts what I've said but I suppose if you know you have a small number of balls it might induce a style of playing which is a bit protective and thus lead to bad shots and more lost balls.
Usually I've got 6-7 new balls in the bag plus a couple which might have a bit of wear or I have found. I know I could get away with fewer, but I certainly don't need any more than that.

I have to say I like Eddie, but agree with George and Navy on this one. Poor form from him on this occasion.

I recently played in the Arran Challenge and had a nightmare! Lost 8 balls in the first round, 6 in the second and 4 in the third - and it’s a 12 hole course! Luckily I had plenty of balls in my bag but I was down to some pretty scabby ones towards the end I’m a great fan of Eddie and love his attitude but feel he must have had something else on his mind to walk off like that. Hope he’s OK

Lucky it was Stableford and not Strokeplay then LP!

All this talk of lost balls has me thinking it's high time I re-grip my ball retriever.

BlueCoverman wrote:Lucky it was Stableford and not Strokeplay then LP!