Is there a legal precedent that allows me to keep all the golf balls that land on my property?

Question

My home backs up to the 12th hole of a very nice private golf course. Unfortunatly most of the golfers are not very adept at the game. So, being a golfer myself, I maintain that any balls that I find in my yard and living room should be considered, if not mine by original purchase, at least a "wind fall" gain.
I have had several altercations with golfers that have insisted that even though their ball may be atop my coffee table, I have no right to move it. Let alone take it and add it to my collection.

Answer 1

What I find most amazing it that people respond to your nonsense. Like a golfer would insist that he was going to play it where it lies. Yet people answer what are clearly made up situations. According to you list of questions, you have had three cars driven into the pool. You have dead body buried in the ground, you have a neighbor walking around with a shot gun, and on the other side chickens.

One staff member you have sleeps in her car and claims adverse possession, and homeless folks sleep on your roof. You are considering hiring only gay people to cut medical costs but in your personality info, you see to hate gays. And still people answer the questions like they mean anything.

Answer 2

The balls are yours and you don't have to let them have it back. If a gentleman comes to you and is polite, asking for his ball, and has the make model and number, give it to him as golf is a gentleman's game and the balls can be up to 5 bucks a peice. If he is rude though, it's yours.
Never let them play out of your yard. They will destroy it. (Your yard that is) The golfer never has the right to come and get his ball. ONLY if YOU (The owner of the property) allow him too. Otherwise it is trespassing and you can have him kicked off the course by the end of his round.
You can do whatever you want to a lost ball as it is out of bounds. According to the rules the player can't replay the ball anyway. He must replay from the spot of the original shot.
My rule is to be nice to those who are polite and rude to those who are not. I call it returning the favor

Answer 3

My house backs up to a private golf course too. We have the same problem, we are golfers also. My dad decided that if the ball lands in our yard... then it is ours unless if the player tries to come and play it. If they do then, they are trespassing private property... so it is our ball too. If we are outside and they hit the ball over, we don't let them play it out of our yard but we let them drop hit and play it on the actual course.
When we first built the house and moved in, the players would just walk into our back yard and it the ball.. my parents had a problem with that so we went to the head pro and the manager of the course and set some rules. So if you hit the ball in the persons back yard.. and they are not home to tell you its ok to play it out of the backyard, then you are supposed to leave it. The person will never know if it was there or not if you went and hit it but they are supposed to leave it. (some people around us let the golfers play it out of their yard even tho they aren't supposed to).
So to answer your question, you have the right of taking the ball and keeping it. Just tell the golfer to go on the ruff or on the fairway and they will have a better shot anyway.
We have an inground pool in our backyard and it was in late fall so we had the cover on it is a cover you can walk on, its like a trampoline and my dad and I were outback cleaning some stuff up and a golfers ball landed on the pool cover and he came over and wanted to hit it off the cover. We told him no, so he got really mad and drove his cart all the way back to the clubhouse (we live on the 14th hole) and tried to complain but we had the right to say no to him. Then the same day one guys ball came through a window in our kitchen at the back of our house and he tried to convince my dad to let him in the house to get the ball.. and he tried to get out of paying for the window.
Just tell them no they don't have the right of taking the ball since it is on personal property and tell them to drop another ball and they will have a better shot anyway. Its not your fault they can't keep the ball on the fairway or on the green

Good Luck!

Answer 4

I would say the golf balls would be free to take seeming they are no longer the property of the golf course. I think the idea of hitting the balls back for someone else to actually use them is a good idea. Have a good one...

Answer 5

The balls land in your living room??

Shouldnt the golf course be putting in 20m high netting infront of your house??

I see it as that as everyone has said above, put up a sign. But the way I would go about it is that if you see a ball coming in, dont go out and get it straight away. Wait till the end of the day then collsect the balls.

That way you can say that you just wernt home, and then there is no complications about it.

But of course, if someone yells out for their ball, toss it back over :)

Answer 6

1. Of course you cannot keep the golf balls. Consider, the golfer were to throw onto your property a "cut diamond" two inches in diameter (not an inexpensive golf ball). Do you honestly think any court would allow you to keep it, when you explain "Your Honor, it is mine! It was on my lawn."

2. Reading @Emily L's excellent link, my other comment would be that any judge who is also an avid golfer, should excuse himself from such cases. Consider, it is your hobby to pitch in small rocks into a basket on your lawn. One such rock were to hit His Honor, as he is walking his dog outside of your property. Any doubt that he would throw the book at you?

It appears the ancient sport from St. Andrews makes exuberant and irrational fanatics out of sane, balanced and studied minds. My take of the law, it is the obligation of the golf course operator to minimize the probability that a stray golf ball causes bodily harm or smashes through a picture window. However, they should carry insurance for that eventuality.

3. Finally, the "trespass to pick up a stray ball" issue should have been part of the sale (or lease) agreement for your "golf course front side" property.

Answer 7

Well, you are in no way legally bound to let them play thru your living room. That is idiotic.

However, from a legal standpoint, I don't think you can claim the ball as yours. From what I have seen, if a person finds something that they know is not theirs but seems to be lost by someone else and they take it then in the eyes of the law, they have broken the law.

If it lands on your property, just pick it up and throw back on the course (preferably away from the flag). If they scream about it, call the police.

Answer 8

Short answer is that of course they are yours since your yard is OB and players can not retreive it from private property. If you are out there and they are polite, can identify their ball (personal mark, brand, model, etc.) then be a gentleman and give it back. If it did damage, then certainly if they too are a gentleman will offer to pay for it.

Different answer - Get a BIG, BAD, MEAN SOB of a dog. Put the sign up " If your ball is in the yard, you may play out... IF you can hit it before the DOG eats you! "

Answer 9

What I have seen before is homeowners putting up signs that state their property is out of bounds. Some go further in advising the golfers to take a drop without penalty.

Answer 10

I'm on your side in the matter, though I'm not sure what the court's side is.

I did find a good article that might interest you though. It addresses the property rights people have when they live near a golf course and stray balls land on their lawn, though it doesn't directly identify who then owns the golf ball. I included the link: