playing the par 4 9th at middleton, hit my second shot onto the green, as i approached the green a CROW swooped in and stole my ball and flew away into the distance,

what is the ruling on where i take my drop from and is it a free drop

 anyone had a similar problem?

Play the ball from wherever the crow drops the ball   Surely it will be replay the shot from were you originally hit it.

Just guessing here.

I have had this happen to me at St. Enedoc Golf club in Cornwall on the 12th hole. There is a church on the course where the crows live and it is a local rule that if ones ball is removed by one of them then a free drop is allowed.

What the rules are generally regarding an issue like this, I would like to know myself.

I have done a quick search and found this.

If a ball which is moving is stopped or deflected
If the ball is in motion and it is stopped or sent in a different angle by an outside agency, this is categorised as 'rub of the green', and no penalty is incurred. However, the ball must then be played from where it lies.

When not on the green and the ball is stopped on or in a outside agency, (for example, if it lands on the roof of a golf buggy) a substitute ball can be dropped on a point as near as possible to where the other ball was lost. There is no penalty for this.

When on the green, if the ball is moving and is taken away (for example by a rabbit or a dog), a replacement can be placed on the spot where the ball was taken away from (in this case, where the animal picked it up).

If a moving ball is stopped or deflected by the player who played it, the partner of the player who played it, a caddie of that player, or equipment belonging to that player, there is a loss of the hole in match play, or a two stroke penalty in stroke play, then play the ball as it lies.

The exception is when dropping the ball. If it hits the player's foot, the ball is simply dropped again. There is no penalty for that.

If the ball is stopped or deflected by an opponent, the opponent's caddie, or the opponent's equipment, there is no penalty, and the non-offending player has the choice of playing the ball as it lies, or cancelling the stroke, and playing it again.

The rules relating to stopped or deflected ball by a fellow competitor, caddie, or equipment in stroke play are seen as an outside agency, so it counts as rub of the green.

If a player's ball hits another still ball, there is no penalty, except when both balls are on the green before the stroke was played. If this happens, the offending player is penalized two

If a player's ball hits another still ball, there is no penalty, except when both balls are on the green before the stroke was played. If this happens, the offending player is penalized two

is the offending player the one who makes the stroke or the player who's ball is hit, as it should have been marked if on the line of the others putt

Brian, It is the offender who is penalised not the player whose ball has been hit. It is encumbent on the one putting to make sure that this offence could not arise by asking for any ball that is likely to be hit is marked.

John

Thanks john, thats a little more rules knowledge hopefully committed to memory.

The problem I've had at Middleton Mick is not with the crows but the local chavs pinching my ball!

This has got me thinking.  Last weekend played my local club with my father in law (Phil) and brother in law (Stu) and on the 6th hole Stu chipped onto the green hit Phil's ball and Stu's ball gentle rolled into the cup for a Par.

Phil was pretty annoyed as he was originally 3 feet from the hole and now faced a 9 footer for par - which he missed.

Having not known the rules we carried on regardless - where's the referee when you need them?  What should we have done? 

Chris, replace phil's ball as close to the original spot it was at, with no penalty.

Crow's stealing balls is also common at Llandudno North Wales Golf Club, as said earlier replace ball with no penalty.

John, you are correct in that the offender has the penalty, when hitting another players ball when both are on the green.

Alex, very similar problem at Garstang Golf Club with the kids waiting at the river edge on the Par 3 3rd, be suprised how often they are trying to sell you the very same ball you lost in the water at the previous shot

Something like this. If I remember the guy, had a 1 stroke penalty. Thats all you need at the 17th at sawgrass.

Happened to me when I was playing last year.  Both my playing partner and I drove off the 3rd and watched whilst we walked up the fairway a crow that hopped up to my friends ball looked it over then hopped up to mine, he dismissed mine and picked up my friends (I have to this day suggested that the Nike Swoosh on his ball just proved it was a chav crow). 

Whilst this in itself was quite funny the fact that my friend promtly dropped his bag, grabbed a club an ran at the crow waving the club above his head even funnier, him being well over 6 feet and wearing a rather nasty pair of shorts made for a rather incongruous sight !  The crow, with ball in its beak, made an understandably quick exit. 

Does anyone know where I can buy one of these crows? If only they could be trained to catch the ball in flight and drop it on the green!! Probably the only way I'm going to get my handicap down the way I play!

On a more serious note, I read this last Thursday and had a chuckle at the mental picture of a crow pinching a ball off the fairway and when I played the following day it happened to my son. A decent drive down the right side of the fairway, out comes Mr Crow who picked the ball up and dropped it ten feet away in the rough! I knew what to do but it was a very pleasant walk down the fairway explaining to him that crows were defined as "acts of God" and he had to play his ball where the crow had put it! Seventeen year old huh - no sense of humour!!

Danny's film has sent me to bed roaring with laughter. There has not been so much laughter in the house since Mrs. Viper  peeped into my dressing room.  

There's a local club to me that suffers big time with the crow problem. A member kept complaining to the club Pro , the pro convinced him to buy yellow balls as the crows like the white ones.He bought some yellow balls from him and the very next round he has his yellow ball nicked. Furious he stormed into the pro shop and explained what had happened the pro while laughing said" What hole were you on" member replied"the sixth" pro said"I'd forgotten about that crow i believe he is coulour blind"

True story 

Can i just ask, if you are playing and you hit your ball on another fairway (still in play). You can actually see the ball on the fairway, then someone else playing that hole decides to play/ pick your ball up. What is the ruling on this?

Club pro saying the crow is colour blind?

PMSL

I've not seen this Thread before but I do remember a story from the same location (9th hole Middleton) from a few years ago.

Golfers hit Balls onto Green, out runs a kid, picks up all the Balls and runs towards the centre of the course. Golfers give chase. Motorbike appears from trees and picks up kid. Golfers give up chase and turn to see two other kids legging it with their clubs.

True, honest.

Ref Mr Overland. NvS 2009. Sunday. 10th Hole. Thieving bumble bee. Still, ball retrieved, free drop and continued on...

... to thrash the N.

Oh stop David, youre killing me here!!