Lost Disc - Your opinion

[Huff]

i know the spirit of the sport is to return discs etc - hence writing names on them etc - this probably works well for local courses where the same people play - and probably evolved from the days when discs were much more rare and expensive.

I'd think of it as a bonus if I got a disc back - afterall you I did throw a shitty shot - and I couldnt find it. Since i dont think i care that much about losing a disc (it sucks - but i can walk away not being all pissed off) i probably [incorrectly] assume others dont care as much as i - or they would have found it.

I'm more of a minimal effort guy. More likely to leave discs at the courses on tee boxes. Calling the # and leaving at the course.

if i find 3 discs in a round I dont want to all of a sudden become burdened to return them all. i'd be annoyed if i had to.

I think its obnoxious to expect all of your lost discs will be returned. Some people are definitely better than others and return anything & they are awesome, no doubt better for the game.

At the end of the day these are cheap items and can be replaced quite easily for cheaper than some of the effort. not worth getting panties all in a bunch over plastic - but if this was the 80's and the only DG store you knew of was 2000 miles away and there was no internet i'd be pissed if i lost a disc

so because its not as hard to get discs now and they arent as expensive as they used to be then it makes it more ok to steal? I dont know if you noticed by the economy isnt the greatest right now. I dont have nearly as much expendable $ as I used to and unfortunately replacement DG discs isnt high on my list of financial priorities right now. Point being that while the 10-20.00 a disc may sound like nothing to you, it may be a lot to the person whose disc you just kiefed.

you have 3 options when you find a disc:
1: pick it up and try to return it to the owner
2: pick it up and steal it
3: leave it where it is.

If you find 3 discs and cant be trouble to bothering calling 3 hole #s then dont pick them up to begin with. leave them for one of the nicer DGers to find.

 

[Rbuzz9]

HOW would people feel about kids with bunch of snorkels taking all the discs from a pond? Would people feel the same way? Is it what's mine is mine? Since there is probably no chance you were planning on going back with scuba gear for that one disc


And i'd say veteran players are more likely to return. More serious players probably have no use for a random disc they find.

 

[sidewinding]

It's rare for me to lose a disc because I don't like to give up and stop searching. I have lost them as the sun was going down and been the first one to the course the next morning and found the disc. I've gone back to a course a week later with the sole intent to find a lost disc and found it. I've driven 40 miles to find a lost disc and found it. I've been nipple deep in a creek, with snakes swimming around, to retrieve a $6.00 tbird. It is a great feeling to find a lost disc.

Once I give up on a disc though, I move on. I consider it gone and forget about it. I buy a replacement or try something different and never worry about it again. It's part of the game. I assume someone has found my disc and am happy for them and hope the disc is being aired out regularly. I don't expect it back at this point. I have moved on. if I see someone with a disc that has/had my name and number on it (and I have) I don't get mad at them. They are making use of something that I gave up on which is a good thing. I could be selfish and childish and call them a theif but I don't. I move on.

 

[Rbuzz9]

i'm not advocating stealing - i think stealing is the worst option - id prob call the #'s & leave the discs - but i can also rationalize not going to all out to return discs.

If the person i call doesnt care or doesnt answer - i'd leave the disc & a voicemail saying so - if they seem to care a lot about it - id make an effort, i'm not such a cold person if i talk to someone.

i usually dont carry my cell on the course so that doesnt help calling so much

 

[Huff]

as we've covered a few issues in the last couple weeks that have had some debate to em... man some of you crack me up. It baffles me that we have people who are about ready to call the cops on fellow DGs for smoking weed out in the woods yet think nothing of stealing other peoples property. wtf...

 

[buzzinb]

I make every attempt to return discs that have information on them. I have seen one happy owner reunited with their very first "ace disc" and another guy very relieved to have his buddy's first run Z Reaper (mint) find its way back to him. I have to admit, I was tempted a little on that one I was also very pleasantly surprised to have a champion Beast come back to me. It all boils down to doing what you feel is right. Values determine actions. Sometimes the dollar ammount is inconsequential. The real worth of a found item is what it means to the person who lost it, not what it sells for at the sporting goods store.

 

[sidewinding]

The best way to remove sharpie from a disc is MEK. It won't harm the discs. The other day I purchased a beautiful used ocean blue 175 champion wraith in pristine condition from Play It Again Sports for $6.00. It was better than new because it was the color and weight I wanted. I cleaned it with MEK and now it has my name and number on it.

 

[ZMan44]

Well, technially, according to the law, smoking weed is illegal. Stealing is also illegal. However, property left in a public place becomes the property of the park or the person who finds it. By law, ownership ceases at the point of abandonment. On private property, once the disc is "abandoned", it becomes the property of the owner of the property.

With that being said, we all think that if there is a phone number on the back it should be called. Expecting discs to be returned is a stretch as I have been contacted twice and I lose my fair share of discs. We all hope that we get them back, but if we take the time to look and we don't find them, I just consider them gone. Sure I would hope for the same courtesy as I give, but I don't expect it. Odds are good, if you have ever found an SE Teebird on a course, it might have been mine at some point. Because that's my favorite driver and I have lost about 5 over the past few years. But life goes on.

 

[Bomber311]

Return?

I've been marking my discs for over a decade and have not ever had someone try to get a hold of me after finding my lost. If I know the person, I'll return it without question, which I've done several times. Can't say I've lost too many discs though....

 

[Huff]

Well, technially, according to the law, smoking weed is illegal. Stealing is also illegal. However, property left in a public place becomes the property of the park or the person who finds it. By law, ownership ceases at the point of abandonment. On private property, once the disc is "abandoned", it becomes the property of the owner of the property.

if there is a law like that I'm willing to bet that the definition of abandonment isnt the instant someone misplaces something. Around here we have laws to actually protect people property rather than screwing them lol.

TN isnt on this list, but this list may not be complete.



http://www.animallaw.info/articles/ovuslostdogpropertystatutes.htm
Summary of State Lost Property Statutes

The statutes listed below represent the approximately 20 states that have enacted laws governing the disposition of lost property. These statutes typically require a finder to report and/or relinquish the found property to local authorities, publish the find in a local publication, and wait a statutorily proscribed time period prior to asserting ownership. In essence, these enactments override or supplement the common law rule that a finder's interests are always subordinate to the true owner's. In fact, it is said the goal under common law is to reunite the lost property with its true owner. Not all states have enacted such laws; in those states without a statutory scheme, the common law rule applies.

 

[Rbuzz9]

even if somewhere taking a found disc could be technically illegal
Chances are the guy caught smoking dope would get in more trouble than the guy who's caught with some random person's disc.

i understand someone calling cops for weed - but cant if i see a guy has a disc that doesnt have his own name on it.

 

[DirtyMittenDG]

LOL, I'll admit it, I picked "Keep it", didnt expect a 6 to 40 margin, haha, lol

 

[valkyriefb11]

If there is a number on the disc I always call the person at least twice to give them a fair chance to get my call. The only way I will keep a marked disc is if the person who lost it just says to keep it. I've lost several discs since I started playing, all clearly marked, and never received a call for any of them. All of the discs I have found that were marked I have called for and returned to their owners. I must say that I have no respect for people who steal discs (because thats what you do when you keep a clearly marked disc) regardless of your PDGA status. Its wrong and unacceptable. I guess people don't understand or respect the Golden Rule anymore.

 

[DirtyMittenDG]

when someone throws a disc and LOSSES it, then you find it, it isnt stealing! Once the person leaves with out the disc it is no longer theirs!! When you throw a disc in a questionable area on a course you know what the risk/reward is! The reward is an ace or birdie, and the risk is losing your disc. Also its not fair to the person who finds it, they proly got caught up in a pricker bush and got bit by a bug efore they find "your" disc. It then becomes thiers and not yours

 

[DirtyMittenDG]

before*

 

[PhattD]

I think that once you cover up the other persons name # or whatever you have stolen the disc. Now if you find it use it and then give it back if the owner notices it and asks for it then you borrowed it. At worst you're lazy for not calling the number, as well as loading up on bad karma.

 

[basmith42]

you know...

now that I've seen this whole thread.. I think I'll just quit putting my numbers on the disks. If I loose them and quit looking, I consider them lost.
If someone were to call after finding it, I'd be floored.

I've pulled a few discs out of water and kept them. Of course, I've also gone into water for a strangers disc because i was already wet.

If I found one on the fairway, I'd call the number before leaving the course and go from there.

 

[adam423]

when someone throws a disc and LOSSES it, then you find it, it isnt stealing! Once the person leaves with out the disc it is no longer theirs!! When you throw a disc in a questionable area on a course you know what the risk/reward is! The reward is an ace or birdie, and the risk is losing your disc. Also its not fair to the person who finds it, they proly got caught up in a pricker bush and got bit by a bug efore they find "your" disc. It then becomes thiers and not yours

My aim is so bad that nearly all of my shots have the chance of ending up in the 'questionable areas.' lol. I've gotten plenty of bug bites/poison ivy/briars just retrieving my discs. However, if I happened to stumble upon someone else's disc while rummaging around in the underbrush, I'd call. Its still their's, they just couldn't find it at the time. Its the honorable thing to do.

 

[ERicJ]

when someone throws a disc and LOSSES it, then you find it, it isnt stealing! Once the person leaves with out the disc it is no longer theirs!! When you throw a disc in a questionable area on a course you know what the risk/reward is! The reward is an ace or birdie, and the risk is losing your disc. Also its not fair to the person who finds it, they proly got caught up in a pricker bush and got bit by a bug efore they find "your" disc. It then becomes thiers and not yours

The sense of illegitimate entitlement that some people feel always continues to amaze me.

Do you also go to childrens' parties to blow out the candles and kick the clown?

ERic

 

[Nickwells]

I've had disc STOLEN after my tee shot. Right in a wide open fairway, nowhere for it to hide. Blind holes. That's STEALING. FINDING a disc in the middle of the woods is not STEALING. If someone confronted me about a disc being theirs & they can prove it, they can have it back. No problems. If you find a $20 bill on the ground and no one is around do you not pick it up and not take it?