Today on the course, one of my playing partners hit a ball that wedged itself right into the truck of a Palo Verde tree. It was just high enough so that we couldn't reach it even while standing on the cart (him, not me), and it was just loosely wedged in the bark. It looked like it should have fallen out easily enough, so he hit the truck with one of his clubs about a foot below where the ball was wedged. A different ball fell out of a different part of the tree. Bonus. So he did it again. Another different ball fell out of a different part of the tree. But he still hasn't gotten his ball out. So now the tree has officially been dubbed "the magic tree" due to its seemingly endless supply of golf balls, and the other cart we were playing with drove up and asks if we needed help. Turns out, the guy has a friggin' softball bat in his golf bag. So now he, who was a bit taller than my Asian friend by about a foot and a half, climbs up on the cart and gives it a good whack. Well, he got the wedged ball out (which turned out to not be my partner's ball anyway). And four more.
So now this guy is whacking at this tree with his baseball bat hoping to find more golf balls. Alas, no more came out. But the ranger did come along and threaten to call the police if we didn't stop molesting his tree. That was the exact word he used, too. We were molesting the Palo Verde tree, and they are the state tree of Arizona, so we were essentially breaking the law.
Oh, and I guess we're not allowed to climb on the golf carts, either.
My partner never did get his ball back.
