My apologies in advance to those members who find this offensive, but I've always considered my lost balls "Gifts to the Golfing Gods".
The Spanish River runs parallel to 3 holes on our course, (on the right side) but #5 is closest to the river. For guys that try to hit driver and fade it even slightly, we say they've put up an offering to the God of the Spanish River. There's a few players in our club that call #5 tee box the Altar to the GOTSR. These same players hit driver on every hole.
My latest term for lost ball: A good news/bad news ball. When you find it, it's good news/bad news. The good news is you've found it. The bad news is, you have to play it (as far too often a lost ball is lost in an unruly lie).
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