2005 #10 Your ball strikes hers. Is there a penalty?

The Scene:
You are playing in the President’s Cup, a match play event. You are playing hole #1. Both your ball and your opponent’s ball are on the putting green. You are away. Your opponent’s ball lies on the green, just beyond the cup.

What would you do?

A.  Ask your opponent to mark her ball to prevent a 2-stroke penalty if your ball strikes hers?
B.  Say nothing and hope she leaves it there? If your ball misses the cup, her ball could act as a backstop.


B is correct. There is no penalty if your ball strikes hers, even though both of your balls are on the putting green. Why? Because you are playing match play.
Open your Rules of Golf book to Rule 19-5. You will see the following:

Rule 19 Ball in motion deflected or stopped
19-5. By Another Ball
a. At Rest
If a player’s ball in motion after a stroke is deflected or stopped by a ball in play and at rest, the player must play his ball as it lies. In match play, there is no penalty. In stroke play, there is no penalty unless both balls lay on the putting green prior to the stroke, in which case the player incurs a penalty of two strokes.

REMEMBER: The only time there is a penalty when your ball hits another ball at rest is in stroke play when both balls are on the green prior to the stroke.