11.3.07

2007 #12 Wrong Ball - Must You Go Back?

THE SCENE:
In a Tuesday, stroke play event, you are playing hole #2. Your drive lands in the rough; the other players’ drives all stop on the fairway. You go forward, find a ball in the rough and hit it onto the green. You don’t realize there is a problem until you start to tee off on hole #3. As you tee your ball up you realize that it is a practice ball, not your ball at all. You ponder the situation and finally realize that when you hit a ball out of the rough back on hole #2, you hit a wrong ball.

What Should You Do?
A. You didn’t hit one of the other players’ balls so it’s not really a Wrong Ball. Hit your tee shot and play hole #3.
B. It is too far to go all the way back to search for your ball. You will slow up play for your group and those behind you, too. Take your 2-stroke penalty and play on.
C. Go back to hole #2. Find your ball and play it into the hole. If you can’t find it, treat it as a lost ball and go back to where you hit before - the tee on hole #2. Take a one stroke penalty for the lost ball and hit again. Whether you find your ball or not, take a 2 stroke penalty for hitting a wrong ball but don’t count any strokes you made with the wrong ball.

C is correct
I know going all the way back seems ridiculous. But if you don’t and you tee off on the next hole, you will be disqualified. See the rule.

15-3 Wrong Ball
b. Stroke Play
If a competitor makes a stroke or Strokes at a wrong ball that is not in a hazard, he incurs a penalty of two strokes.
The competitor must correct his mistake by playing the correct ball or by proceeding under the Rules. If he fails to correct his mistake before making a stroke on the next teeing ground, or in the case of the last hole of the round, fails to declare his intention to correct his mistake before leaving the putting green, he is disqualified. 
Strokes made by a competitor with a wrong ball do not count in his score.


REMEMBER: If you hit a wrong ball, unless you are playing Match Play, you must go back. Otherwise you will be disqualified.

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