2009 #2 Don’t Know What to Do? Play a 2nd Ball.

THE SCENE:
You are playing in a stroke play event. Your first shot on hole #2 finds the bunker. But even worse, your second shot goes out of bounds. You are under the impression that you can take a penalty stroke and drop within 2 club lengths of where the ball went out of bounds. So you find your ball, drop it and take your stance. Then Mary says, “Wait! You can’t do that. You are out of bounds. You have to go back to the bunker.” You look back at the bunker. That is a long way.

What would you do?

A. You decide to play your dropped ball. When you get in, you will tell the Committee. If there is a penalty you will add it to your score.
B. You announce your intention to play a 2nd ball and that you want your first ball to count - if it is legal. After hitting the dropped ball you play another ball from the bunker. You play both balls into the hole. When you get in, you report what you have done to the Committee.


B is correct.
The Committee will tell you that Mary was right. If your ball is out of bounds you must hit another ball from where you hit before. Therefore your score will be that of your 2nd ball, the one you hit from the bunker.

If you chose A. the Committee would have disqualified you. You played from a wrong place (20-7). You committed a serious breech (you gained significant advantage in distance), and you failed to correct your error.

Look at the following rule:

20-7. Playing from Wrong Place
 b. Match Play
If a player makes a stroke from a wrong place, he loses the hole.
 c. Stroke Play
If a competitor makes a stroke from a wrong place, he incurs a penalty of two strokes under the applicable Rule. He must play out the hole with the ball played from the wrong place, without correcting his error, provided he has not committed a serious breach (see Note 1).
If a competitor becomes aware that he has played from a wrong place and believes that he may have committed a serious breach, he must, before making a stroke on the next teeing ground, play out the hole with a second ball played in accordance with the Rules. If the hole being played is the last hole of the round, he must declare, before leaving the putting green, that he will play out the hole with a second ball played in accordance with the Rules.
If the competitor has played a second ball, he must report the facts to the Committee before returning his score card; if he fails to do so, he is disqualified. The Committee must determine whether the competitor has committed a serious breach of the applicable Rule. If he has, the score with the second ball counts and the competitor must add two penalty strokes to his score with that ball. If the competitor has committed a serious breach and has failed to correct it as outlined above, he is disqualified.
Note 1: A competitor is deemed to have committed a serious breach of the applicable Rule if the Committee considers he has gained a significant advantage as a result of playing from a wrong place.

REMEMBER: In a stroke-play event, any time that you are in doubt as to how you should proceed, play 2 balls and let the Committee decide.