2010 #1 Can You Hit Range Balls During Play?

THE SCENE:

On hole #1 you hit your drive. When you arrive at your ball there are umpteen range balls in the area. You have to actually search to find and identify your own. What a mess! While waiting for your fellow competitor to play, you hit some of the balls back onto the range where the machine will pick them up. Your friend said, “Hey! You can’t do that. It’s a 2-stroke penalty."

What would you do?

A. She explains that you are considered to be practicing when you hit other balls. So you take the 2 stroke penalty.

B. You say that you don’t believe that is true. But when you get in, you’ll report what you have done to the Committee and let them decide.

B is correct.

The Committee will tell you that there is no penalty.

Look at the following Decision from the USGA site:

7-2/5 Hitting Practice Range Ball Back to Range

Q. During play of a hole, a player saw some balls from the adjoining practice range lying on the course and flicked one back to the range with his club. Is there a penalty under Rule 7-2?

A. In some circumstances the hitting of a practice range ball back towards the range during the play of a hole would be a breach of Rule 7-2, but the casual flicking of a range ball, apparently only for the purpose of tidying up the course, is not a breach.

REMEMBER: You can’t practice on the course but you can tidy up the course by flicking practice balls back onto the range.