2007 #13 Did You Make a Stroke?

THE SCENE:
You are on hole #1, short of the bunker. You want to pitch your ball onto the green and let it roll to the hole. You pull out your pitching wedge and then line up to take a practice swing. You glance quickly at your target and swing back. Then your brain goes dead. Your arms reach out instinctively for the ball and the tip of your club head hits the ball, shoving it away from you.

What would you do?
        A.    It was a practice swing, not a stroke. You hadn't even taken your stance. So, it doesn't count. You reach out with your club and roll your ball back into place and then play it.
        B.    You took a stroke. You count it and then play the ball from where it lies.
        C.    You accidentally caused your ball to move. You add a penalty stroke, replace your ball and then play it.
 
C is correct because you didn't make a stroke but you did cause your ball to move.
Look in your Rules of Golf book under DEFINITIONS, page 3. You will see
    A “stroke’’ is the forward movement of the club made with the intention of fairly striking at and moving the ball, ...
Since you had no intention of striking the ball, you did not make a stroke. However, you did cause the ball to move. Rule #18 says:

RULE #18 BALL AT REST MOVED
18-2. By Player, Partner, Caddie or Equipment
When a player’s ball is in play, if:
the player … causes it to move except as permitted by a Rule,
the player shall incur a penalty stroke… The ball shall be replaced

If you fail to replace your ball, you'll be in breech of Rule #18, a maximum 2-stroke penalty.

What this means to you is:
Your ball was at rest.
You, the player, caused your ball to move.
You incur one penalty stroke.
Your must replace your ball - or incur a 2-stroke penalty.

REMEMBER: If you cause your ball to move, replace it and add a penalty stroke to your score for the hole.
 

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.

2007 #11 Your Ball Hits Your Opponent’s Cart

THE SCENE
You are playing in the President’s Cup, a match play event. You are lining up your ball on the 10th fairway. Your opponent is driving along the cart path to the right of the fairway bunker, searching for her ball. She is hoping she will find it in bounds. You aim down the center of the fairway toward the green and swing. You must have been thinking about your opponent because the ball heads that way, hits her golf cart and bounces out of bounds. Your opponent calls out, “You’re OB!” You call back, “Pick it up, will you? I’m canceling that stroke.” Then you immediately drop another ball and hit it towards the green. After you both hole out, you and your opponent disagree on your score. She says you are penalized one stroke for being out of bounds. You disagree. She phones the Pro Shop for a ruling.

What would the ruling be?
A)  Your ball was OB. The penalty is stroke and distance. You should have added one penalty stroke to your score and played a ball from where your original ball was last played.
B)  Your ball was deflected by your opponent’s equipment – her golf cart. You were allowed to cancel your stroke and play again with no penalty.

B) is correct
In stroke play, that cart would be considered an outside agency. The ball’s being deflected by an outside agency is a ‘rub of the green’. There is no penalty and you must play the ball as it lies. In other words your ball would have been out of bounds and A) above would be correct. (One stroke penalty)

But hallelujah! You are not playing stroke play. You are playing match play and if your ball is deflected by your opponent’s cart you can cancel your stroke and play again – as long as you do it right away, before anyone else makes a stroke. So, you were right. There was no penalty for your being out of bounds.

Open your Rules of Golf book to Rule 19-3. You will see the following:
Ball in Motion Deflected or Stopped
19-3 By Opponent, Caddie or Equipment in Match Play
If a player’s ball is accidentally deflected or stopped by an opponent, his caddie or his equipment, there is no penalty. 
The player may, before another stroke is made by either side, cancel the stroke and play a ball without penalty as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played (see Rule 20-5) or he may play the ball as it lies.

REMEMBER: In match play if your ball hits your opponent, her caddie, or her equipment you can cancel that shot and play again. (No penalty)

2007 #10 Measuring relief for an Unplayable Lie

THE SCENE:
A player’s ball lay in the rough between an out-of-bounds fence and a cart path. She backed up against the fence, trying to take her stance, but the ball was just too close. It was between her feet. She couldn’t hit it, so she deemed it unplayable. She took a penalty stroke, lifted the ball, walked across the cart path and dropped it on the adjacent fairway.

One of the other players said, “Hey, you can’t do that! You have to drop your ball within two club lengths.”

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

A. You would say, “It was lying between the fence and the cart path in an unplayable lie. I don’t want to drop it on the cart path so I’m dropping it on the fairway.”
B. You would walk back to your cart, pull out your driver, walk back and measure two club lengths from where your ball lay.

B IS CORRECT
There are only three options for an unplayable lie.

Hit from where you hit before; Go back as far as you wish on a line from the flag through the ball; Drop within 2 club lengths, no closer to the hole.

See
Rule #28 Unplayable Ball

If the player deems his ball to be unplayable, he must, under penalty of one stroke:
a. Play a ball as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played (see Rule 20-5); or
b. Drop a ball behind the point where the ball lay, keeping that point directly between the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped, with no limit to how far behind that point the ball may be dropped; or
c. Drop a ball within two club-lengths of the spot where the ball lay, but not nearer the hole.

Since what you really want to do is to drop your ball on the fairway, neither a nor b would help you to do that. But c might. This option allows you to drop your ball within 2 club lengths of where the ball lies, no closer to the hole. You are allowed to use any club in your bag to measure it.

When dropping two club lengths from where the unplayable ball lies, it is permissible to use a long club such as a driver or a long putter for measuring those two club lengths. If that doesn’t get you to the fairway, you might consider dropping the ball on the cart path, itself. The ball might roll or bounce to the fairway side. (Of course you have to make sure it doesn’t roll more than two club lengths from where it was dropped. If it does, re-drop it.) And, if the ball stops on the cart path, or close enough to it so that when you take your stance, your feet are on the cart path, the player is allowed free relief from there. The nearest point of relief might be on the fairway side of the cart path.

REMEMBER: When you have an unplayable lie, you can use any club in your bag to measure two club lengths. Then drop within those two club lengths to take your relief.

2007 #9 Ball Lying Against Rake

THE SCENE:
You are playing a par 3 hole. You hit a good drive. Your ball stops just short of the green. It’s in the rough, beside the bunker. When you arrive you find that your ball is lying against a rake. You know the rake is a moveable obstruction and that you are allowed to remove it. So you lift the rake. But your ball rolls down into the hazard.

What would you do?
A. You must replace the ball. There is no penalty because lifting the rake caused the ball to move.
B. Gravity caused your ball to roll all the way down into the hazard. So, you must play it from there..

A is correct. If removing a moveable obstruction causes your ball to move you must replace it. There is no penalty.

Open your Rules of Golf book to rule #24-1:
24-1 Movable Obstruction
A player may take relief without penalty from a movable obstruction as follows: 
(a) If the ball does not lie in or on the obstruction, the obstruction may be removed. If the ball moves, it must be replaced, and there is no penalty provided that the movement of the ball is directly attributable to the removal of the obstruction.

A suggestion: This is not required, but I would suggest that before lifting the rake you mark your ball. Then, if your ball moves, there will be no doubt that you know exactly where to replace it. (If there is doubt as to its location you’d have to drop the ball. (Rule 20-3c))

REMEMBER: If you find your ball lying against a rake, there is no problem. You can lift the rake. And if your ball moves, replace it. There is no penalty.

2007 #8 Don’t Know Which Ball is Yours?

THE SCENE:
You are playing hole #3. Your drive goes straight up the middle of the apron towards the green but bounces left, toward the bunker and then out of sight. The next player’s ball follows yours. When you arrive, the two balls are close to each other but one is in the bunker, the other is in the rough. Both players claim the ball in the rough is theirs. Both balls are Titleists. Neither has an identification mark.

What would you do?
A.  The other player insists the ball in the rough is hers. You don’t like fights so you give in and play the other ball, the one in the bunker. You figure you are being a good sport.
B.  Both balls are ‘lost’. The penalty is stroke and distance. You lift one of the balls, mentally take a one stroke penalty and head back to the tee to hit it again.

B is correct. Your ball is lost so you must take a penalty stroke and replay your ball. If you failed to do this, you would be penalized 2-strokes for breach of Rule #27 (Lost Ball).

See Decision 27/10:
27/10 Player Unable to Distinguish His Ball from Another Ball

Q. A and B hit their tee shots into the same area. Both balls were found but, because A and B were playing identical balls and neither had put an identification mark on his ball, they could not determine which ball was A’s and which was B’s. What is the ruling? 

A. Since neither player could identify a ball as his ball, both balls were lost — see Definition of “Lost Ball.” This incident underlines the advisability of the player putting an identification mark on his ball — see Rules 6-5 and 12-2.

REMEMBER: Put an identification mark on your ball!! If you don’t and can’t tell your ball from another, take a penalty stroke, return to the spot from where you hit before, and hit again. If you don’t do that, you are then in beach of Rule #27 and must give yourself a 2 stroke penalty so you won’t be disqualified for turning in an incorrect score card.

2007 #5 Be Creative. Rules Can Help You

THE SCENE
At a PGA tournament the weather was bad. The players were allowed to lift, clean and place their ball within 6 inches of where it lay. One player’s drive stopped within a few inches of a sprinkler head. The sprinkler head bothered him but since it didn’t actually interfere with his stance or swing, he wasn’t allowed any relief. But by using the rules creatively he was able to provide himself with free relief of a full club length.

HOW?
He lifted the ball, cleaned it and placed it within 6 inches of where it lay – on the sprinkler head! Then, since his ball was now on an immoveable obstruction he got free relief and was allowed to drop his ball within one club length of his nearest point of relief.

Open your Rules of Golf book to Rule 24-2. You will see the following:
24-2 Immovable Obstruction
a. Interference
Interference by an immovable obstruction occurs when a ball lies in or on the obstruction, or when the obstruction interferes with the player’s stance or the area of his intended swing. ...
b. Relief


Except when the ball is in a water hazard or a lateral water hazard, a player may take relief from interference by an immovable obstruction as follows: 
(i) Through the Green: If the ball lies through the green, the player must lift the ball and drop it without penalty within one club-length of and not nearer the hole than the nearest point of relief. The nearest point of relief must not be in a hazard or on a putting green. When the ball is dropped within one club-length of the nearest point of relief, the ball must first strike a part of the course at a spot that avoids interference by the immovable obstruction and is not in a hazard and not on a putting green.

REMEMBER: Be creative with the Rules. Sometimes they can really help you.

2007 #4 Permission to Mark Ball

THE SCENE:
You are playing hole #15. Your second shot is short of the green.. You pitch your ball high in the air and even though you can’t see it, you think it settles near the hole. When you arrive on the green, however, you discover that you are away. You line up your ball and putt. It takes 3 putts to hole your ball. After everyone putts out, you notice a ball marker near the hole and ask who it belongs to. Your fellow competitor says, “Oh, that’s where I marked your ball. Why did you play from way over there?” You place your hands on your hips and say, “You did what!?! You had no right to lift my ball. You didn’t ask my permission.” You stab your finger at her. “You are going to get a big penalty.”

Who does get penalized?
A. She didn’t have the right to lift your ball. She incurs a penalty of one stroke.
B. You are penalized for playing a wrong ball (a ball that has been set aside)
C. There are no penalties for anyone. You must re-putt from where your ball was lifted.

C is correct There are no penalties. It is true that she didn’t have the right to lift your ball without your authorization (Rule 20-1) but in Stroke Play she is not penalized. (Rule 18-4)

Rule 20-1 Lifting and Marking
A ball to be lifted under the Rules may be lifted by the player, his partner or another person authorized by the player.
Rule 18-4 Ball moved by Fellow-Competitor, Caddie or Equipment in Stroke Play
If a fellow-competitor, his caddie or his equipment moves the player’s ball, touches it or causes it to move, there is no penalty. If the ball is moved, it must be replaced.

Since you didn’t know your ball had been set aside, you incur no penalty. But you must replay from where your ball was lifted.

Decision 15-3b/3 Fellow-Competitor Lifts Competitor’s Ball and Sets It Aside; Competitor Plays Ball from Where Set Aside


Q. In stroke play, B marked the position of A’s ball on the putting green, lifted it and placed it nearby on the green. A failed to replace the ball. He putted it from where it lay and holed out. The error was then discovered. What is the ruling?

A. When a ball is lifted, it is out of play. When A played a stroke with his ball which was out of play, he played a wrong ball….
..If A did not know that B had lifted his ball, A could not be penalized for playing a wrong ball. If he became aware of the mistake before playing from the next tee, he was required to replace his ball on the correct spot, without penalty, and complete the hole. If he learned of the mistake after playing from the next tee, the score with the wrong ball would stand and there would be no penalty.

REMEMBER: If you want to mark someone’s ball on the green, first ask her permission. Then don’t set the ball aside. Hand it to her and show her where you marked it. There is no penalty for failing to do this, but we should show consideration for others on the course at all times.

2007 #2 Who Can Replace Your Ball?

THE SCENE:
You are raking the sand in the bunker on hole #15 when Audrey asks for permission to mark your ball on the green. You say of course and when you walk onto the green she hands you your ball and points to her ball marker which is marking your ball.

What would you do?
A. You place your ball in front of the marker then give Audrey her ball marker.
B. You give the ball back to Audrey and ask her to replace it.

Either A or B is correct.
Actually either procedure is allowed. Three people can replace your ball: You, your partner, or the person who lifted it.

Rule 20-3 in your Rules of Golf book answers the question:
20-3 Placing and Replacing
a. By Whom and Where


A ball to be placed under the Rules must be placed by the player or his partner. If a ball is to be replaced, the player, his partner or the person who lifted or moved it must place it on the spot from which it was lifted or moved

But do make sure that if she marked the ball in an unusual way (not directly behind the ball) that you replace the ball accordingly.

REMEMBER: If someone marks your ball for you, it is all right for you to replace it, yourself.