Linda, this situation occurred on Sat involving our 4-ball in a stroke play event:
Earle hits the ball onto the green and starts walking towards the green.
Colin is on the green already and finds Earle's ball in his way, so in order to speed up play takes out a marker and marks Earle’s ball. (He did not ask Earle or seek permission nor was he Earle’s marker.)
Earle arrives on the green, walks to his ball, lifts Colin’s marker, and places his own down in the exact spot. For a split second (time is irrelevant I am sure) there was no marker on the green.
Earle then replaces his marker with his ball and proceeds to putt out.
Johnny (my partner) then calls Earle for not marking the spot before lifting Colin’s marker.
Johnny penalises him 1 shot.
Please interpret for us what rules were broken, if any, and if so what penalty should be taken.
Regards,
Lou
Dear Lou,
There is no penalty in stroke play if a fellow competitor marks and lifts your ball without your authority [Decision 20-1/4]. This Decision cites Rule 18-4, which states that there is no penalty in stroke play for moving a fellow competitor’s ball.
There is a one-stroke penalty for lifting the marker before replacing it with your own [Rule 20-1]. The correct procedure is to place your ball in front of the marker, lift the marker, replace the marker with your own marker, and then lift your ball. The position of the ball on the green must always be marked.
Linda
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