Hi Linda,
In Saturday's tournament we were playing stroke play, individual net. Upon reaching the 6th tee a player in my group asked how many clubs he was permitted to carry. I said 14 and he said he was carrying 15. He thought the penalty would be disqualification but my thinking was that it was a two-stroke penalty for every hole played with 15 clubs. Upon finishing we asked the club pro and his assistant for clarification. We were told it was a two-stroke penalty for every hole played but that there was a maximum penalty of 4 strokes per round. Is this correct?
My other question was about the extra club. Is the player permitted to carry it with him the rest of the round? He did take it out of his bag and place it in the basket of the cart. He did not use it the rest of the round.
Thanks.
Lou
Dear Lou,
The pro and his assistant gave you the correct ruling. When it is discovered that a player is carrying more than 14 clubs, the penalty is two strokes per hole, with a maximum penalty of four strokes [Rule 4-4]. The penalty is applied by adding two strokes to the player’s score for the first and second holes [Decision 4-4a/10].
If the player discovers the extra club before he tees off on the second hole, the penalty is two strokes [Decision 4-4a/11].
When the discovery is made, the player must declare the extra clubs out of play. Some players take them out of the bag and place them in the basket or on the floor of the cart; others place the clubs upside-down in their bags. It doesn’t matter what the player does with them, as long as he does not use them during the rest of the round.
In your scenario, Lou, the excess clubs were discovered during the round. What happens if the player notices an extra club in his bag just prior to the start of his round? May he declare the club out of play and carry it with him? The answer is “no.” A player may not start a round with more than 14 clubs. If he does not find a safe home for the club (back in his car or in the clubhouse are two suggestions), his penalty for starting the round with more than 14 clubs is two strokes.
In match play, the penalty for carrying excess clubs is an adjustment to the state of the match, with a maximum deduction of two holes. What this means, for example, is if Player A is up 4 and his extra club is discovered on hole #10, he will now be up 2. If the match were all square at that point, Player B (his opponent) would now be up 2.
The moral is a no-brainer: Count your clubs before you begin play.
Linda
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