Questions
from “Lulus” in response to Ask Linda #480-Stepping on your ball:
Additional
question.... what if another player steps on it or runs over it with the golf
cart?
Lulu
Hi
Linda, was wondering what the decision would be if it was your opponent or
partner who stepped on the ball. Thanks, Lulu
Does
the answer assume that the player knew the lie of the ball in the rough before
she stepped on it? If she didn't know the lie (and it would be hard for
her to know it, not having seen the ball), is she not required to drop? See
Dec. 20-3b/5. Lulu
Dear
Lulus,
In
match play, if your opponent (or her equipment, which would include a cart)
moves your ball while she is helping you
search for it, there is no penalty and the ball must be replaced [Rule
18-3]. If she moves your ball at any other time, she is penalized one stroke
and your ball must be replaced [Rule 18-3b].
In
stroke play, there is no penalty if your fellow competitor moves your ball. The
ball must be replaced.
The
decision whether to place or drop the ball depends on whether the player knows
the original lie. If she does, she will place the ball in the closest similar
lie within one club-length, no closer to the hole. If the ball is in a bunker, she will re-create the
original lie and place the ball in it. If she does not know the original lie,
she will have to drop the ball as near as possible to where it lay [Rules 20-3b
and c].
Linda
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© 2012 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
