Hi. I enjoy and learn so much from your column. A situation
came up today which caused some disagreement among players.
A player's ball was about a foot off the green and 10 feet
from the hole. He waited while another player, who was on the
green, attempted his 15-foot putt. The putt went long, rolled off the
green, and struck the ball that was sitting on the fringe. Is the putter
penalized because he struck another ball while putting on the green?
Thank you,
Lou
Dear Lou,
There is no penalty if your putt from on the green strikes a ball that is off the green. The player who putted will play his ball as it lies.
If the other player’s ball was moved, it must be replaced.
The two-stroke penalty applies only if both balls lie on the green, and only in stroke play.
In match play, there is no penalty if you putt from
on the green and strike another player’s ball that is also on the green.
The reference for this is Rule 19-5a. Golfers are sometimes
confused by this Rule because of the different ruling for match play and stroke
play. They also have trouble when they try to find the answer under Rule 16
(which deals with putting) instead of Rule 19 (which deals with a moving ball
that is deflected or stopped).
Linda
Copyright © 2012 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
