Linda, an
incident came about yesterday when a player picked up my ball to identify it. I
knew it was my ball and asked her what she was doing. She said she could do
that to identify it as long as she replaced it exactly as it was. It is my
understanding that she should have announced her intention and marked it before
lifting it. More specifically since I was 99.99% sure that it was mine, I
should have marked and lifted it to identify it.
Lulu from Austin, Texas
Dear Lulu,
In stroke play, if a fellow competitor lifts a competitor’s
ball without the competitor’s authority, there is no penalty and the ball must
be replaced [Rule 18-4].
In match play, if an opponent lifts your ball without your
authority, the opponent incurs a one-stroke penalty and the ball must be
replaced [Rule 18-3b].
If you want to avoid endless arguments and frantic searching
through the rulebook during your round, leave identification of a ball to the
player whose ball it might be.
Linda
Copyright © 2012 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
