Linda, when we played a play day today a friend of mine told us a
situation that no one in the group, nor the pro at the club, knew the answer
to. She said she had a hard time getting her tee in the ground but forced
it enough to stay. When she did her take away and was starting her
forward swing the tee fell over and the ball fell off the tee.
She said she couldn't stop her swing so she just raised her
shoulders up to pull the club up high enough to prevent making contact with the
ball.
What would be the ruling here? Penalty or no
penalty?
Lulu
Dear Lulu,
No penalty.
The Definition of Stroke requires that a player intend to
strike the ball. When your friend deliberately avoided contacting the ball, she
no longer intended to strike it. This does not count as a stroke. The player
will re-tee and incur no penalty [Decision 14/1.5].
Kudos to the player for making the split-second decision to
avoid hitting the ball and having enough control over the club to enable her to
do that. This is not an easy thing to do. I saw Tiger swing over the top of his
ball once, and I can recall the announcers oohing and aahing over the feat.
Your friend is in rare company.
Linda
Copyright © 2012 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
