Thursday, February 21, 2013

Ask Linda #612-Free advice


Dear Linda,

I would like your advice on whether a situation was giving advice (thus subject to a penalty) or if it was notifying a player of a rule.

Player A had teed her ball outside the teeing area and was ready to make her stroke. Player B cleared her throat to get player A’s attention and then pointed to the tee markers. Should this be considered giving advice? If it is considered advice, who gets the penalty, A or B?

Would it be considered advice if player B had made a comment such as: “There is a 2-stroke penalty for making a tee shot from outside the tee box?”

Thank you for your response.
Lulu from Arizona

Dear Lulu,

Information on the Rules is not advice [Definition of “Advice”]. There is no penalty for warning a player that she is about to incur a penalty. I refer to this fondly as “preventive umpiring,” and players who have the knowledge and decency to help others avoid penalties are #1 in my book.

Linda
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