Linda…a question with two different scenarios:
1) A ball at rest is picked up by a stray dog. This
happened recently to my foursome when a dog grabbed a ball that was already on
the green when the ball was fully at rest. We assumed you could replace the
ball at the same spot.
2) A ball in motion is picked up by a stray dog.
Believe it or not, this also happened on the same day by the same dog. A guy in
our foursome had hit a chip from just off the green. While it was still in
motion, the dog decided to play a game of fetch. We simply made our best guess
of where it would have eventually come to rest, but I suspect the shot should
have been replayed.
Thanks,
Lou from Texas
Dear Lou,
In the world of golf, a dog is an outside agency. When a
ball at rest is moved by an outside agency, there is no penalty and the ball
must be replaced [Rule 18-1]. Your procedure in the first question was correct.
When a ball in motion is deliberately deflected or stopped by
an outside agency, the Note to Rule 19-1 comes into play. Since the stroke in
your second question was made from off the putting green, the spot where the
ball would have come to rest must be estimated. Assuming the players agreed
that the ball would have stayed on the green, the player will place his ball on
the agreed-upon spot. (Off the green, the ball would be dropped.) Your
procedure in the second question was also correct. Way to go, Lou!
You would cancel a stroke that was stopped or
deflected by an outside agency and replay it if the stroke were made from on the putting green [Rule 19-1b].
Linda
Copyright © 2013 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
