Linda, I just received an email from a player that I often
golf with, who sends many of your answers to several mutual friends.
This one was about a caddie marking & replacing a ball
on the green.
Many times with different groups that I play with, a player
will chip onto the green after the other three of us are already on the green.
Usually one of us will mark his ball in order to speed play so that the player
who is already on the green and away can putt.
Based on what I read regarding the rule on marking &
replacing the ball, the player who marked it should be the one to replace it,
but is there a problem with non-authorization in this instance?
This is another one of the rules of golf that I think is
petty & silly. How different could it be replaced if any of the players
placed it near the marker on the side of the marker closest to the hole? I
can't see any problem with any of the players on the green marking it, then
giving it to the player it belongs to and then the player whose ball it is
replaces it. Basically it is going to rest in the same spot.
Lou from Pennsylvania
Dear Lou,
Is it really so much trouble to request permission from the
player off the green to mark his ball for him? I do this all the time, since I prefer
to walk, which often puts me on the green ahead of golfers who have a riding
cart and park away from the green. The request for permission to mark takes
less time than writing this sentence!
The player off the green is entitled to the courtesy of a
request (required by Rule), and for good reason. He needs to know that someone
has lifted his ball, and he needs to know who that person is. The player might
want to ask the marker his exact procedure in marking the ball, since the marker
might have marked the ball off to the side to get it out of the line of another
player’s putt. Don’t forget that the player is responsible for any breach of
the Rules by another player who marks and lifts his ball. Because of that, the
golfer has the right to grant or deny permission to another person to lift his
ball, and the right to choose that person.
Linda
Copyright © 2013 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
