Dear Linda,
Here is my situation:
My golf ball rolled into a hazard and was sitting in a bunch
of long, tangled grass.... I was fortunate because it was a pretty good lie, as
I would definitely be able to hit it out of the hazard without having to take
an unplayable lie and incurring a penalty stroke. However, when I stepped
into the hazard and placed my feet in the long grass to address my ball, the
grass that I stepped on must have been attached to the grass around my ball,
and the ball moved when my foot moved to get a comfortable stance.
Is this a stroke penalty, even though I did not deliberately
move the ball?
Thank you for your response, and for being such a wonderful
part of my game... I just love your emails!
Lulu
Dear Lulu,
The bottom line, Lulu, is that you caused your ball to move.
You incur a one-stroke penalty, and must replace the ball [Rule 18-2a].
Linda
Copyright © 2013 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
