Hi Linda,
Yesterday, on our league day play, we had a gal that hit her
ball into a red stake [lateral] hazard. She chose to play out of the hazard
rather than going to the drop zone.
Her ball was covered with twigs and leaves, but she could
see enough to identify that it was her ball. She chose not to remove the leaves
and twigs for fear of moving the ball.
So, she hit the ball with a mighty swing, and out came a
ball. She discovered that the ball that came out was not her ball. She couldn't
see any ball other than her own (well hidden under the leaves) in the hazard. She
went back to her ball (still in the hazard) and hit it out of the red stake
hazard.
The question is the number of strokes to put on the scorecard.
We are unsure as to whether or not she has a penalty for hitting the ball under
the leaves by her ball (wrong ball) that wasn't hers.
She went into the hazard on her 3rd shot. Can you clear this
up for us?
Lulu
Dear Lulu,
There is no penalty, since the player was attempting to hit her own ball. Count the swing that dislodged the hidden ball as one stroke.
Please be aware, Lulu, that a player is only entitled to
move leaves and twigs in a hazard to identify
a ball. If she moves the ball during this process, she incurs a one-stroke
penalty and must replace the ball. The loose impediments she moves to identify
the ball must be replaced prior to hitting it [Rule 12-1b].
Since this player was able to identify her ball without
moving any loose impediments, she would not have been permitted to remove the
twigs and leaves. Such action is prohibited in a hazard. The penalty for
touching or moving a loose impediment in a hazard is two strokes [Rule 13-4].
Linda
Copyright © 2013 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
