Linda, what if the addition of B's wedge to A's bag made A
have 15 clubs in his bag email [Ask Linda
#681-Another player’s club in your bag]?
Is A penalized for the holes he had B's club in his bag? But
he didn't put it there, a competitor did. Hmmmm…
Lou
from Virginia
Dear Lou,
The answer depends on several factors [Decision 4-4a/6]:
Player A is not
penalized for carrying 15 clubs if all
of the following circumstances exist:
1. Player B put the
club in Player A’s bag on the first tee;
2. the club was
added to A’s bag after the group’s
official start time; and
3. the club Player B added to A’s bag was
one of the clubs that B had selected
for play.
The only way Player A would be penalized under the above
circumstances would be if he were to use B’s club. The club may be returned to
B and B may use the club during his round.
Player A is
penalized for carrying 15 clubs if any
of the following circumstances exists:
1. The added club
belongs to a player in a different
group.
2. The club was
added to Player A’s bag before his
group arrived at the tee.
3. The club was
added before Player A’s starting
time.
Basically, if you count your clubs immediately prior to
teeing off on the first hole, it is highly unlikely that anything will happen
after that to cause you to incur a penalty for carrying too many clubs.
The penalty for carrying more than 14 clubs in stroke play
is two strokes per hole, maximum 4 strokes. In match play, the state of the
match is adjusted by deducting one hole per breach, maximum two per round.
Perhaps the match play penalty would be better understood with an example:
Ted and Matt are playing a match. Matt is 3-down. During
play of the fifth hole, Ted discovers that Matt is carrying 15 clubs. The two
men complete the fifth hole, which they halve. Once the hole is complete, the
state of the match is adjusted two holes. Matt is now 5-down. If the two men
had been playing the second hole, Matt had been 1-down, and the second hole was
halved, Matt would now be 3-down despite having played only two holes! Where
else but in golf?
Linda
Copyright © 2013 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
