Hey Linda…let’s say I am playing in a match play event, best
ball, and my opponents drive the cart into an area that is not where they
should be (like the carts signs were pointing away so carts were to be avoiding
this place) and I hit them with my ball. Can they still call a penalty on me?
Lou from San Francisco
Dear Lou,
What penalty are they calling on you? There is never a
penalty in match play if your ball strikes your opponent’s cart. The choice on
how to proceed is yours: Cancel the stroke and play a ball from where you last
played, or play the ball that struck the cart as it lies [Rule 19-3].
There is no penalty in stroke play, either. However, in
stroke play there is no choice – you must play the ball as it lies.
The only time you are penalized for hitting a golf cart is
when the cart belongs to you (one stroke and play the ball as it lies).
Linda
Copyright © 2013 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.