Friday, March 14, 2014

Ask Linda #810-Bee distraction


Linda, whilst in the process of addressing a putt I had a wasp/bee fly close to my ear causing an involuntary movement by myself taking evasive action. This evasive action caused me to inadvertently strike my ball, which moved it approximately 2 inches.
Was I entitled to replay my putt without penalty?
My action was to count this as a stroke and continue with the hole.

Thank you.
Lou from England

Dear Lou,

An involuntary evasive action that results in your moving the ball does not meet the definition of “stroke,” since the act was not intentional. What has happened here under the Rules is that you have accidentally caused your ball to move. You must replace your ball and add a one-stroke penalty to your score [Rule 18-2].

Linda
Copyright © 2014 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.