Dear Linda,
During a recent golf competition at my club, we have what is
possibly a “lost ball” situation as described below. But, we are not absolutely
sure whether the ruling is correct that the ball is deemed as lost. Hence, I
would appreciate your advice.
Here is the scenario:
a. In the conditions of competition, it is stated that use
of range finder is not allowed during the stipulated round. Penalty is
disqualification.
b. On a par 5, a player played his second shot and the ball
hit a tree on the left hand side of the rough.
c. On reaching that location, he started to search for his
ball. After searching for about 4 minutes, he found a ball lodged in the tree,
about 12 feet above the ground.
d. As the player could not identify the ball lodged in
the tree as his ball, he would like to use his range finder to assist him.
But, he is wary of the condition that range finder is not allowed in the
competition. So, he called for a rules official.
e. While waiting for the rules official to arrive, the
player found another ball lodged in the same tree, which he could not identify
it too.
f. The rules official arrived at the location
about 2 minutes after the player has found a ball in the tree.
g. With the permission granted by the rules official, the
player used his range finder to look at the first ball. As he could not
identify that it was his ball (less than half the ball can be seen), the rules
official informed the player that his ball is lost and the
player must proceed under stroke and distance.
h. The rules official did not allow the player to identify
the second ball lodged in the tree found in (e).
Here are my queries.
Q1. As per the definition of “lost ball” the first condition
states that a ball is deemed as "lost" if it is not found or
identified as his by the player within 5 minutes after the player has begun to
search for it. In the above scenario, was it a lost ball situation by the time
the rules official has arrived, as it was already 6 minutes since a ball was
found?
Q2. If Q1 is a “yes,” is the player entitled to identify his
ball with the range finder?
Q3. The rules official was making reference to decision
27/5.5. However, I feel this decision is not relevant to the scenario
because during the entire 6 minutes, the player was at the same location. The
rules official feels that the clock to identify the ball should be stopped
at the 4th minute when the player had requested for a ruling on the use of
range finder. He opined that the player is entitled for another 1 minute to
continue his search or identify the ball upon arrival of the rules
official. Your comments please.
Q4. Do the 5 minutes allocated to search or identify a
ball run concurrently? In other words, in the above scenario, is the
5-min time allocated for the player to search for his ball expired
when the rules official arrived at the location but the player has remaining 1
minute to identify his ball? Or, when the rules official has arrived at the
location, the 5-min time allowed to search or identify the ball has expired? If
so, by definition, the ball is "lost", when the rules official
arrived at the location as it would be the 6th minute from the time a ball is
found by the player.
Q5. Upon arrival of the rules official, is the player
entitled to continue search or identify the second ball found lodged in the
tree? Or, the second ball is immediately deemed as “lost?”
My apologies for a lengthy description but I was trying my
best to give you a clear and accurate description of the scenario so that
you can provide an informed ruling.
Thank you,
Lou from Malaysia
Dear Lou,
The player is entitled to search for his ball for five
minutes. The player in your scenario found a ball that might be his within four
minutes, but he was unable to identify it and wanted to use a prohibited
rangefinder to assist in identification. He is entitled to seek a ruling from a
rules official. Time spent in contacting an official to get a ruling would not
be added onto the player’s five-minute search. The clock would stop at four
minutes, and begin again when the player uses the rangefinder to try to
identify his ball.
I’m not entirely certain why the rules official allowed the
player to use the rangefinder to identify his ball. While the use of binoculars
is permitted under the Rules, the use of binoculars with range-finder
attachments is not [Decision 14-3/3]. Be that as it may, once the official gave
the player permission to use the rangefinder as binoculars the player would not
be penalized for doing so.
Since I wasn’t on site, I will have to assume that the
official did not permit the player to try to identify the second ball because
it was not found within the five-minute search limit.
Linda
Copyright © 2014 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
