Hi Linda,
Please can I have clarity on an incident that occurred last
weekend at our golf course.
I drove my ball into a tree plantation that is marked by
blue stakes [ground under repair]. My playing partners and I searched for my
ball but could not find it. Both playing partners agreed that the ball did
enter the area. They also agreed where I should take my free drop outside the
plantation. This is where the confusion starts.
After dropping the ball, one of my playing partners finds my
original ball 20 yards further back from the dropped ball, outside the blue-staked
area.
I decided to play both balls and finished the hole as I was
unsure of the rule and to keep up with play. I then reported the incident to
a match committee member further on during the same round. He informed me
it was a one-stroke penalty as I had dropped the ball nearer to the hole.
I signed the card with the one-stroke penalty at the end of
the round. This was a stroke play competition.
What is the correct procedure:
1. If the 5-min time had elapsed.
2. If it was within the 5-min time that the ball was found.
3. If the ball was found beyond where I had dropped the ball
and played both balls to complete the hole.
4. If I had not signed my card as I was not happy with the
ruling given on the course by the match official.
Hopefully you can decipher this and make some sense of it to
reply. Enjoying all the rules and regulations Q & A's.
It creates great debate at our club.
Thanks Linda.
Kind regards,
Lou from Scotland
Dear Lou,
Let’s take a look at your original scenario from a rules’
perspective. You are virtually certain that you hit your ball into an abnormal
ground condition (the tree plantation is marked as ground under repair). Your
fellow competitors agree, and everyone agrees where the ball entered the area.
Your ball is not found, and you drop a ball within one club-length of the
nearest point of relief that is no closer to the hole.
Since there was virtual certainty that your ball was lost in
the GUR, and agreement regarding the point of entry, the substituted ball
became the ball in play when you dropped it. You must continue play with that
ball. While it is unusual to find the original ball outside the GUR when
everyone present is certain it entered the GUR, it is not an unheard-of
occurrence. The Rules respect everyone’s honest judgment regarding the location
of the ball, and require that you continue play with the ball you dropped correctly
under the Rules [Decision 25-1c/2.5]. There is no penalty when you take relief
from GUR.
Here are the answers to your extra-curricular questions,
plus an additional answer to a question you didn’t think to ask:
#1 and #2: The five-minute limit on searching for a lost
ball is irrelevant. The ball you dropped was dropped under the Rules, and was
in play as soon as it was dropped. The original ball may not be played.
#3: There is no penalty for playing both the ball you
dropped and an original ball found closer to the hole. The dropped ball will be
ruled to be the ball that counts.
#4: If you disagree with the ruling of the on-course
official (as well you should, since his ruling that you incurred a one-stroke
penalty was incorrect), you may ask his permission to discuss the matter with
the Committee before signing your card. The player has the right to appeal a
decision if the referee consents.
#5: The question I would like to add is this: What happens
if you drop the ball and the original is found in the GUR at a
different location?
Answer: You must
lift the substituted ball and drop it with respect to the new reference point.
There is no penalty for this correction.
Linda
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