Dear Linda,
I came across the following scenario in a stroke play
competition and I would appreciate your advice on the ruling.
The hole being played is a par 4 with a large pond in front
of the teeing ground. There is a bunker at 2 o'clock position, which
is bordering the water hazard. There is a drop zone for the water hazard
at 10 o'clock position, about 50 yards from the teeing ground.
Player X played ball A into the water hazard. Player then
played ball B towards the bunker bordering the water hazard but he is uncertain
of its location. Player X declared he wants to play a provisional ball (ball
C), which lands on the fairway. As player X was walking to the left and around
the pond to the fairway, he then realized there is a drop zone for the water
hazard. So, he announced that he wants to play 2 balls but did not announce
which ball to count. He then dropped a ball (ball D) onto the drop zone and
played it to the fairway. He did not find ball B. He played balls C and D from
the fairway onto the putting green. At the putting green, he was advised by a
referee to stop playing ball D and to continue with ball C only. He holed in
ball C with 3 putts from the putting green.
I would appreciate if you could help me with the following
queries:
Q1. which is the correct ball in play? ie. ball C or ball D?
Q2. if ball C is the ball in play, is there any
infraction for playing ball D from the drop zone to the fairway and again
from the fairway to the putting green? if yes, what is the applicable rule
and how many penalty strokes is incurred by X?
Q3. if ball D is the ball in play, what is the applicable
rule?
best regards,
Lou from Malaysia
Dear Lou,
The referee’s decision was correct; the ball played from the
Dropping Zone must be abandoned. The purpose of Rule 3-3 is
to give players (in stroke play only) the option to hit a second ball whenever
they are unsure how to proceed. In your scenario, the player never questioned
that his procedure was correct when he hit the second ball from the tee under
the stroke and distance option for a ball in a water hazard.
The player did not incur a penalty for mistakenly invoking
Rule 3-3 and hitting a second ball from the Dropping Zone; none of the strokes
with that ball will count in his score. [Decision 3-3/6 provides a similar
situation that may help clarify this ruling.]
The player would have been allowed to invoke Rule 3-3 in the
following scenario:
1. Player hits his tee shot into the water hazard.
2. Player notices Dropping Zone 50 yards ahead, but is not
sure whether the tournament rules permit the use of that Dropping Zone, since
it is not located behind the hazard.
3. Player states: “I am going to hit a ball from the tee
under stroke and distance, and I am going to hit a second ball from the
Dropping Zone. I want the ball I hit from the Dropping Zone to count if it is
determined that the tournament rules permit the use of this Dropping Zone.”
4. Before the player returns his scorecard, the player must
explain his procedure to the Committee.
In this scenario, the player was unsure of his rights. He
invoked Rule 3-3 before hitting another ball, and he declared which ball he
would like to count. This is the correct use of Rule 3-3.
Linda
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