A player hits her shot into the rough, and then goes forward
to hit her next shot. She finds a ball the exact same brand and number as the
ball she is playing so she plays that ball. After hitting that ball she walks
about ten yards farther, and finds an identical ball to the one which she has
been playing. Unfortunately, she hasn't put any personal identification
marks on her ball, so she doesn't know which ball was her original ball. How
should she proceed?
Lulu from Pennsylvania
Dear Lulu,
If a player is unable to identify her ball, her ball is lost
under the Rules. In match play she loses the hole because she hit a “wrong”
ball [Rule 15-3a]. In stroke play, she incurs a two-stroke penalty for hitting
a wrong ball, and must play another ball under stroke and distance. The total
number of penalty strokes in stroke play is three.
Does anyone think it’s important yet to draw a personal mark
on every ball in your bag?
Linda
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