Linda,
I love to read your blog every day. Thanks.
I have 2 questions.
1. We were playing in a stroke competition and hitting from
the Gold tees. On one of the holes, three of us were kind of late in going to
the tee box because we were comparing the scores from the last holes we had
played. Before we can stop the fourth guy we saw him hit from the wrong tee (Silver).
Then he hit another ball as a provisional. We pointed out to him his mistake
and he corrected it by hitting from the correct tee. Are we correct in giving
him 2 penalty stokes instead of 3?
Can we consider this violation under making practice stroke?
2. On another hole the same guy lifted his ball from the
bunker for identification without announcing and putting a tee as a marker
behind the ball. We gave him a 2-stroke penalty. I know there is NO penalty as
long as you announce to your fellow competitor that you are going to lift your
ball for identification and then put a marker and then replace the ball to it's
original position regardless if the ball is in the bunker or through the green.
Thanks again Linda,
Lou from Daly City, California
Dear Lou,
Question #1
In stroke play, the penalty for playing from the wrong
teeing ground is two strokes. The player must correct the error by playing from
the correct teeing ground. Do not count the stroke from the Silver tee, or any
strokes made afterwards. When he hits his ball from the Gold tee, it will be
his third shot on the hole [Rule 11-4b].
There is no penalty in match play. The player’s opponent has
the option to recall the player’s stroke [Rule 11-4a].
Question #2
When a player wishes to lift his ball for identification, he
must announce his intention and mark it before lifting it. His opponent or
fellow competitor must have an opportunity to observe the process. He may only
clean the ball as much as necessary to identify it. If he does not comply with
any or all of the above requirements, the penalty is one stroke [Rule 12-2]. So if he were to announce his intention but
not wait for someone to watch, or lift the ball without marking it and clean it
completely, or violate most of the requirements of this Rule (as did the player
in your narrative), the penalty is still only one stroke. It will only increase
to two strokes if he fails to replace the ball correctly.
Linda
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