Recently on a small green surrounded by water on three
sides, my opponent marked his ball, picked it up to clean it and accidentally
dropped it in the water.
We were not able to retrieve the ball. I argued that since
he was not able to finish the hole with the same ball he started it with, he
should incur a penalty.
He argued that the ball was not in play since he had already
marked it and therefore no penalty applies.
What rules apply to this situation?
Thanks,
Lou from Dade City, Florida
Dear Lou,
A player is required
to complete each hole with the ball he hit from the teeing ground unless he
loses the ball or hits it out of bounds [Rule 15-1]. If he substitutes a ball
when he is not permitted to do so, he incurs a two-stroke/loss of hole penalty
[Rule 15-2; Decision 15-2/1].
Rule 16-1b requires the player to replace the ball he marked
and lifted from the green with the same
ball he lifted. Since your opponent was unable to do that, he lost the
hole. In stroke play he would incur a two-stroke penalty.
Linda
Copyright © 2015 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
