Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Ask Linda #1174-Play wrong ball, cannot find original

Hi Linda,

In a recent game my shot from the fairway landed in some light rough.
I thought I had found my ball (without paying sufficient attention)
and chipped it back onto the fairway.

When I went to address the ball for my next shot I realised I had
played the wrong ball. I then could not find my original ball.

I then returned to the spot on the fairway where I originally played
the shot (as close as possible) and took a one-stroke penalty for a
lost ball and a one-stroke penalty for playing the wrong ball. Was
this the correct way to proceed?

Many thanks,
Lou from London, UK

Dear Lou,

Almost perfect! Your procedure was correct. Your only mistake was the number of penalty strokes. You incurred one penalty stroke for a lost ball, and two for hitting a wrong ball [Rule 15-3b]. Total penalty strokes: three.

Do not count the chip with the wrong ball in your score.

Linda
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