Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Ask Linda #1409-How many penalties for multiple violations

Linda,
We had a situation the other day that we have been discussing.

The ball for one of the guys in our group was located about 2 feet from the hole. As he approached his unmarked ball, he stumbled and hit his golf ball with his putter. His putter then hit the ball a second time, while it was moving, and then, to add aggravation to injury, the ball came back and bounced into his shoe.

Should he be assessed penalties for each of these violations?

Thanks in advance for your response.
Lou from Cincinnati, Ohio

Dear Lou,

One penalty will suffice. When one act results in one Rule being breached more than once, the player incurs a single penalty [Decision 1-4/12]. In this case, the player incurs a one-stroke penalty for causing his ball to move, and he must replace it [Rule 18-2 (i)].

Linda
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