Linda:
Two players tee off and both hit their balls into a fairway
bunker. Both players play their second shots into the fairway, their third
shots close to the green and then chip onto the putting surface. At this point,
they mark and clean their balls and realize that they have hit each other’s
ball. OK, Rule 15-3b, two-stroke penalty and must correct.
However, since the balls were in the same general location
for shots two, three and four, they are not exactly certain when they hit the
wrong ball. It’s possible the breach occurred in the fairway bunker for shot
two, in the fairway for shot three, or close to the green for the chip shot. What
is the ruling?
Lou from California
Dear Lou,
The players would have to return to the bunker, since that
was the first place they might have hit the wrong ball. They would count the
tee shot, and the two-stroke penalty for hitting a wrong ball out of the
bunker, but none of the shots they hit with the wrong ball [Rule 15-3b]. When
they return to the bunker the second time they will each be hitting their
fourth shot on the hole.
Linda
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