Linda,
In a foursome stroke
play round, Player A's ball lies on the green. Before the player can reach the
green, a fellow competitor, Player B, asks if she may mark Player
A's ball. As Player A does not want to delay Player B from putting, she
says yes and allows Player B to mark her ball. Player B then gives the ball to Player A and continues to putt. When Player
A is ready to putt, she replaces her own ball.
In reading Rule
20-3, Player B, the fellow competitor, would be allowed to mark and lift Player
A's ball on the green, but Player B must also replace Player A's ball. If
Player A replaces her own ball, there is a one-stroke penalty–since Player B
had marked & lifted the ball, Player B is required to replace the ball. Is
this true?
Thank you
Lulu from British Columbia, Canada
Dear Lulu,
No. A ball that has been marked and lifted under the Rules
may be replaced by the player, her partner, or the person who lifted it [Rule
20-3a, second paragraph, first sentence]. In your narrative, there are three
players who would be permitted to replace the ball: Player A, Player A’s
partner, and Player B (the fellow competitor who was given the authority to
mark and lift Player A’s ball).
Linda
Copyright © 2017 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
