Dear Linda,
Thank you for your meticulous handling of all the rules
questions you
receive and share with us.
My question relates to the following situation: Our course
contains a combined wide green of the 9th and 12th hole. Recently, an approach shot from 120 m (132 yards) of my partner arrived on this green
directly in the hole. Unfortunately for him the ball had arrived in the
wrong hole (of the 9th instead of the 12th). We opted to take the ball
from the hole and placed it on the green (within one club length), no
closer to the correct 12th hole but without interference of the 9th
hole. My partner made a 2-putt and noted a par-4 for this hole.
Was this the correct procedure, or should we have added a
penalty to the score?
Thank you kindly for your advice.
Lou from Paris, France
Dear Lou,
The second hole on a double green is a “hole made by a
greenkeeper,” which comes under the heading of “abnormal ground conditions.”
When a player hits the ball into the wrong hole, he is entitled to free relief. When relief is to be taken
on a putting green, the ball must be placed
at the nearest point of relief (NPR) that is not nearer the correct hole [Rule 25-1b
(iii)]. In all likelihood, the NPR will be a few inches from the hole. If your partner placed the ball close to the hole, chances are good that he would not incur a penalty; if he placed it further away, he may have played from a wrong place and would incur a two-stroke penalty.
Linda
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