Dear Linda,
Thank you for your continued explanations.
I was recently playing match play and my opponent and I were
sharing a buggy. I was in a greenside bunker and my opponent had parked the
buggy by the green. I played my ball out of the bunker and it hit the buggy and
came to rest by the green. I was aware that there is a penalty for hitting your
own equipment; I was sharing the buggy, and assumed that in match play it was
“loss of hole.” So I conceded the hole to my opponent.
Having read Rule 19-3 it would appear that there is no
penalty and I could cancel the stroke and play the ball again from the bunker
or where it lay.
This does not seem correct to me. Am I misreading the rule?
Yours,
Lou from France
Dear Lou,
If you read the Definition of “Equipment,” you will learn
that a shared cart is considered the equipment of the player whose ball is
involved when the cart is stationary.
Thus, the Rule that applies to your situation is 19-2 – your ball was deflected
by your equipment. The penalty is
one stroke (not loss of hole, as you believed), and you must play the ball as
it lies. However, in your described situation, while a one-stroke penalty should have applied, that became irrelevant as soon as you conceded the hole, as a concession may not be withdrawn [Rule 2-4].
If your opponent had been moving the cart when it was struck by your shot out of the bunker,
Rule 19-3 would apply in match play. You would not incur a penalty, and would
be permitted to choose between playing the ball as it lies or replaying your
shot [Decision 19/1].
In stroke play, the penalty for hitting your own equipment
is the same as in match play – one-stroke penalty and play the ball as it lies.
Also, as in match play, there is no penalty for hitting your fellow
competitor’s equipment. The difference is that in stroke play, hitting a fellow
competitor’s equipment is called a “rub of the green,” and you must play the
ball as it lies. You do not have the match-play option to replay the shot [Rule
19-4].
Linda
Copyright © 2017 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
