Hi Linda,
I had an unusual situation 2 weeks back. It is like this:
I used a Pro V with number two in red. I was not aware that
one of my opponents was also using the same ball. We were on the green on the
2nd shot and as we approached the green, I headed for one of the balls, saw the
number 2 in red, marked it and picked up the ball. My opponent did the same.
But when he looked at the ball, he declared that it is not his. I had
apparently mistaken his ball as mine. I anyway replaced my opponent's ball and
proceeded to mark mine, picked it up and identified it as mine. I anyway
birdied that hole but no one said anything then. A week later, someone mentioned
that the opponent whose ball I wrongly marked and picked up actually wanted to
penalise me for picking up his ball. I however contended that it was a genuine mistake
and that I did not hole out with the birdie with his ball so it should not be
an issue. They however argued that the act of marking and picking up a ball
that it not mine is itself an infringement of the rules. I cannot find anywhere
in the rulebook to support their claim. Hope you could shed some light on this
claim, which I feel is unfounded.
Kind regards,
Lou from Johore, Malaysia
Dear Lou,
Please read Rule 18-3b. You incurred a one-stroke penalty
when you lifted your opponent’s ball in play, and your opponent incurred a
one-stroke penalty when he lifted yours. Since the penalties are identical,
there is no effect on the outcome of the hole.
Linda
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