Hi Linda,
Thanks for all of the great information you provide every
day. I have learned so much from your answers.
My friends and I have a gentlemen's agreement that if you
hit a ball out of bounds on your tee shot, you have a choice of hitting another
ball from the tee or going to the point where the ball went out, dropping
another ball at that spot and taking a 2-stroke penalty. We of course do this
to speed up play and we justify it by using the penalty for violating Rule 27-1,
which is two strokes in stroke play. Two questions: are we violating any rules
by doing this, and if you do violate Rule 27-1, where do you drop your ball to
continue play?
Lou from Chicago, Illinois
Dear Lou,
Are you seriously asking me to condone breaking a Rule of
Golf to speed up play? There are many ways to improve pace of play (check out
this column I wrote back in 2008: http://lindamillergolf.blogspot.com/2008/04/rules-5-pace-of-play-suggestions.html),
but a “gentlemen’s agreement” to breach Rule 27-1 is not one of them. Be aware
that the Rules consider agreement to waive a Rule of Golf a serious offense
punishable by disqualification [Rule 1-3].
When the player is certain
he has hit his ball out of bounds, he must
put another ball in play from the spot where he hit his previous shot and add
one penalty stroke to his score. There is no other option. Flagrantly disregarding
the Rules by dropping a ball where the original went out of bounds is a serious
breach; if not corrected, it will lead to disqualification.
If the player is not
certain his ball went out of bounds, there is a ready-made Rule that was
written specifically to improve pace of play. It’s called Provisional Ball
[Rule 27-2]. Get in the habit of playing a provisional whenever you are
concerned that your ball may be lost or out of bounds.
I fail to see how dropping a ball where your original went
out of bounds (which, I repeat, is not
permissible) improves pace of play. How does walking over to where your
ball went out of bounds, establishing where to drop it, and dropping the ball
take less time than simply (and correctly) hitting a second ball? I hope you
will give this some thought and arrive at a new “gentlemen’s agreement” to
follow the Rules.
Linda
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