Linda,
In a recent round one guy in my group hit the wrong ball and
in doing so he left a pretty nasty divot. The owner of the ball that was
mistakenly hit went to the original spot to drop another ball. A question arose
as to how he needed to replace this ball. The divot was there and fresh so it
was obvious exactly where his ball had been. I chimed in and said that a golfer
should always be entitled to the lie he/she originally had so there was no need
to hit from the divot. However, there was still a question as to whether or not
he needed to drop his ball near the divot, thereby risking it still rolling in
the divot or, was it permissible for him to hand place his ball right next to
the divot. Your expert consult is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Lou from Texas
Dear Lou,
The player’s original lie was altered by the divot. There
are two possible procedures, depending on whether the player knows the original
lie of his ball [Rule 20-3b or c].
1. If the original lie of the player’s ball is known, the
player must place a ball in the
nearest lie that is most similar to the original lie. That spot must be within
one club-length of the original lie and no closer to the hole [Decision 20-3b/4].
2. If it is not possible to determine the original lie, the
player must drop a ball as near as possible to where it originally lay
[Decision 20-3b/5]. It is permissible to drop the ball immediately behind the
divot hole [inferred by Decision 20-2c/1.5].
I would like to hope that the fellow who hit the wrong ball
did not compound his felony by failing to repair the nasty divot he created
with his stroke. That courtesy would make the ball owner’s drop much less scary
(should he have to drop). The player dropping the ball may not repair the divot
prior to the drop [Rule 13-2].
Linda
Copyright © 2018 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
