Linda, we had an unusual situation that we need your help
on. Player A hit his second shot to the green and then walked to Player B’s
ball only to discover it was actually his. Player B then went back to where Player
A hit what he said was Player B’s ball and dropped in the same spot and hit to
the green. As Player B was then walking towards the green he saw another ball
just off the fairway and saw that it was actually his original ball. He
notified Player A and then hit his original ball to the green and finished the
hole with that ball and scored a par. No doubt Player A received a 2-stroke
penalty for hitting the wrong ball, but it wasn’t Players B’s ball and Player A
did complete the hole properly. The question is about Player B. I’m thinking
that Player B still had to identify that the wrong ball Player A hit was indeed
his ball and not assume it was just because Player A thought so. I think Player
B should have also received a two-stroke penalty for hitting the wrong ball by
dropping and hitting another ball that was not his original ball, even though
he finished the hole with his original ball. I hope I wasn’t too confusing.
Thanks for your help.
Lou from Texas
Dear Lou,
This very complicated situation necessitated consultation
with a senior official who very graciously provided the following answer:
Hi Linda, here's my opinion:
Player A has handled things correctly. He incurs a two-stroke
penalty for playing the wrong ball.
Player B is not so fortunate. We need to look at Decisions
15/14 and 28/15 for guidance.
It is the Player's responsibility to play the correct ball.
When Player B dropped a ball at the spot from which he
thought Player A had played his (B's) original ball, he was substituting a ball
for his ball in play. Since he did not know the location of his original ball,
he was deemed to be proceeding under stroke and distance, and at a wrong place
(the correct place was the teeing ground) and likely with a serious breach
(significant distance gained) that would require correction. Correction would
be adding two strokes for playing from a wrong place and playing his 5th stroke
from the teeing ground. But that's not the end of his misery – substituting and
playing the dropped ball made his original ball lost; playing that original
ball was playing a wrong ball [Decision 20-7c/4], a two-stroke penalty, which, in
my opinion, would be included in his score when correcting his wrong place
error. If he doesn't correct his wrong place error before teeing off the next
hole, he is disqualified.
Linda
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