Linda,
Is there a penalty for moving your ball in play under the following circumstances:
1. The player has initially hit from the tee and his second shot has rebounded from a tree and returned to the teeing area. While walking to the ball’s new position, the player accidentally bumps his ball with the wheel of his pushcart and moves it.
2. The player’s drive has gone down the middle of the fairway. While walking toward the ball in conversation with a colleague, the player accidentally bumps his ball with the wheel of his pushcart and moves it. The ball lay within an area marked as GUR.
Lou from Canberra, Australia
Dear Lou,
There would be no penalty in the first situation, and a one-stroke penalty in the second.
1. No penalty for accidental movement of ball on teeing area.
There is no penalty for such accidental movements as inadvertently bumping your ball on the teeing area with the wheel of your pushcart or stepping on your ball. The applicable Rule is 6.2b(6), which allows the player to lift or move his ball in play that lies in the teeing area after a stroke (e.g., a whiff) without penalty. [Note: I have heard from several of you who are appalled that anyone would bring a pushcart onto the teeing area. Please understand that this was a hypothetical question; no-one is advocating wheeling your cart onto the teeing area.]
2. One-stroke penalty for accidental movement of ball in plain sight on fairway.
My understanding of your question is that the ball was in plain sight and the player was aware of its location. This player would be subject to a one-stroke penalty under Rule 9.4b for causing his ball at rest to move. There are exceptions to this Rule (of course), but none of them apply to this situation. Rule 7, which excuses the player from penalty if he accidentally moves his ball while searching for it, is not applicable here – the player was not searching for his ball.
In summary, there is no penalty for accidentally causing your ball to move on the teeing area of the hole you are playing. Elsewhere (with the notable exception of the putting green), the penalty is one stroke and the ball must be replaced, unless another Exception in Rule 9.4b applies, such as the ball is moved during search.
Linda
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