Hi Linda,
I have one question related to #1868 and then a second question, both these situations happened on the same day during a stroke play league day. Only the balls of the even holes counted for the game and we were a group of three players. Scores had to be posted for this round.
Question #1
On an odd hole, Player A and B were on the green. Player C was off the green in the rough. Player C hit a bad chip shot and proceeded to drop another ball and hit another chip shot. She then proceeded to play out the hole with the bad chip shot and picked up the second ball. I thought she was practicing. Whether she had reached her ESC score or not, isn’t that practicing on the course? And, the answer for 1868 is confusing to me, because the player was not “playing out the hole” but dropped a ball for practice.
Question #2
The group in front of us had two holes open in front of them. They never invited us to play through. After the round, I asked one of the players why they did not invite us to play through (Rule 1.2a – showing consideration to others). She said they “kept wondering why we didn’t ask them to play through”. These were seasoned players. I told her they should have invited us to play through and that it has been my experience that asking to play through is not accepted nicely. She responded that they would have accepted it nicely.
Linda, thank you so much for your blog. I’ve read it for years and years and learn something new each time!
Lulu from Fort Myers, Florida
Dear Lulu,
Question #1
In a regular round of individual stroke play, a player’s score on every hole will count and a player may not pick up. There is no option to play out a hole whose result has been decided. No hole is decided prior to completion. Every hole must be played to conclusion.
When the player dropped another ball to practice her chip, she breached the Rule that prohibits practice strokes during the play of a hole [Rule 5.5a]. She gets the General Penalty (two strokes in stroke play).
Since you are only counting the even holes in your game, players should be encouraged to pick up as soon as they have reached their ESC score on an odd hole. [Under the USGA Handicap System, a player may not post a score for any given hole higher than her Equitable Score Control maximum.] If your player reached her maximum prior to completing the hole, she should have been encouraged to pick up.
Question #2
There is no official Rule regarding who does the inviting or requesting to play through. If you have holes open in front of you and a group behind you on your heels, you should invite them to play through. If you are stuck behind a group that has holes open in front of them, and you have not been invited to play through, walk right up and politely make your request.
Linda
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