Hi Linda,
Whilst playing a friendly game of golf a few days ago (Stableford) we all hit our shots to the green. I arrived at the green later than the other players in my group while I fixed a problem with my trolley. Unknown to me one of the players had marked my ball and placed it to the side so he could putt out. I then holed my ball from where he had placed it. We only realised I had putted from the wrong place when he asked for his ball marker. Luckily it was just a social game but I had most likely holed out from nearer the hole than the ball marker was. What should we have done? Is there a penalty?
My thoughts are as I was unaware my ball had been moved by an outside influence I don’t get the general penalty for playing from a wrong place.
The other part of the question is.... does the players who marked and lifted my ball without my authority get a one-shot penalty?
Lou from Lytham, St. Annes, England
Dear Lou,
In stroke play, there is no penalty to anyone, and you are not penalized for playing from a wrong place. The stroke stands as played. Here is the applicable Interpretation:
9.6/3
Player Learns That Ball Moved After Stroke Made
If it is not known or virtually certain that the player's ball has been moved by an outside influence, the player must play the ball as it lies. If information that the ball was in fact moved by an outside influence only becomes known to the player after the ball has been played, the player did not play from a wrong place because this knowledge did not exist when the player made the stroke.
In match play, a player who marks and lifts his opponent’s ball without permission incurs one penalty stroke [Rule 9.5].
No player should ever mark and lift another player’s ball without asking that player’s permission.
Linda
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