QUESTION: In a stableford round Tom putted up just 50 cm short of the hole, he properly marked his ball, put the ball in his pocket and tended the flag for the other players. By accident when replacing the ball on the mark he substituted another ball and subsequently sunk the putt?

What is the ruling?

1. Tom is penalized two strokes and must replace the proper ball on the mark before putting out
2. Tom is penalized one stroke and must re-take the putt using the original ball
3. Tom is penalized two strokes and the putt counts

ANSWER:  (3) Unfortunately, a penalty of two strokes in stroke play and loss of hole in match play is incurred. The player would have substituted a ball when not permitted to do so (as with a lost ball or ball hit out of bounds). According to Rule 15-2, the second ball would become the ball in play and the penalty ascribed by the applicable rule would be incurred.

(This golf rules quiz item supplied by Cliff Nunn, a VGA state accredited rules official and proprietor of  Golf Clubs Down Under.)

With the very windy weather of late, Golf Rules Quiz No 5 is very pertinent.

John’s drive comes to rest on a steep slope through the green. Fearing that the ball may move, he does not address the ball (i.e. he does not ground the club) nor does he do anything else that might cause the ball to move. However, during his back swing the ball begins to move and he strikes the ball while it is in motion.

What is the ruling?

a) There is no penalty and the ball must be played as it lies.

b) John incurs a one stroke penalty and the ball must be played as it lies.

c) The stroke must be cancelled; John incurs a one stroke penalty and must replace the ball.

d) John incurs a two-stroke penalty and must play the ball as it lies.

Quiz Answer.

a) There is no penalty under Rule 14-5 (striking a moving ball) because the ball began to move after John had begun his backswing. However, had John caused the ball to move or had addressed it, he’d have incurred a one-stroke penalty – Rule 18-2a or b

This golf rules quiz item supplied by Cliff Nunn, a VGA state accredited rules official and proprietor of  Golf Clubs Down Under.

A PLAYER’S ball comes to rest on a cart path such that his nearest point of relief is behind the obstruction.  He properly determines his point of relief and lifts and drops the ball in accordance with Rule 24-2b.  The ball rolls and comes to rest nearer the hole than the nearest point of relief but not nearer the hole than where it originally lay on the path.  What is the procedure?

            a.   The player must re-drop the ball

            b.   The dropped ball is in play

Answer:

 ‘a’   Having determined the point of relief this then becomes the reference point superseding the previous position of the ball. Rule 20-2c (vii)(b)

This golf rules quiz item supplied by Cliff Nunn, a VGA state accredited rules official and proprietor of  Golf Clubs Down Under.

Tony and Joe are playing a course that is wet and muddy.  Both have played their second shots to just short of the green.  Joe is away by a few centimetres.  Tony, thinking his ball will interfere with Joe’s play, marks, lifts and puts it in his pocket so he can hold an umbrella and his clubs.  After Joe plays, Tony goes to replace his ball and finds that Joe has left a divot where his ball marker had been.  Tony then drops his ball as close as possible to its original position, not nearer the hole, chips onto the putting green and two putts.  `What is Tony’s score for the hole?

a) 7

b) 8

c) 9

d) 10

Answer:

a).   Tony is not permitted to lift his ball because he thinks it might interfere with Joe’s play (Rule 22) so he incurs a penalty stroke for lifting his ball when it was not permitted (Rule 18-2a) but there is no additional penalty under Rule 22 so he incurs no penalty for putting the ball in his pocket.  But when he failed to replace the ball according to Rule 20-3b (after Joe altered Tony’s lie) he incurred the general penalty under Rule 18.  Therefore 5 strokes played plus 2 penalty strokes equals a score of  7.

NB If Joe had requested Tony to lift his ball because of interference (Rule 22-2) that would have been OK but Tony would then have been penalised for cleaning the ball when he put it in his pocket. (In that situation you lift and hold the ball between fore-finger and thumb until it is replaced).

This golf rules quiz item supplied by Cliff Nunn, a VGA state acredited rules official and proprietor of Golf Clubs Down Under.

 On a steep, fast green a player putts the ball above the hole.  The player marks, lifts and cleans the ball and replaces the ball.  Then, before the marker was lifted, the ball rolls off the green.  What is the ruling?

       a)   The player may replace the ball at the marked position.

       b)   The player must play the ball as it lies

Answer

This depends on whether the ball, when replaced remained at rest on the spot on which it was placed for a moment before it started to move. (The fact that the marker had not been lifted is irrelevant as it is only an indicator of where the ball should be replaced.) 

If, when released from the fingers, the ball stayed at rest for a moment before rolling;  Answer b) the ball must be played as it lies.  

If, on the other hand, the ball immediately moved as it was released;  Answer a) the player is required to replace the ball - (Rule 20-3d)

This quiz item was supplied by Cliff Nunn. Cliff is a Victorian Golf Association (VGA)  State Accredited Rules Official.  

Rules Quiz  No 1:

A ball at rest on the green simply rolls in to the hole when no one is near it.  What is the ruling ?

 Answer:

If after playing a stroke the ball stops overhanging the hole, the player has “reasonable time” to reach the ball and a further 10 seconds to see if the ball will fall into the hole.

If it doesn’t fall in that time the ball is deemed to be at rest.  If the ball falls into the hole after it has been determined to be at rest, the player is deemed to have holed out on their previous stroke BUT they are penalised one stroke. (Rule 16-2)

Obviously, where the player has played an 9-iron approach shot next to the hole, the time taken to “reasonably” get to the hole will be longer than if the player had played a one metre putt and, as neither wind nor water are outside agencies, if the wind blew the ball into the hole within the “reasonable time” period, then the player would be deemed to have holed out with the previous stroke without penalty.

This is the first of a new regular Golf Rules Quiz series to keep us all up on this important aspect of the game.

This quiz item was supplied by Cliff Nunn. Cliff is a Victorian Golf Association (VGA)  State Accredited Rules Official.