Dr. Robin Farran is someone whom I greatly admire. Not only is he one of the USGA’s top Rules Officials, he’s one of the most prolific Rules mavens I have ever met! Almost weekly, Dr. Farran sends out Rules scenarios to help educate and inform. Teaching is in Dr. Farran’s DNA. He used to teach Advanced Rules at the Golf Academy of America in Phoenix. In this month’s Diary of a USGA Rules Official, Dr. Farran continues to help us make sense of all these new Rules:
Incident 1
Player A’s ball played from the putting green accidentally strikes a bunker rake that was placed on the putting green, near the edge.
**The stroke does not count and the original ball or another ball must be replaced on its original spot. (Rule 11.1a and Rule 11.1b – Exception 2)
Incident 2
Player A’s ball played from the putting green accidentally strikes a golf club that was placed on the putting green.
**The stroke does not count and the original ball or another ball must be replaced on its original spot. (Rule 11.1a and Rule 11.1b – Exception 2)
Incident 3
Player A’s ball played from the putting green accidentally strikes a golf club that was placed on the fringe of the putting green.
**There is no penalty and the ball must be played as it lies. (Rule 11.1a)
Incident 4
Player A’s ball played from the putting green accidentally strikes the flagstick that had been removed and placed on the putting green.
**There is no penalty and the ball must be played as it lies. (Rule 11.1a and Rule 13.2b(2))
Incident 5
In stroke play, Player A’s ball played from the putting green accidentally strikes a ball in play and at rest on the putting green belonging to another player in the group.
**The stroke counts, and the ball must be played as it lies. (Rule 11.1b – Exception 2) and Player A gets the general penalty (two penalty strokes). (Rule 11.1a – Exception). [In Match Play, no penalty!]
Incident 6
PPlayer A, in taking relief from a penalty area, drops the ball from shoulder height two times and each time the ball rolls out of the relief area. Player A places another ball on the spot where the second drop first touched the ground in the relief area and completes the hole.
**Player A gets the general penalty. See Rule 14.3b(3), 4th bullet. After, two drops, the ball is only placed in the relief area only after the ball is dropped two times in the right way. The ball was never dropped in the right way and so it was still required to be dropped.
Incident 7
Player A, in taking relief from a penalty area, drops the ball from shoulder height two times and each time the ball rolls out of the relief area. Player A’s next two drops from knee height land in the relief area and roll out of the relief area. Player A places another ball where the last drop first touched the ground in the relief area and completes the hole.
**Player A completed the procedure correctly. See Rule 14.3b.
Incident 8
Player A, in taking relief from a penalty area, drops a ball from shoulder height and the ball lands in the relief area and comes to rest outside the relief area. Player A plays the ball from its location outside the relief area.
**Player A gets the general penalty. See Rule 14.3b(3), 4th bullet. The dropping in the wrong way and playing from the wrong place are considered related acts – see Rule 14.7a and Rule 1.3c(4).
Incident 9
Player A, in taking relief from a penalty area, drops a ball from knee height and the ball lands outside the relief area and comes to rest inside the relief area. Player A plays the ball from its location in the relief area.
**Player A gets a penalty of one stroke. See Rule 14.3b. The 3rd bullet in (3) is the reference for the penalty.
Incident 10
Player A accidentally moves his or her ball in play while making a practice swing close to his or her ball in the general area. Player A plays the ball from its new location.
** Player A gets a penalty of one stroke for accidentally moving the ball and is required to replace the ball – see Rules 9.4a and 9.4b and the Rule 9.4 penalty statement.
Moving the ball in play and playing from a wrong place are considered related acts – see Rule 1.3c(4) and the Clarification for 1.3c(4). Player A incurred only the general penalty for playing from a wrong place.
Incident 11
Player A accidentally moves his or her ball in play while making a practice swing close to his or her ball in the general area. Player A replaces the ball by dropping the ball from knee height close to where the ball originally lay and completes the hole.
**Player A gets a penalty of one stroke for accidentally moving the ball and is required to replace the ball on the original spot by placing the ball.See Rule 9.4b and Rule 9.4a, Definition of “Replace”, Rule 14.2 and Interpretation 14.2b(2)/1. Also see the Rule 9.4 penalty statements.
Since the ball was not replaced as required, Player A incurred only the general penalty for playing from a wrong place as moving the ball in play and playing from a wrong place are considered related acts.
Incident 12
Player A accidentally moves his or her ball in play while making a practice swing close to his or her ball on the putting green area. Player A plays the ball from its new location.
**Player A is not penalized for accidentally moving his or her ball on the putting green, however, Rule 9.4a required the ball to be replaced – also see Exception 3 in Rule 9.4b and the Rule 9.4 penalty statement. Player A incurred the general penalty for playing from a wrong place.
Incident 13
Player A’s ball is on the putting green and has not been marked, lifted and replaced. A gust of wind moves the ball several feet away from the hole. Player A replaces the ball on its estimated spot and completes the hole.
**Player A’s ball in play was moved by natural forces. Since the ball had not been lifted and replaced, Rule 9.3 required the ball to be played from its new spot – see the Definition of “Natural Forces”, Rule 9.3 and the Rule 9.3 penalty statement. Player A incurred the general penalty for playing from a wrong place.
Incident 14
Player A’s tee shot heads toward the driving range which is marked out of bounds with white stakes. Player A’s provisional ball comes to rest in the fairway.
While searching near the range, Player A sees his original ball and asks another player in the group to pick up his provisional ball. Player A then discovers that the original ball was just beyond the white stakes and out of bounds.
Player A retrieves the provisional ball, drops the ball from shoulder height near where the provisional ball had originally come to rest and completed the hole in 4 additional strokes.
** Player A incurs the stroke and distance penalty and the provisional ball is his or her ball in play, lying 3. Player A gets a one-stroke penalty for authorizing the lifting of his or her ball in play – see Rule 1.3c(1) and Interpretation 1.3c(1)/1 and Rule 9.4b.
Player A gets only the general penalty of two strokes for lifting and replacing the ball in a wrong way (Rule 9.4 penalty statement) and playing from a wrong place.
[The one-stroke penalty under Rule 9.4 is not counted in this case as there is a single penalty (general penalty) for not correctly replacing the ball and for playing from a wrong place. See Clarification 1.3c(4).]
Player A dropped the ball when Rule 9.4b required the ball to be replaced – see Rule 14.2b and Interpretation 14.2b (2)/1. Player A scored 9 for the hole.
Incident 15
Player A’s second shot from the fairway to the putting green goes to the right side of the putting green toward dense foliage and the course boundary. The location is not known. Not knowing the location of the original ball, Player A drops another ball near the spot on the line of flight where he or she last saw the ball and plays the ball toward the putting green.
As Player A walks forward, Player A sees the original ball off the fairway in a playable location. Since the 3-minute search time had not ended, Player A plays the original ball, picks up the substituted ball, and completes the hole with the original ball.
After teeing off on the next hole, Player A informs the players in the group of the situation on the previous hole, asking for assistance in counting strokes for the hole.
**Player A is disqualified. When Player A dropped another ball and played the dropped ball, the original ball was out of play and was now a wrong ball. See Rule 6.3b(2) and Rule 6.3c(1).
Incident 16
Player A sees a ball that could be his or her ball while searching in tall grass in the general area. Player A picks up the ball, identifies the ball as his or her ball in play and then decides to proceed under Rule 19.
**Player A gets one penalty stroke under Rule 7.3 and may proceed under Rule 19 adding one more stroke for that procedure, for a total of two penalty strokes. In this incident, Player A lifted the ball to identify it without marking the spot of the ball. Rule 7.3 requires the spot to be marked prior to lifting. Also, see Interpretation 14.2/1 and Interpretation 9.4a/1.
Incident 17
Player A sees a ball in a tree in the general area that could be his or her ball. Player A shakes the tree causing the ball to drop to the ground. After confirming that the ball is Player A’s ball, Player A decides to proceed under Rule 19.2c.
**Player A gets one penalty stroke under Rule 7.3 and may proceed under Rule 19 adding one more stroke for that procedure, for a total of two penalty strokes.
Rule 9.4 allows a player to lift his or her ball without penalty when proceeding under a Rule that allows lifting the ball. In this case, Player A lifted the ball to identify it (Rule 7.3 applies) and that Rule requires the spot to be marked prior to lifting. Also, see Interpretation 14.2/1 and Interpretation 9.4a/1.
Incident 18
Player A, while walking toward the area where his or her tee shot likely came to rest, accidentally moves a bush and Player A’s ball is dislodged from the bush. Player A plays the ball from where it came to rest on the ground.
**Searching for a ball does not include walking to the area where the ball is likely to be. Player A moved his or her ball in play and when it was not replaced, gets the general penalty under Rule 9.4b. See Clarification to 1.3(4) and Interpretation 9.4b/2.
Incident 19
Player A’s ball is in the desert in the general area near the fairway. Player A makes a practice swing and accidentally moves the ball. Player A reconsiders his or her situation, elects to proceed under Rule 19.2c and drops the ball in the right way in the relief area in the fairway.
**Player A breached Rule 9.4 when he or she accidentally moved the ball in play during a practice swing in the general area and gets a one stroke penalty. Although Rule 9.4 requires a ball moved to be replaced, a player is not required to replace the ball if the player proceeds under another Rule – see Interpretation 14.2/1).
Player A gets a total of two penalty strokes: one penalty stroke under Rule 9.4 and one penalty stroke for taking relief under Rule 19.2c).
Okay or Not Okay?
Player A, in stroke play, has completed play of Round 1 on Tuesday in his or her club championship and plans on playing a quick 9 holes on Tuesday evening on the competition course to prepare for Wednesday’s Round 2.
OK – See Rule 5.2b and Interpretation 5.2b/1. Model Local Rule I-1.1 permits the Committee to prohibit practice between rounds.
Player A, after completing play of Hole No. 5, played a practice stroke from the penalty area close to the No. 5 putting green.
OK – See Rule 5.5b. The Exception includes important details.
In single match play, it is Player A’s turn to play. Player A, realizing that he or she needs to change clubs, suggests that Player B play his or her stroke while Player A goes to his or her cart to minimize delays for the match waiting on the tee. Player B agrees and plays his or her ball.
OK – See Rule 6.4a and Exception to Rule 6.4a.
Player A makes a stroke at his or her ball in the teeing area, barely making contact, and the ball remains in the teeing area. Player A picks up the ball, tees up the ball in a different location in the teeing area and plays the ball.
OK – See Rule 6.2b(5), Rule 6.2b(6) and Interpretation 6.2b(6)/1.