RULES & HANDICAPPING


By Lorraine Thies


Questions about rules? Just ask AGA to set up rules workshop


T


he Arizona Golf Association fields many phone calls throughout the year about the Rules of Golf. Based on


the myriad of calls that come in and the odd things that happen on the golf course, it’s no wonder that they are so difficult to apply. Here’s a few that have been submitted to Robin Farran, a long- time AGA volunteer and rules expert.


TROUBLE ON THE 14TH HOLE


QUESTION: A player’s tee shot headed left towards a lateral water hazard. Having certainty that the ball was in the hazard, he proceeded in accordance with Rule 26-1c, dropping a ball within two club lengths from where it crossed the hazard line. He hit his next shot into high grass left of the green. Believing that the ball may not be found, he announced and properly played a provisional ball which lands in the fairway. After searching for 3½ minutes with


an official and fellow competitors, the player found a ball in the tall grass and played it onto the putting green. He picked up his provisional ball and completed the hole in two additional strokes. However, prior to starting hole No. 15,


he informed the official that the ball he found and played from the grass was not the ball he dropped and played in taking relief from the lateral water hazard. Now what?


ANSWER: When he made a stroke with the ball in the tall grass, he played a wrong ball and incurred a two-stroke penalty. He was entitled to search for his original ball for an additional 1½ minutes. If he finds that ball, he would continue play with that ball, playing his sixth stroke (three penalty strokes: one for the LWH and two for a wrong ball). If he could not find it, that ball was


lost and his provisional ball becomes the ball in play. Since he had lifted that ball, he incurred a one-stroke penalty under Rule 18-2 and Decision 27-2b/9. He must drop the lifted provisional ball as near


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as possible to where the provisional ball originally lay. He would be playing his ninth stroke (five penalty strokes: one for the LWH, two for a wrong ball, one for a lost ball, and one for lifting a ball in play).


TROUBLE ON THE 17TH HOLE


QUESTION: During a recent stroke- play tournament, after searching for two minutes for his tee shot, a player found a ball. He called over a rules official and asked for assistance to determine if his ball was embedded. The rules official told the player to mark and lift his ball. The rules official confirmed that the ball was embedded. The player cleaned and dropped the ball as near as possible to where it was embedded. The player then played the ball onto the putting green. When he reached the putting green, he again called for assistance from the official, stating, “The ball that was embedded and I dropped was a wrong ball.” Now what?


ANSWER: The ball found by the player was not his ball in play. When he lifted that ball, he had an opportunity to identify whether it was his or not. When he dropped that ball, it was no longer a wrong ball, but rather, a substituted ball (Rule 15-2), which is subject to a two-stroke penalty. When he made a stroke at that ball, it


became the ball in play and his original ball was considered lost. The player has now played from a wrong place (not going back to the tee for a lost ball) and incurred a serious breach since he gained a significant advantage. The player must now go back to the tee. He is playing his fifth stroke (three penalty strokes: one for stroke and distance, two for a substituted ball and wrong place). n


If you have questions on the Rules of Golf or would like to schedule a rules workshop for your club, contact the AGA office at 602-944-3034. We have several experts who can help you.


ANNUAL 2016 | AZ GOLF Insider | 33


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