RULES&HANDICAPPING By Robin Farran Farran wants to know: ‘What’s the ruling?’
rules officials throughout the country. He outlines a rules question from a situation that has actually occurred at an event during the year and invites all to respond with their answer to the question, “What’s the ruling’?” Here’s a sampling of this year’s happenings in the world of golf rules. (And we wonder why the rules are so complicated?)
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The following incident occurred on two occasions during this year’s 90th
Amateur Championship, which is match play between Player A and Player M. On the putting surface of the par-3 12th
Arizona Rules guru Robin Farran writes a blog on his favorite subject that soon will be available on
azgolf.org. hole,
each player lies one stroke. Player M marked and lifted his ball and moved off the green. Player A marked and lifted his ball and, as was his normal procedure, pressed down his ball marker, a dime, with his putter. As Player A walked to the edge of the green to observe his line of putt, the dime dropped from his putter head and landed on the putting green. Player A called for assistance from the referee. What’s the ruling? Decision 20-1/6 provides us
guidance on this incident. No penalty is incurred by Player A. The movement of the ball marker is considered to be “directly attributable to the specific act of marking the position of the ball.” Rule 20-3c(iii) provides that on the putting green, the ball is placed as near as possible to where the ball originally lay but not nearer the hole
Q On the 17th hole at Antelope Hills South in Prescott, a dog-leg left around a large
lake, Player D’s hooks his tee shot toward the lake (marked as a lateral water hazard). Player D and his fellow competitors are positive that the ball is in the hazard. Player D determines his reference point, proceeds under Rule 26-1c and plays the dropped ball. As Player D walks toward the green, he sees his
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original ball outside the hazard and assumes the ball struck a rock in the hazard and bounced into the fairway. Believing that the dropped ball was improperly substituted and played, Player D abandoned the substituted ball and continued the hole and round with his original ball. What’s the ruling? Not so good. Player D is disqualified.
It was virtually certain that Player D’s ball was in the lateral water hazard. When Player D dropped a ball under Rule 26-1c, the dropped ball was dropped under an applicable rule and became the ball in play. The original ball was lost (forever). When Player D completed the hole with the original ball (which was now a wrong ball) and did not correct the error, Player D had no score for the hole — DQ. (See definition of “Lost Ball,” item “e” and Decision 26-1/1 for further clarification of what it means to be virtually certain.)
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During a stroke-play collegiate event this fall, Player A lies 3 on the putting
green, 6 feet from the hole. Player A misses the putt, reaches across the hole and taps the ball toward the hole. The ball rolls past the hole, and while the ball is moving slowly Player A hits the ball into the hole. What’s the
ruling? What is Player A’s score for the hole? Player A’s stroke reaching across
the hole is permitted in the rules. Player A did not stand astride his line of putt, a breach of Rule 16-1e, since the line of putt does not extend beyond the hole — see Definition of “Line of Putt”. Player A did incur a penalty of two strokes for a breach of Rule 14-5 when he played a stroke at a moving ball. Six strokes with the ball in play plus a two-stroke penalty, Player A scores 8 for the hole. n
Robin Farran is considered an expert in the rules of golf and consistently scores 92 or higher on the USGA’s annual rules exam. He has been officiating at national and regional championships for many years, including the U.S. Open, U.S. Senior Open and U.S. Women’s Open. He also teaches the rules of golf at the Golf Academy of America in Chandler.
Interested in learning more? We are bringing Farran’s questions to our website. Go to
www.azgolf.org and click on “What’s the Ruling?” in the center of the page.
www.azgolf.org
ongtime Arizona rules guru Robin Farran does a weekly blog that he sends to many of the active and enthusiastic
AGA
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