Who comes in first when 2 balls collide and have to kick from the same position?
Golf rules are tricky! Thankfully, we have masters. Our Rules guys know this book from beginning to end. Is there any problem? He has all the answers.
Weird but real: I shot the approach to 10 feet, but my companion exploded from the green bunker before I stood up and marked my ball in green. Like the tip ball on the pool table, his golf ball hit my mines so much that he immediately got stuck in the exact spot where my knocked down a few feet. I knew I had to replace the ball with where I was in the past…this is where my match partner ball occupies. So, who will go first? Can one of us choose? Coin flip? – Silton, Arlington, Virginia
So here are two questions: how to change the ball and who goes first.
Rule 15.3 involves interfering with golf balls; essentially, the two options to proceed are (1) having one player mark his own ball, then cross the ball and change your ball, or (2) wait and let the other player go first and then change the ball.
If you choose one option one and don’t want another player to go first, because the ball is the same distance from hole rule 6.4, say using a random method, i.e., yes, the coin can be flipped. Then, a spherical marker dance is performed to get rid of another player and in the order determined by the coins.
For more ball-related guidance from Masters, please continue reading…
My drive rolled from the fairway to the curved, paved lane path and continued to roll back the route to the Tee Box at least 100 yards back. I was told that I could put the ball on the fairway in the driveway without a fine. Is this correct? – Wolf Dorak, Ontario, Canada
Wolf, the ruler guy called in laughter how to call – who told you should be kicked to the side of the road.
There is no such fix, whether the ball is retreating by one yard or 100 yards. See Rule 16.1 for rules on how to relieve the cart path.
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