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In stroke play, Player A fails to mark his ball on the green. Player B makes a putt and the ball flies towards Player A’s ball. Player C picks up A’s ball before the collision and puts it back after B’s ball is passed. If so, who is punished? —Joe Wishinski, Clearwater, Florida
Player D, simply because he wasn’t paying attention. joke!
Anyone with a knowledge of the old-school rules will be convinced that someone is in trouble. However, here and now, no one will be punished as long as C is not A’s partner (which is obviously not the case here). Normally, before lifting a ball that needs to be replaced, you need to mark it first, and if A asked C to lift it, A would be liable for C’s failure – but since that is not the case, Rule 9.6 applies here.
A is not penalized under Rule 11.3 for C lifting the ball, and C is not penalized under Rule 11.3 because a ball at rest on the green may be lifted while another ball is in motion. Now…who goes first?
For more penalty application guidance from our masters, read on…
During a four-ball game, a member of the other team was about to putt and asked what everyone was hitting. My partner said the wrong thing, causing the other guy to think the putt didn’t matter and pick up the ball. It was an honest mistake that was corrected almost immediately, but it was too late. Cue controversy and unfair accusations of cheating. Regardless, players in match play are obligated to answer questions like, “Is everyone playing something?” What if the answer is accidentally wrong? -Eric Schur, Scottsdale, Arizona.
The rules of match play are designed to reflect the fact that the opponent’s play affects a player’s strategy, so players have the right to know where they stand on a hole.
If a player asks an opponent what they hit, the opponent must answer before the player’s next hit. If they make a mistake and give the wrong number, it must be corrected before the player takes the next shot or “takes a similar action”; here, this includes picking up an unmarked ball.
Under Rule 3.2d(1), if the opponent fails to correct this error in time, they will be punished by losing the hole, and in four-ball games, if this violation harms the opponent’s game, it may cause the entire team to lose the hole. So, as teachers like to tell students, think carefully before answering.
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