Questions on the Rules of Golf
Page 3
You might be interested in these questions on the rules of Golf
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During a stroke play event, Jim asks Bill to take the honor from the tee on the third hole of the round because he is unsure of how to play the shot. Has either player committed a Rules infraction?
During a match play event, upon arriving at the teeing ground, Player A has the honour. He tees his ball at least three club-lengths behind the tee markers and makes his shot. Player B points out to Player A that his ball was played from outside the established teeing ground. What should the outcome of Player As actions be?
A player believes his ball has come to rest in a green-side bunker and is almost completely covered with sand. As a result, the player cannot be certain of the identity of his ball. How should he proceed within the rules?
A player has elected to play from within a water hazard. After he make the stroke, the ball came out of the hazard and came to rest in a second water hazard. He then marked where he took his shot, retrieved his ball and took a drop at the original spot. Has the player proceeded within the Rules?
While playing a hole, a player hits a fantastic approach shot that strikes an overhead power line in its' descent. The ball deflected off the power line and onto the green. The local rule for such an occurrence stated that if a ball strikes an overhead power line, the player must replay the shot without penalty. In this instance, the striking the power line did not adversely impact the shot and the player played his ball as it lay. Is a ruling required here?
Shortly after a heavy rain, a player makes a stroke and her ball comes to rest at the base of a tree. Being right-handed, she doesn't have a shot due to the location of her ball unless she makes a left-handed shot. As she takes her left-handed stance, she realizes she is standing in casual water, an abnormal ground condition. She informs her competitors that she will be taking a free drop because of the ground condition. Is she correct?
According to the Definitions section of the Rules of Golf, what type of match pits one golfer against two others, each person playing their own ball. In this match-play competition, each golfer has two simultaneous matches.
After a player makes a stroke at his ball in a bunker, the ball advances, but it doesn't make it out of the bunker. The player then uses a rake to repair the sand around his original stance and stroke. Has he committed a rules infraction?
During tournament play, due to impending bad weather, the tournament committee sounded a suspension of play warning after one of four players in a foursome had struck her tee shot. All players in the group continued playing the hole before heeding the suspension of play. Is there a rules violation here?
Prior to his big afternoon match with Bill, Tom plays a practice round on the course. Has he violated any rules?
While preparing to putt, a player decides to clear some leaves and debris from his intended line. In doing so, he uses his putter to steady himself while bending to pick up the debris. Inadvertently, his putter rested on the line of his putt and smoothed spike marks along the line. Given the circumstances, has he committed a rules breach?
While preparing to putt, a player notices a poorly repaired ball mark that interferes with his intended line. The player repairs the ball mark. Has he incurred a penalty for repairing the ball mark in his line?
Player A is facing a slick, downhill, right-to-left breaking chip from just off the green. Player B, his partner, has already played and his ball rests below the hole and slightly to the left. They agree to leave Player B's ball where it lies without marking it. Is a ruling on their actions required and have they broken a rule?
Rule 14-5 provides that a player must not make a stroke at a moving ball. In Wendy's case, after she addressed the ball and began her swing, a gust of wind moved her ball backward. She could not stop her stroke and struck the ball as it was moving. Has she incurred any penalty?
A player's ball comes to rest near a movable rubbish bin. The player lifts the ball and drops it, in a manner in keeping with the Rules, away from the obstruction. Has he committed a rules infraction?
On the morning prior to the start of a stroke-play competition, Winston finishes his practice on the driving range by aiming and hitting two drives into the fairway of one of the competitive holes. Has he violated Rule 7-1(b), which prevents him from practicing on the course on the day of a stroke-play competition?
Two friends are pitted against one another in a match-play competition. While both are on the putting green preparing to putt, Wesley marks Walter's ball and tosses it to him as a courtesy. Is either person subject to a penalty?
Sam hit a blind approach shot into the green on the 7th hole. Unable to locate his ball, he returned to the spot of the original shot and put another ball into play. Upon approaching the green, his playing partner discovered that Sam's first ball was in the hole. After putting a second ball into play, was Sam playing the wrong ball and subject to a penalty under Rule 15?
A player's ball comes to rest in an outlying limb of a tree, several feet off the ground. The ball is obviously unplayable and the player declares it as such. He has a clear shot to the green from anywhere around the tree, so he decides to exercise the option to take a drop under penalty of one stroke. Since the drop must be within two club-lengths of where the ball lay (Rule 28) where does he drop the ball?
After holing-out, a player retrieves his ball from the hole and notices that the hole is ragged. Before the other competitors have holed out, he repairs the hole as a courtesy to the other players. Has he incurred a penalty?
After leaving a short putt on the lip of the cup, a frustrated player simultaneously places his hand in the hole and taps the put into his hand. He has clearly violated a rule. What is the ruling?
Unfortunately, Ed's tee shot bounced off several trees and came to rest, to his dismay, behind a tee marker. Is Ed allowed to move the marker when making his next shot?
With the wind at his back on a long par-5, Bill is intently focused on blasting a monstrous drive. He addresses the ball, begins his backswing, starts the downswing and the clubhead breaks free of the shaft before impact with the ball. What is the ruling relative to his swing; is it counted as a stroke?
Player A's
ball came to rest inside a hazard in close proximity to another competitor's
ball. Player A inquired of the referee how to proceed. The referee advised
that the player could lift his ball and drop within one club-length after the
competitor makes his shot. Player A does as the referee advised, but later
found that the ball should have been placed as nearly
as possible to the original spot or conditions, rather than dropped within a
club-length. Does Player A incur a penalty for the rules breach.
After arriving at his ball in the fairway, Tom looks at his lie and the ball, then removes a blade of grass from the side of the ball. Was he allowed to remove the blade of grass?
In today's game, golf carts are commonplace and they're considered under the Rules to be equipment, just as golf clubs or a golf bag. When two players share a cart, to whom does the golf cart as "equipment" belong?
According to Rule 10-2(c), there is no penalty for simply playing out of turn; however, if competitors agree to do so in order to give one of them an advantage, the players are disqualified. Since Jim is seeking an advantage, however innocently, and Bill agreed to his request, they are both disqualified.
According to Rule 11-4, in a match play event, there is no
penalty, but the opponent (Player B) may require the player to cancel his shot
and re-tee from within the teeing ground. However, had it been a stroke play
competition player A would have incurred a two stroke penalty for playing
outside of the teeing ground and must then play a ball from within the teeing
ground to avoid disqualification for having played from the wrong place.
According to Rule 12-1, the player may, without penalty,
remove as much sand as necessary to enable identification of the ball. If too
much sand is moved in the identification of the ball then this must be replaced.
Since 1st January 2008, if a player cannot identifyhis ball in a bunker without
lifting it he may follow the procedure in Rule 12-2.
Before lifting the ball he must announce his intention to his opponent, or
fellow competitor, and mark the position of the ball. He may then lift the ball
and identify it, provided that he gives his opponent or fellow competitor an
opportunity to observe the lifting and replacement. The ball must not be cleaned
beyond the extent necessary for identification.
The player has acted within the rules. The player could
have played the ball as it lay in the second water hazard or, according to Rule
26-2 a. (i), under penalty of one stroke, he could proceed under rule 26-1 a,
and drop a ball at the point where he last played (which is what he elected to
do).
He could also, according to Rule 26-2 a. (ii), under penalty of one stroke
proceed under rule 26-1 b, and have dropped a ball behind the second hazard on a
line extending from the hole through the last place that the ball crossed the
margin of the second water hazard. Obviously rule 26-2 a provides various other
alternative courses of action for the player to take!
Due to his decision to play the ball, a ruling is needed.
Rule 33-8 allows for local rules committees to establish Local Rules for
abnormal conditions if they are consistent with the policies set forth in
Appendix I of the Rules of Golf.
A consistent rule for this instance required the player to replay his shot, even
though striking the power line did not adversely affect his shot. He did not
have the option to play the original ball. Therefore he incurred a penalty of
two strokes for breaking the Local Rule and, if he did not play the shot again
from where he last played, before teeing off at the next hole, the Committee
would have to decide whether to disqualify him for playing from the wrong place.
ANSWER 6: I
n this instance, the player was correct. Rule 25-1 states
that interference by an abnormal ground condition occurs when either the
ball or the player's stance is impacted by the condition. Also, once she has
taken relief from the casual water she may then play her next shot with either a
right-handed or left-handed stance.
BACK
Sort of a tricky question, but the answer is Three Ball Match Play.
Although Rule 13-4 prohibits touching of the ground inside
a hazard, Exception #2 to the Rule allows for smoothing of the sand by a player
or caddie provided that nothing is done that improves the lie of the ball or the
play of the hole.
However, note that if the player failed to extricate his ball from the first
bunker with his first stroke and had smoothed his footprints while his ball
still lay in that bunker, he would have incurred a penalty if his smoothing had
improved his lie with respect to his next stroke.
According to Rule 6-8(b), if players have started a hole, they may either discontinue play immediately or continue to play the hole before halting play, unless the committee has established a rule that calls for immediate cessation of play in potentially dangerous situations.
If Tom were involved in a stroke-play competition, he would be disqualified; however, Rule 7-1(a) states that on any day of a match-play competition, a player may practice on the competition course before a round. So, Tom has acted within the rules.
Yes. According to Rule 16-1(a), a player may remove loose
impediments from his line, provided he does not press anything down.
There is no exception for inadvertent actions. In stroke play, the penalty is
two strokes, in match play it is loss of the hole.
No. Rule 16 prevents the line of the putt to be touched or improved; however, subsection (c) allows for ball marks, poorly repaired ball marks, and hole plugs to be repaired. Other damage to the green, such as spike marks, may not be repaired when preparing to putt.
Rule 22-1 provides that a player may lift his ball if he considers it could assist another player. In this case, the player's ball could stop his partner's ball from travelling well past the hole. As the rule states that the player "may" lift his ball, it does not require him to do so. No penalty is incurred in this instance. However, in stroke play, if the Committee determines that competitors have agreed not to lift a ball that might assist any competitor, they are disqualified.
There is no penalty under Rule 14-5 because the ball began to move after Wendy had begun her backswing. However, because she had addressed her ball before it started to move she incurred one penalty stroke under Rule 18-2b.
ANSWER 15: Rule 24-2(b)
provides that a movable obstruction that interferes with a stroke be moved. An
obstruction is movable if it can be moved without unreasonable effort, without
unduly delaying play and without causing damage. As the rubbish bin was
movable the player should not have taken relief, he should have moved the bin
and played the ball as it lay (Rule 24-1). The player incurred a two stroke
penalty in stroke play, or loss of hole in match play.
ANSWER 16:
By definition, he has violated the Rule. Although he did not play a shot from
on the course, his intention was to land his drive on the competition course.
His penalty is stiff: disqualification.
BACK
Rule 20-1 states that a player's ball may be lifted by an opponent with the player's permission. Since he did not ask for permission to mark and lift the ball, Wesley has innocently run afoul of the Rules and incurs a one-stroke penalty [pursuant to Rule 18-3(b)].
ANSWER 18:
No. His original approach shot came to rest in the hole. By definition, his ball
was "holed" and play of the hole was complete at that point. There is no
penalty.
Decision 28/11 of the Rules of Golf states that the player may drop a ball within two club-lengths of the spot directly below where the ball is lodged in the tree.
ANSWER 20:
Rule 1-2 states that a player may not take any action to exert influence on a
ball. However, in this instance, he had holed out and
was merely repairing a damaged cup. He would not incur a penalty.
BACK
ANSWER 21:
The player is in violation of Rule 1-2, given that he exerted undue influence on
a moving ball. He intentionally stopped a moving ball. In match play, he loses
the hole. In stroke play he incurs a penalty of two strokes and must place his
ball on the lip of the cup and putt the ball from that spot. If he fails to
hole out according to the rules after his frustration-induced mistake, he
is disqualified.
ANSWER 22:
Rule 11-2 states that tee-markers are deemed to be fixed when playing the first
stroke with any ball from the teeing ground. Rules Decision 11-2/1 states that,
thereafter, the markers are deemed to be obstructions. As a result, in taking
his second shot, Ed can move the tee marker.
Rule 14-1 states that the ball must be
fairly struck at with the head of the club, which would tend toward no actual
"stroke" having
been taken. However, a stroke is partially defined as the forward movement of
the club (downswing). Rules Decision 14/3 states that, in this situation, a
stroke was taken as there had been forward movement of the club before the
clubhead separated from the shaft.
ANSWER 24:
No. There is no penalty. According to Rule 34-2, the referee's decisions are
final. There is no exception for whether or not a referee's ruling is correct,
it is simply final.
BACK
According to the Definition anything
adhering to the all is not a Loose Impediment. As such, removing the blade of
grass would be
akin to cleaning the ball, which, in this instance, is not allowable under Rule
21. Tom can remove the blade of grass, but under a
penalty of one stroke
It depends. According to the definition of "equipment," a resting cart and everything in it, on it or attached to it, belongs to the player who's ball is involved. If a cart is being driven, the cart is then the equipment of the person driving.