Questions on the Rules of Golf
Page 2
You might be interested in these questions on the rules of Golf
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During a competitive round, Paul arrives for his tee-time five minutes late, within the time limit allowed by the local rules committee to prevent disqualification, but incurring loss of the first hole. His friend and fellow competitor in the match, Chip, quietly tells Paul he will not assess any penalty, as the match only affects those two players. Is there anything wrong with this?
While playing the 7th hole, Dave hits his drive onto the 8th green. As he approaches the green, he finds that his ball is lying atop the fringe, with a portion of the ball overhanging onto the green. The ball was located in an area that would cause his stance to be taken on the green, as well. As Dave begins to mark and lift his ball, he tells a fellow competitor that he is entitled to a free drop because his ball is lying on a wrong green. What should the ruling be in this case?
As a player is addressing the ball on the teeing ground,
and is "waggling" his driver, he inadvertently knocks the ball off the tee with
the club. Does the stroke count and must he play the ball as it lies? Has he
incurred a penalty. Or may he re-tee the ball without counting a
stroke or receiving a penalty?
While searching for a ball in some high weeds, a player
sees what ultimately proves to be his ball. In determining whether it is his ball
he pushes the weeds away. As he does so, the ball drops several inches from it's
resting position. Has a rules infraction occurred?
ANSWER
During a round, a player's ball comes to rest near a storm
shelter on the course. The shelter interferes with his stance and is clearly
an immovable obstruction. What are his options?
At age 75, Jim appeared to have hit his first hole in
one. His ball hit the green, bounced a few times and rolled to a quick stop,
apparently against the flagstick. When he arrived at the green, sure enough,
there was the ball resting against the flagstick, inside
the circumference of the hole. He excitedly ran to the hole and grabbed his
ball, triumphantly holding it in the air. Unfortunately,
Jim made a serious mistake. What was it?
ANSWER
QUESTION 7:
During the same round, Jim makes a nice approach shot and his ball settles a few inches from the hole. Another player in his foursome, Earl, makes an equally nice shot, but it strikes Jim's ball and deflects it into the hole. What is the ruling on Jim's ball?
On the putting green, a player marked his ball one putter
head-length to the left, in order that his mark would not interfere with a
fellow
competitor. When he replaced his ball, he placed it one putter length to the
left of the mark and began to address the ball. Has a rules infraction taken
place?
ANSWER
On the teeing ground, while Rick is preparing to hit his shot, Tom walks behind him and begins to tee his own ball, since he is next to play. Rick is clearly distracted and backs away from his ball to regain his composure. Has a rules infraction taken place?
While playing the 17th at St.Andrews, Alistair hits his approach shot into the deep greenside bunker. After walking to the bunker he finds that his ball is resting against the stacked turf nearest the green. He clearly has no shot at the green. While making his decision of how to proceed, he nervously and repeatedly taps his wedge against the stacked turf. Has he violated the rules?
During a competitive match, Player A asked Player B how many strokes he took on the previous hole. Player B declined to reveal to Player A his score on the hole. Was Player A entitled to know how many strokes Player B had taken?
While playing in a rain soaked father-daughter tournament,
John held an umbrella over his eight year-old daughter's head while she
lined-up a putt on the 10th green. Their opponents believed that action to be an
infraction, but did not report it to the rules committee or to John or his
daughter until after they had begun play of the next hole. What is the ruling?
ANSWER
Through eight holes of a stroke play competition, Tom has
failed to smooth out his footprints and holes in bunkers, scraped his spikes
across the greens and failed to repair the scrapes, failed to repair divots,
refused to play a provisional ball when a tee shot could clearly have been lost
or even out of bounds, and teed his ball while another player had addressed his
ball in preparation to make a stroke.
Is Tom subject to any penalties or rulings?
Michelle fancies herself a rules expert. While waiting to
play on the 4th tee of a round, she notices Susanne, one of her playing
partners, chipping a ball onto the putting green of the last hole they played.
Michelle proceeds to tell Susanne that she has just incurred a two-stroke
penalty under Rule 7-2, due to her practice shots. Is she correct?
ANSWER
Jim and Tom are on the 12th tee. While Tom is preparing to
make his tee shot, he uses his driver to tap down an uneven surface behind
where his ball is teed, which would improve his take away. Jim tells him that he
has incurred a penalty. Is Jim correct?
ANSWER
A golfer's shot came to rest inside a bunker and just
behind a partially sand-covered golf glove dropped by a previous player of the
hole.
Is the golfer allowed to remove the glove without penalty since it will hinder
his shot?
Is a penalty incurred when a player, after marking his
ball on the green, inadvertently places another ball on the mark and
subsequently
putts that ball?
Fuzzy struck his 25-foot putt on the 15th hole and watched it roll to the lip of the cup without falling inside. As most of the ball appeared to be overhanging the lip, he surmised that it must be about to fall in. After a few seconds, he slowly strolled toward the hole and, once he arrived there, waited a few more seconds before the putt eventually fell into the hole for a birdie. Did Fuzzy do anything in violation of the rules?
Bill has addressed his ball just off the
16th green and is about to chip. At that moment, Ted walks up and attends the
flag. After making his stroke, the ball hits the flagstick being held by Ted.
What should be the ruling in this case?
ANSWER
On the 7th hole, Bill's ball came to
rest on a dirt cast obviously made by a mole. He was entitled to free relief
from the mound, as a cast or runway made by a burrowing animal is considered an
abnormal ground condition.
On the 17th hole, his ball came to rest in the rough and inside a hole which was
most likely dug by a dog, cat or some other animal of the
approximate size. What is the ruling in that instance?
After fully addressing the ball on the
putting green, John makes an inadvertent strike of the ball. It moves forward
only slightly and, having been resting in a ball-mark, rolls back to it's
original position. Does the inadvertent stroke count toward John's score?
ANSWER
Tom, Jim, Rick and Bill are playing a
hotly contested stroke play round. As Jim is leading him by three shots, while
waiting for the green to clear, Tom picks up Jim's ball in the fairway to
inspect it. How should Jim proceed after noticing what Tom had done?
ANSWER
While playing an approach shot, a player
makes his stroke and his ball comes to rest in the back of a golf course repair
vehicle approximately 50 yards from the green. The driver does not stop. How
must the golfer proceed?
ANSWER
After making an attempt at placing a
ball on a steep greenside hill, Charlie's ball will not stay on the spot. After
trying a second time, it rolls to the bottom of the hill. Charlie, seeing no
other way to proceed, believes he must play the ball as it lies. How should he
proceed?
ANSWER
The golfers in a foursome begin
searching for one member's ball. As they begin their search, the group behind
them arrives on the tee.
According to the etiquette rules in Section One of the Rules of Golf, what
should the searching foursome do?
As Susan struck her approach shot on the
second hole of her round, she felt the club head of her six-iron twist. Upon
examination, she found that the club head had come loose from the shaft. As an
amateur club maker, she had some quick-drying epoxy in her golf bag and used it
to quickly repair her club, which she used later in the round. After using the
repaired club, had she committed a rules infraction? ANSWER
Rule 6-3 requires that a player must start at the time
established or be disqualified. Local rules can modify the rule somewhat,
as in
this situation. However, if Chip and Paul proceed by not assessing the
penalty to Paul, they would both be disqualified for violation of Rule 1-3, for
agreeing to waive a rule.
First, interference by a wrong putting green is defined in
Rule 25-3(a) as when a ball is on the wrong putting green. Interference to a
golfer's stance or the area of the intended swing is not considered interference
under Rule 25-3. If a player's ball is lying on a wrong green, the ball must be
dropped within one club length of the nearest point of relief, not nearer the
hole. In Dave's case, he has made one crucial mistake. According to the
definition of "putting green," a ball is considered to be on the green when it
touches any part of it.
In this case, Dave's ball was "sitting atop the fringe," merely overhanging and
not touching the green. Simply because his stance would be taken on the green,
the ball must be played as it lies. As he has marked and lifted a ball in play,
according to Rule 18 (Ball at Rest Moved,
he incurs a penalty of one stroke.
That was a tough one!
BACK
According to Rule 11-3, if a ball not in play falls off a
tee or is knocked off a tee by the player in addressing it, it may be re-teed
without penalty. So, the player simply should pick up the ball and replace it
on the tee without penalty, as if it had never happened.
BACK
In these circumstances when the player accidentally caused
his ball to move during search outside of a hazard he incurred a penalty of one
stroke and before making another stroke, the ball must be replaced as closely as
possible to the spot and lie that it occupied prior to
the movement. If another player had caused the ball to move while searching for
it there would be no penalty and the ball must be replaced.
BACK
Rule 24-2 stipulates that the player may take relief from an immovable obstruction by lifting and dropping the ball, without penalty, within one club-length of and not nearer the hole than the nearest point of relief. The nearest point of relief must not be in a hazard or on a putting green. When the ball is dropped, it must first strike a part of the course at a spot that avoids interference by the immovable obstruction and is not in a hazard and not on a putting green.
ANSWER 6:
Rule 17-4 states that when the flagstick is in the hole and a player's ball when
not holed rests against it, the player or another person authorized by him may
move or remove the flagstick to allow the ball to fall into the hole, thus
holing out. A ball is only holed when it is at rest within the circumference of
the hole and all of it is below the level of the lip of the hole. Since Jim did
not "hole out" he is penalised one stroke under Rule 20-1 for lifting his ball
without marking its position. He must then replace the ball against the
flagstick and carefully remove it so that the ball drops into the hole. He will
then have scored a "hole in two"!
BACK
According to the provisions of Rule 18-5, if a ball in
play and at rest is moved by another ball in motion after a stroke, the ball
moved must be replaced as closely as possible to it's original spot. Jim's
playing a great round, but he can't catch a break.
BACK
The player is about to putt his ball from the wrong place. When he replaced his ball, he should have placed it to the right of the mark, which would have put the ball in the original location. He's about to play from the wrong spot. According to Rule 20-7, if a player makes a stroke from a wrong place he's in violation. In match play he loses the hole, in stroke play he would receive a two-stroke penalty. However, in this instance, an infraction has not yet taken place because the player has not made the stroke. You can give the story a happy ending, or a sad one. Whichever you choose.
There has been no rules infraction; however, Section 1 of
the Rules of Golf deals with matters of etiquette and on-course behaviour.
That section has a subsection that deals with having consideration for other
players and making no disturbances or distraction. Clearly stated in that
subsection is that a player should not tee his ball until his turn to play.
Although Tom has committed a breach of etiquette,
he has violated no rules.
According to the definition of a "bunker," grass-covered ground, including stacked turf, is not considered part of the bunker. Alistair has not violated Rule 13-4 because, by definition, he has not touched the ground in the bunker.
Rule 9-2 states that an opponent in a match play event is entitled to know the number of strokes taken by the other player during the play of a hole and after. B incurs the general penalty of loss of hole (Rule 2-6) for failing to act in accordance with Rule 9-2a.
First, the opponents believed they had witnessed a
violation of Rule 14-2, which prohibits a player from accepting protection from
the elements when making a stroke; however, the girl was not, she was only
lining-up a putt. Also, had there been a infraction, according to
Rule 2-5 the opponents have to make a claim seeking a ruling on the facts of the
doubt or dispute before commencing play of the next hole. Since they had started
playing the next hole, they would have had no claim.
BACK
Though he is not in direct violation of any rules, he has
established a pattern of neglect, possibly rising to the level of serious
breaches of
etiquette and course behaviour as described in the Rules of Golf. As such, under
Rule 33-7, the local Rules Committee can disqualify him if they find he is
guilty of a serious breach of etiquette.
Rule 7-2 states that a player must not make a practice stroke during play of a hole (she's right so far). Between the play of two holes a player must not make a practice stroke (she's still right), except that she may practice putting or chipping on or near the putting green of the last hole played, any practice green, or the next teeing ground. Michelle has proven herself a rules novice rather than expert. Susanne was securely within the rules.
Tom should respond by stating that he has not violated the
rules because, according to Rule 13-2, eliminating surface irregularities that
may improve stance or swing on the teeing ground is allowed.
BACK
A golf glove is artificial and therefore falls within the
definition of an obstruction (i.e. not a loose impediment). All movable
obstructions can be removed, without penalty, anywhere on the course. If the
ball moves during the removal of the obstruction it must be replaced
and there is no penalty.
BACK
Unfortunately, a penalty of two strokes in stroke play and
loss of hole in match play is incurred. The player would have substituted a ball
when not permitted to do so (as with a lost ball or ball hit out of bounds).
According to Rule 15-2, the second ball would become the ball in play and the
penalty ascribed by the applicable rule would be incurred.
Fuzzy appears to have acted within Rule 16-2, which
states, the player is allowed enough time to reach the hole without unreasonable
delay, and an additional ten seconds to determine if the ball is at rest. He
did not unreasonably delay play in approaching the ball and he apparently waited
less than 10 seconds after arriving at the hole. His birdie should stand.
BACK
According to Rule 17-3, the player's ball must not strike the flagstick when it is being attended, removed or held up, the person attending the flagstick, or the unattended flagstick when a putt has been made on the green.
There is an exception.
When the flagstick is attended without the player's authority, the player
attending the flagstick incurs the penalty under Rule 17-2, which is loss of the
hole in match play and two strokes in stroke play.
BACK
The definition to "abnormal ground
condition" is rather narrow. It is limited to casual water, ground under repair
or hole, cast or runway on the course made by a burrowing animal, reptile or
bird. A "burrowing animal" is defined in the Rules as an animal that makes a
hole for habitation or shelter, such as a rabbit, mole, groundhog, gopher or
salamander. Since none of those animals would likely have made such
a hole, he is not entitled to free relief.
BACK
According to the Rules definition of
"moved," if the ball leaves it's original position and comes to rest in another
place, it is deemed
to have moved. In John's case it did not move and so he did not incur a penalty
for the inadvertent strike of the ball.
Under Rule 18-4 there is no penalty for
a fellow competitor moving another competitor's ball. Jim should replace his
ball where it lay before Tom picked it up.
BACK
According to Rule 19-1, if a ball in
motion comes to rest on a moving object, the player must, without penalty, drop
the ball as near as possible to the spot where the outside agency was when the
ball came to rest on it.
BACK
Under Rule 20-3d, if Charlie cannot get
to his ball to stay at the place where the Rules require him to place it (in
this case on the steep greenside hill) he must place it at the nearest spot
where it can be placed at rest that is not nearer the hole and not in a hazard.
BACK
The group decided to search for the ball
for the allotted five minutes and resume play. In doing so, although the Rules
allow five minutes
for searching, they violated etiquette. As soon as it was apparent the ball
would not be easily located, rules of etiquette dictate they should have
signalled for the group behind them to play through. After doing so, the should
have resumed play after the group had passed and were out of reach.
BACK
According to Rule 4-3(a)(ii), a club damaged in the normal course of play, as in Susan's case, can be repaired during the round providing there is no undue delay in play. Susan could also have opted to replace her six-iron with any club, as it was obviously unfit for play. So, Susan acted within the Rules.