By Senior Rules Officials, Pete Scholz and Terry McEvilly
It is almost time to dust off the clubs and make our way back to the course. Winter can seem long and drawn out, but here in Oregon, we generally get more months to work on our game than not. We hope that your Rule book doesn’t need dusting off and that you have spent the off season brushing up on the Rules.
This month, we move our focus away from marking, lifting, and cleaning the ball to another area of Rule 14 regarding replacing the ball on a spot. One very important factor to remember regarding replacing a ball is that this part of Rule 14 applies when the ball has been lifted or moved from its original spot and a Rule requires it to be replaced on that spot (Ex. marking and lifting on the putting green, when the ball is moved accidentally). And as with every other Rule in the book, there is more to replacing a ball than what meets the eye.
Test your knowledge on replacing a ball with the following questions:
Questions: True / False
1) After lifting a ball on the putting green, the player is not generally allowed to substitute another ball and must use the same ball that was lifted.
2) In individual stroke play, whether the ball was lifted by the player, their caddie or anyone else authorized by the player, only the player whose ball it is may place the ball.
3) If a player lifts their ball and gives it to their caddie, who cleans and replaces the ball on the original spot, and then it is played by the player, there is no penalty.
4) When a player lifts their ball under a Rule that requires that the original ball must be replaced, the player may substitute another ball if he or she discovers that the ball is cut or cracked and that the damage happened during the hole being played.
5) If play was suspended by the Committee, when play resumes, a player may continue with the original ball or substitute a ball.
6) A player lifts their ball from the putting green and while cleaning the ball, the player accidentally dropped the ball, which rolled into deep water in a penalty area and was not recoverable. The player incurs two penalty strokes in stroke play and may complete the hole with a substituted ball.
7) A lifted ball, that must be replaced, may be replaced by rolling the ball with a club to the required spot.
8) A ball is moved accidentally and the player is required to replace the ball. If the exact original spot is unknown, the ball must be dropped within one club-length of the estimated spot.
9) A ball sitting up in tall grass slips downward when the player places his or her club behind the ball to prepare for the stroke. The ball must be replaced and the player incurs a one-stroke penalty.
10) For one final exception to when a substituted ball may be used when a Rule requires that the original ball be replaced, we highlight a real-life situation. In an effort to keep the fairways pristine, Pete and Terry both hit their balls into the same area in the rough. Pete finds a ball and makes a stroke at it. It comes to rest in deep water in a penalty area. Five seconds later another ball is found and it is Pete’s original ball. It becomes virtually certain that Terry’s ball has been played as a wrong ball by Pete. Under Rule 6.3c(2) Terry may substitute another ball when replacing and Pete gets two penalty strokes.
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Answers:
1) True. Rule 14.2a. In this case, no exceptions apply and the player must use the original ball. However, read on for exceptions that apply anywhere on the course.
2) False. Rule 14.2b. Under the Rules, several people are allowed to replace a lifted or moved ball. That list includes: the player, the person who lifted the ball (such as the caddie), any person who caused the ball to move (such as another player or spectator), and for players with certain disabilities, Rules 25.2h, 25.3c and 25.4a is modified to give general authorization to any person to replace the player’s ball.
3) False. Rule 14.2b. In this situation, the player is the only person allowed to replace the ball. Since the ball was replaced by someone not allowed to do so, the player gets one penalty stroke.
4) True. Rules 4.2c and 14.2a. It must be clearly seen that the original ball is cut or cracked and that the damage happened during the hole being played. If it is determined that the damage happened on a previous hole, the player is not allowed to substitute a ball and must complete the hole with the damaged ball.
5) True. Rules 5.7d and 14.2a. As mentioned in Answer #1, there are several exceptions when a player may substitute a ball even though the Rule says the original ball must be used. This is one of those exceptions as well, just as is the answer to #4.
6) False. Rule 14.2a. It is true that the player may complete the hole with a substituted ball, but since the player did not deliberately cause the ball to become unrecoverable, there is no penalty. However, if the player had purposely caused it to become unrecoverable, such as by throwing the ball into the penalty area in anger, the player would incur a one-stroke penalty under Rule 6.3b(3).
7) False. Rule 14.2b(2). The proper replacing of a ball is very specific in the Rules and if the ball is replaced in a wrong way, the player gets one penalty stroke if the error is not corrected before a stroke is made at the ball. To replace a ball correctly, it must be set down by hand on the required spot and let go of so that it stays on that spot.
8) False. Rules 9 and 14.2c. Even though the player doesn’t know the exact spot where the ball needs to be replaced, he or she will be replacing, as described in Answer #7, on an estimated spot.
9) True. Rules 9.4b and 14.2c. The player gets one penalty stroke for causing their ball at rest to move and must replace the ball to where it was sitting up in the grass. If the ball will not remain on the exact spot, tune in next month to see how to proceed.
10) True. Rules 6.3c(2) and 14.2a. In this situation, it would be impossible for Terry to replace the ball using the original ball. Therefore, he may substitute another ball and continue play of the hole. It should be noted that anytime a player’s ball is played by another player as a wrong ball, the player may substitute another ball even if the original ball is easily retrievable. Pete gets two penalty strokes in stroke play for playing a wrong ball and must correct the error by playing his own ball.