NCGA Rules Situations – Ball at Rest Moved
In team match if a player putts and hits his partner’s ball on the putting green, is it loss of hole or no penalty?
You make the Call: Read Rule 19-5a.
Answer: In match play there is no penalty if you putt and your ball strikes another ball on the putting green whether it is your partner’s ball or an opponent’s ball. This is not the case in stroke play. In stroke play if you putt and your ball strikes another ball on the putting green, whether it belongs to your partner or another player, there is a two stroke penalty to the person putting.
In either case, if the ball that was at rest on the green is moved, the moved ball must be replaced.
I think you missed something here. What if the person putting in stroke play is on the fringe of the green and he putts and hits his another ball?
February 10th, 2008 at 11:34 amHi Denny, If the player is making a stroke from the fringe, whether he is using his putter or another club, it is a line of play situation and not a line of putt. Where the ball lies on the course is the key factor.
This would be no different tha if the ball were played from 5, 100 or any number of yards away. The ball at rest that was at rest on the green if moved would be replaced and the ball played from off the green would be played as it lies with no penalty to anyone.
Look at the definitions of Line of Play and Line of Putt in the Definitions section at the beginning of the Rules of Golf book.
February 12th, 2008 at 10:21 amThanks for the question.
hit my first shot left of green. aproached my ball and my club slipped out of hand and hit my ball. thanks
April 3rd, 2008 at 3:24 pmJeff,this is a Rule 18-2a situation. Your ball in play was moved accidentally by you dropping your club and moving it. This is a 1 stroke penalty and the ball must be replaced. If you play the ball from it’s new position, the penalty becomes 2 penalty strokes. See the asterisk note at the end of the penalty statement for Rule 18.
Gail Rogers
April 3rd, 2008 at 3:40 pmDirector of Education
What if we both are on the green and I mark my ball with a coin. The other player putts and hits my coin, deflecting his ball but not moving the coin? Does he play it as it lies or gets to replace it to original position?
June 5th, 2008 at 6:59 pmDEar Sandy,
Since the Rules allow the player to have your ballmarker moved one or more putter head lengths to the side off his line of putt, when he does not do that and his ballis deflected, he plays his ball as it lies with no penalty to anyone. see Decision 20-1/16.
Gail Rogers, Director of Education
June 6th, 2008 at 7:19 amDuring a team match, my opponent picked up his partner’s ballmarker, thinking it was mine, handed it to me and conceded the hole. I told him it was not my ballmarker and his partner said that it was his. Fortunately, none of the team or individual matches were affected by this action. I assume that a one stroke penalty would be incurred by my opponent’s partner, with the ballmarker being replaced, and he would have also conceded their four-ball match. Is this correct?
July 28th, 2008 at 4:14 pmput the marker back no penalty no concession and play on. Hi Gail, let me know if I’m right.
December 2nd, 2008 at 11:06 amput marker back and play on no penalty. Hi Gail, let me know if I’m correct.
December 2nd, 2008 at 11:08 amDear Dave and Hilde,
When a playr lifts his partner’s ball marker, it is a one stroke penalty to the partner as the position of his ball is no longer marked as required by Rule 20-1. See also Decisions 20-1/6.5 and 20-1/7.
Thanks for the question.
Gail
December 2nd, 2008 at 11:28 am