The Rules of Golf are tricky! Thankfully, we’ve got the guru. Our Rules Guy knows the book front to back. Got a question? He’s got all the answers.
Player 1 chips his ball to the hole, and it just misses. Player 2 says, “That’s good,” which Player 1 acknowledges … but as he walks toward his ball to retrieve it, the ball falls in the hole. What is the ruling? —Tim McGrath, via email
If nothing else, Rules Guy’s inbox proves that golf is full of cliffhangers. (Also, that spam remains an ongoing problem.)
The ball is holed with the previous stroke provided it fell into the hole within 10 seconds plus a reasonable amount of time to reach the hole. When a ball is overhanging the hole (which isn’t stated here but must be the case considering it fell into the hole), a concession during the waiting time doesn’t take away a player’s right to the waiting time under 13.3a.
Under Rule 3.2b the concession made before the ball was at rest was allowed, however it did not matter because the ball was holed.
Rules Guy: What’s the penalty for accidentally playing from the wrong tees in match play?
For more match-play-related guidance from our guru, read on …
In a recent four-ball match at my club, John and Chris were playing against Brad and James. John putted while Brad was engrossed in a phone call, not paying attention. Brad saw John’s ball rolling and stopped it — he thought James had tossed him his own ball. What’s the ruling? —Dave DeWalle, Richmond, Va.
Call Rules Guy old-fashioned but calls on the course should be verboten. Regardless, oblivious Brad gets a loss of hole penalty for breaching Rule 11.2, which, in a four-ball match, means he’s out of the hole.
Depending on when and where the ball was stopped, if the act dis-advantaged John — because the ball was heading toward the hole and may have gone in, say, or because it was an extremely difficult putt that was going to end up with a decent result (see Rule 23.9)—James would also get the penalty and the side would lose the hole. They could then text each other their regrets.
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Got a question about the Rules? Ask the Rules Guy! Send your queries, confusions and comments to rulesguy@golf.com. We promise he won’t throw the book at you.
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