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.
In a four-ball match, a member of the other team was about to putt and asked what everyone was laying. My partner mis-spoke, causing the other team to conclude that the putt didn’t matter and pick up the ball. It was an honest mistake, almost immediately corrected, but too late to fix. Cue the controversy and unfair accusations of cheating. In any case, are players in match play obligated to answer questions such as “What is everyone laying?” And what if the answer is unintentionally wrong? —Eric Schurr, Scottsdale, Ariz.
The rules regarding match play are designed to reflect the fact that the opponents’ play influences the player’s strategy, and thus the player has the right to know how they stand during a hole.
If a player asks an opponent what they lay, the opponent must answer before the player makes their next stroke. If they make a mistake and give the wrong number, it must be corrected before the player makes their next stroke or “takes a similar action”; here, that includes picking up the ball sans marking.
Under Rule 3.2d(1), the penalty is loss of hole for the opponent who does not correct this mistake in time, and in four-ball it could lead to the whole side losing the hole if this breach hurt the other side’s play. So, as teachers like to tell their students, think carefully before answering.
Rules Guy: How long can you wait for a ball to drop in the hole in match play?
For more match-play guidance from our guru, read on …
A four-ball match. Our opponents get to the tee ahead of us and hit. Inadvertently, I hit from the next box forward, which they duly noted. I rehit from the correct tees and played on, making a 5. Our opponents said my score was 7 for hitting from the wrong tees. Is that right? —Dennis Derby, via email
Your opponents weren’t obligated to tell you that you were about to play from the wrong tees, sportsmanship aside. Maybe they didn’t realize until too late … or not.
Still, they confused the relevant rule for match play, Rule 6.1b(1), with the one for stroke play, Rule 6.1b(2). In this case in match play, the opponents get the choice of whether they want to cancel your stroke and require you to play from the correct tees; if they don’t cancel, you just play out the hole, penalty-free, even from the wrong tees. In stroke play, you indeed get a two-stroke penalty and are required to correct your mistake.
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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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