What’s the 10-second rule for a ball teetering on the edge of the hole?

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Your tee shot on a par-3 ends up teetering on the edge of the hole. It takes your group a minute to get from the tee to the green. As you approach the putting surface, the ball drops in the hole. Does the 10-second rule apply? Is the shot still an ace or a birdie due to a one-stroke penalty? — Tim Metcalf, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Rules Guy should keep you waiting 10 seconds for his answer to this cliff-hanger to build up the drama … but won’t. It’s a hole in one.

Rules

Under Rule 13.3(a), you get a reasonable amount of time to reach the hole before those precious 10 seconds commence. Given that the player here hasn’t even reached the green yet and clearly isn’t delaying doing so to give the ball extra time to fall in, the ball is holed with the last stroke, which in this case was the first stroke. Simple as that!

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