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.
Strange but true: I knocked an approach shot to 10 feet, but before I could get up to the green to mark my ball, my companion blasted out of a greenside bunker. Like a cue ball on a pool table, his golf ball hit mine so squarely that his immediately came to a dead stop in the precise place where mine, knocked several feet away, had just been. I know I had to replace my ball to where it had been…which was the spot occupied by my playing partner’s ball. So, who goes first? Does one of us get to choose? Coin flip? —Eric Sildon, Arlington, VA
So, two questions here: What to do with replacing the ball, and who goes first.
Rule 15.3 deals with interfering golf balls; essentially, the two options to proceed are (1) to have one player mark their ball then span their ball-marker and replace yours, or (2) wait and let the other player go first and then replace your ball.
If you choose option one and don’t want to just let the other player go first, since the balls are the same distance from the hole Rule 6.4 says to use a random method, i.e., yes, flip a coin. Then do the ball-marker dance to get out of the other player’s way and proceed in the order that the coin determined.
For more ball-replacement-related guidance from our guru, read on …
Rules Guy: A gust of wind blew my ball off the green. Can I replace it?
My drive rolled off the fairway onto a curbed, paved cart path — and then proceeded to roll back down the path at least 100 yards toward the tee box. I was told I could put the ball back on the fairway at the point it rolled onto the cart path with no penalty. Is this correct? —Wolf Dorak, Ontario, Canada
Wolf, Rules Guy is howling with laughter — whoever told you that should be kicked to the curb.
There is no such fix, whether the ball retreated one yard or 100 yards. See Rule 16.1 regarding how to take relief from a cart path.
Want to find the right gear for your bag in 2025? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.
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.
