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Last week in our league a player hit the wrong ball. The penalty, I know, is two strokes or loss of hole. The problem: We were playing medal play and match play. For some reason, the director of golf declined to assess either penalty (which cost our team the match and first place), but assuming there is a penalty to be handed out, does match play take precedence over stroke play, vice versa, or do both get given? —Denny Diderich, via email
Denny, there is a reason why the USGA discourages combining stroke play and match play — namely, they’re not the same. (See Committee Procedures Section 6C(11); as an aside, the world would be a happier place with more people named Denny.)
That said, the USGA does provide guidance on this: “the Committee should apply the Rules of Golf as they would apply to each of match play and stroke play, where possible.” In your case, if there are two concurrent competitions going on — one match play, one stroke play — that would mean the player who hit the wrong ball should have gotten the loss of hole penalty for the match, but for the stroke play portion the two penalty strokes and correct the mistake.
As it pertains to other Rules situations when the formats are combined, generally stroke play Rules would have to take precedence, e.g., concessions should not be allowed.
For more wrong-ball guidance from our guru, read on …
Rules Guy: What happens when teammates hit the wrong ball in a four-ball match?
In a four-ball match, my partner stiffs it to two feet, and my ball rolls off the back of the green. Due to an obstructed view, however, we walk to the wrong balls. Our opponents concede the two-footer for birdie, so I pocket what is, in fact, my partner’s ball. For practice, my partner decides to chip onto the green, only to realize that he played the wrong ball when picking it up. Meanwhile, our opponents make par. Did we win the hole or lose it for playing a wrong ball? —Randy Feldner, McLean, Va.
Interesting question, Randy. While the knee-jerk reaction is that your partner played a wrong ball, he really just made a practice stroke.
While your side may have been confused about who was who, you had completed the hole, since your/ his birdie was conceded and the other player chose not to complete the hole (see Rule 23.3).
Therefore, such practice was allowed under Rule 5.5b. You won the hole … well, he did … actually, you both did.
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