What do the foundations say about hitting a ball that falls off a tee mid-swing?
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In a current match-play competitors, my opponent addressed his ball and began his swing. Mid-swing, his ball rolled ahead off the tee, and he wound up hitting the shifting ball. (The shot even discovered the golf green.) I do know the foundations penalize a participant who strikes a ball in movement. What’s the story right here? I’m hoping you say two-stroke penalty or lack of gap. — Erik Morrison, by way of e-mail
Not precisely the soul of generosity, Erik, however not less than you’re trustworthy.
The overall precept in golf, as specified by Rule 10.1(d), is that you could play the ball at relaxation and might’t make a stroke at a shifting ball, lest you certainly incur the final penalty of two strokes in stroke play and lack of gap in match play.
Nonetheless — and that is the place your disappointment will kick in — there’s a carve-out the place, if the ball begins shifting throughout one’s backswing, and also you hit the ball whereas it’s shifting, there is no such thing as a penalty.
That’s true because it relates particularly to a ball falling off a tee, per Rule 6.2(b)/5 — sure, the foundations ponder nearly every part — and in all places else, per Rule 9.1(b). In these eventualities, the stroke counts and also you play the following shot from the place it lies.
For extra tee-related steering from our guru, learn on …
The opposite day, I picked up a tee somebody had left on the tee field and proceeded to make use of it. My buddy instructed me this was a penalty, for utilizing another person’s tools. He mentioned that if I needed to make use of it, I wanted to place it in my pocket first to assert it was mine. What’s the ruling? —Wade Lindren, by way of e-mail
This appears like a demented magician’s trick: “I put another person’s tee in my pocket … say the magic phrases — ‘It’s mine!’ — take the tee out of my pocket … and — presto! It’s authorized!”
Suffice it to say, your buddy is a severely misguided stickler. The one restriction on sharing tools pertains to golf equipment. There’s completely no difficulty with utilizing another person’s tee, towel, rangefinder or ball.
(If the one-ball Native Rule, Mannequin Native Rule G-4, is in impact, you may nonetheless borrow a ball, as long as it’s the identical make and mannequin because the one you have been utilizing.)
By chance utilizing another person’s golf equipment is a normal penalty of two strokes in stroke play or, in match play, adjusting the match with a one-hole deduction, with a most of two such penalties in both occasion. The membership should instantly be declared out of play as soon as the participant turns into conscious of his or her error — in any other case, she or he is disqualified upon once more utilizing the membership.
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