What do the foundations say a couple of playing partner who marks and strikes your ball and forgets to tell you?
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I performed a blind shot from a deep greenside bunker onto the inexperienced, then raked the sand. Eventually, I received to my ball, missed the ensuing putt and tapped in. Walking off the inexperienced, I seen a stray ball marker. Turns out one in all my playing companions forgot to tell me she’d marked my ball and moved it from her line. Should I’ve been allowed to exchange my ball on the correct spot and replay from there? Also, any penalties and, in that case, to whom? —Terry Christensen, by way of e-mail
In stroke play, the opposite participant is an outdoor affect, and there’s no penalty to anybody for the ball being moved. File it underneath: Stuff occurs.
Since you had no information or digital certainty that an outdoor affect moved your ball— see Rule 9.2b(2) in case you’re inclined — you proceeded appropriately, not from a flawed place, and the ball is holed. No exchange, no replay, no nada.
For extra marking steerage from our guru, learn on …
Rules Guy: Are gamers required to mark their balls on the greens when requested?
Rules Guy
I used to be referred to as out for aligning my ball for a putt after lifting my ball marker and instructed that if I had been caught doing it once more I’d be penalized. Yet per Rule Clarification 14.2c/1, the ball may be aligned in any means as long as its vertical distance to the bottom stays the identical. I don’t see any reference to a ball marker being required when lining up a putt. Can you make clear? —Mark O’Neill, Kildare, Ireland
Sad to say, you had been referred to as out appropriately. Never thoughts that “vertical distance to the ground” is a head scratcher, even for Rules Guy.
The clarification is a misdirection — it has nothing to do with why you’re getting a penalty. You breached the foundations by “lifting,” which incorporates rotating, with out first marking your ball. That’s proper: Rotating the ball is taken into account lifting underneath Rule 14.1, and also you solely get the precise to elevate the ball on the placing inexperienced after you mark it first.
So, in case you rotate the ball when it isn’t marked, you get one penalty stroke. In sum: Mark it, Mark!
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