# Wrong ball in a hazard/bunker Quickie



## 3offTheTee (Aug 9, 2011)

Can you play a wrong ball from a hazard please?

If so where is the rule that says you can?


----------



## HawkeyeMS (Aug 9, 2011)

You can't play the wrong ball from anywhere without penalty.

My guess would be that if you can't 100% identify the ball as yours and you are almost certain that your ball is in the hazard then you have to drop a ball according to the rules of said hazard.


----------



## chris661 (Aug 9, 2011)

You must be allowed to identify your ball surely


----------



## HawkeyeMS (Aug 9, 2011)

Rules of Golf

See Rule 12

(Google is a wonderful thing )


----------



## rosecott (Aug 9, 2011)

Can you play a wrong ball from a hazard please?

If so where is the rule that says you can?
		
Click to expand...

You can play it but there's a 2 stroke penalty and you will have to play again from the same situation.

Rule 12 tells you what you are allowed to do in trying to identify your ball in a bunker.


----------



## MashieNiblick (Aug 10, 2011)

It used to be the case that you were not allowed to lift your ball to identify it in a hazard but in fairness there was accordingly no penalty for playing a wrong ball in a hazard.

The Rule (12-2) was changed recently to allow this so now you can lift it to identify it in a hazard  and accordingly there is now a penalty if you play a wrong ball in a hazard (unless the wrong ball is moving in a water hazard) - see Rule 15-3.

At the beginning of the Rules there is a useful section outlining changes from the last edition.

http://www.randa.org/en/Rules-and-Amateur-Status/Rules-of-Golf.aspx#/rules/?ruleNum=For3438726


----------



## oltimer (Aug 10, 2011)

to identify it, mark the balls position before lifting and if it is yours you PLACE it back exactly as it lay.


----------



## Smiffy (Aug 10, 2011)

As far as I was aware, you can move just enough sand to identify that a ball is "there" but not enough to identify that it is actually yours. If you ended up playing it, and it wasn't your ball, then there is no penalty?


----------



## oltimer (Aug 10, 2011)

thats the old rule smiffy.


----------



## Smiffy (Aug 10, 2011)

thats the old rule smiffy.
		
Click to expand...

I'm an old golfer


----------

