15th club in bag ruling

[smythp]

I had an unusual situation happen to me on Saturday when I was playing in a matchplay competition.

I was by the side of the 10th green. I thought I had turned my trolley off but it ran away from me. It then caught in the rope surrounding the green and turned up and tipped the clubs out of my bag. The marshal, who was standing nearby, also saw this and ran over to help me. He had a club in his hand when he ran over. He then helped me pick up the clubs and put them back in my bag.

On the 14th tee I noticed a strange club in my bag. It was an 8 iron junior club. This was the marshal's club that he had put into my bag by mistake. I declared this to my opponent but neither of us knew what the ruling was.

We played the match to completion and I won 2 up. I'm still awaiting a ruling from our pro on this situation. Has anybody got any input on this? I'm hoping that there's a rule relating to outside agency (or similar) that helps me here.

 

[Colin L]

There is no penalty. You did not start the stipulated round with 15 clubs and you did not add the 15th during the round.

 

[pbrown7582]

The same as picking up a club someone else has left on the course you are allowed to carry it in the bag back to the pro shop.

 

[smythp]

Thanks Colin. That's good to know. Just hope the official ruling matches this.

 

[smythp]

Thanks. You've also answered the next question that I had raised with the pro. What if you find a club on the course? Is it a penalty if you carry that back to the pro shop.

Or worse - what if somebody (an opponent or accomplice!) slipped an extra club in your bag without you noticing? Could they get you disqualified?

 

[Spuddy]

No to both. Have a read through the decisions relating to rule 4-4 for the references. You can recover someone else's lost club and there's no penalty for having someone else's club accidentally placed in your bag (provided obviously you don't use it!)

 

[Colin L]

Or worse - what if somebody (an opponent or accomplice!) slipped an extra club in your bag without you noticing? Could they get you disqualified?

No, they couldn't, as Spuddy has said, but if a player deliberately tried that on, thinking you could be disqualified, he should be disqualified under R33-7 and, I'd argue, be subjected to club discipline as well.

By the way, the penalty for having more than 14 clubs is not disqualification. In stroke play, it is 2 strokes for each hole before the breach was discovered with a maximum of 4 strokes; in match play it is loss of each hole before the breach was discovered with a maximum of 2 holes. Once you discover you have more than 14, you have to declare a club or clubs out of play. If you then used the club, the penalty is disqualification (R4-4c).

 

[duncan mackie]

On the 14th tee I noticed a strange club in my bag. It was an 8 iron junior club. This was the marshal's club that he had put into my bag by mistake. I declared this to my opponent but neither of us knew what the ruling was.

We played the match to completion and I won 2 up. I'm still awaiting a ruling from our pro on this situation.

you have had the appropriate rules references already but I would just add one, rather important, thing -

did you opponent actually make a claim for a penalty against you before you played from the 14th tee?

if he did so then there is a ruling to be made by the committee - if he didn't then there is nothing to rule upon; you are effectively just asking the question out of curiosity and without relevance to the outcome of the match.

 

[pogle]

No, they couldn't, as Spuddy has said, but if a player deliberately tried that on, thinking you could be disqualified, he should be disqualified under R33-7 and, I'd argue, be subjected to club discipline as well.

By the way, the penalty for having more than 14 clubs is not disqualification. In stroke play, it is 2 strokes for each hole before the breach was discovered with a maximum of 4 strokes; in match play it is loss of each hole before the breach was discovered with a maximum of 2 holes. Once you discover you have more than 14, you have to declare a club or clubs out of play. If you then used the club, the penalty is disqualification (R4-4c).

Just to clarify, in match play the state of the match is adjusted. Even if you lost the first two holes in match play before discovering an extra club in your bag, the penalty would result in being 4 down after 2 holes! Decision 4-4a/9 gives lots of examples.

http://www.usga.org/rules/rules-and-decisions.html#!decision-04,d4-4a-9

 

[Colin L]

Thanks. Lazy writing on my part. Deduction, not loss of hole.