Ball moved by greenkeeper's mower

[BrizoH71]

Played my medal this morning for the last of my 3 handicap cards - was crap, don't want to talk about it - and afterwards went out for another 9 holes with one of the lads I had played with.

Coming down the par-5 ninth, I pushed a 3-hybrid second shot towards the internal out-of-bounds that separates the practice ground, and the ball came to rest a few feet in-bounds. The greenkeeper was mowing the practice area on his tractor-mower thingy, and as he finished drove his contraption across where my ball was as he moved onto the next area to be mown. As he did so, his machine spat the ball out a few yards into the out-of-bounds.

As it was a just bounce game, we weren't too bothered about strict rules of golf; I retrieved the ball, replaced it back where it had lain and played my 3rd. But it got me wondering what the ruling would have been had it happened in the competition?

The ball was a bit scuffed, but playable. Had the mower chewed the ball beyond use, how would that have affected the outcome and applied penalty, if any, for having to replace my ball?

 

[woosey]

Yes it was moved by an outside agen the ball is replaced in it's original location without penalty.

If the mower had run over it i belive you are able to replace the ball if it has a clear flaw in it (cracked cover etc) but i don't know the exact ruling so will wait for someone else to chime in on that

 

[palindromicbob]

Rule 18-1 ball moved by outside agency. You proceeded near correctly. Because you knew for a fact the mower moved it. Assuming the mower cut the grass where the ball lay then the original lie has been altered. You should have placed the ball in an uncut area not more than one club length from the original lie no nearer the hole. 20-3b Had all the area been cut then determining original lie isn't possible. This case drop as close to the original area it lay as possible.20-3c

Had the ball been cut then substitution is allowed under rule 5-3. Had it been significantly scuffed by the mower but not unfit as defined in rule 5-3 I'd personally play a second substituted ball under rule 3-3 and argue the point under equity.

Had it been unretrievable then substitution is allowed under 18-1

 

[duncan mackie]

Rule 18-1 ball moved by outside agency. You proceeded near correctly. Because you knew for a fact the mower moved it. Assuming the mower cut the grass where the ball lay then the original lie has been altered. You should have placed the ball in an uncut area not more than one club length from the original lie no nearer the hole. 20-3b Had all the area been cut then determining original lie isn't possible. This case drop as close to the original area it lay as possible.20-3c

a case of "yes but..."

given the circumstances outlined above I would suggest that neither the exact spot or the original lie are known in this case, from the distances involved (or the player would have been close enough to stop the mower!).

the note to 20-3 tells us that "If the original lie of a ball to be placed or replaced has been altered and it is impossible to determine the spot where the ball is to be placed or replaced, Rule 20-3b applies if the original lie is known, and Rule 20-3c applies if the original lie is not known." therefore it would be correct to drop the ball as close as possible (best estimate) to where it origionally lay. It's not just the height of the surrounding grass that constitutes 'the origional lie'.