Catching your own ball

[woody69]

This happened many many years ago, but the thread asking about the ball hitting the tee marker reminded me of it.

Some workmen were installing a new wooden fence about 10 yards in front of the teeing ground. They were using one of those tubes with handles on the side to bang down some fence posts. As my brother teed up they stopped their work and propped the tube hammer against the post and quietly waited. My brother caught the ball on the toe and it flew at great speed towards the new fence post and the tube hammer propped against it. The ball whacked against it and came flying back towards my brother who somehow, instinctively managed to catch it!! As we all fell about laughing (and the workmen offering him £1000 if he could do it again, he put his ball down and just hit it down the fairway)

Now apart from probably never in a million years being able to re-create the shot and it only being a friendly social game if it was a comp what would the ruling be for catching your ball? Would it effectively be counted as picking up your ball and taking stroke and distance i.e. 3 off the tee, or would there be a stronger penalty

 

[Colin L]

He was in breach of Rule 1-2 by purposely stopping his ball. 2 stroke penalty and play the ball where it was stopped. You can be disqualified for a serious breach of the rule, but I don't see that being relevant here. If the ball would otherwise have gone into deep trouble, he could replay from the tee with a 1 stroke penalty (his 3rd stroke) whereas having copped the penalty for stopping it , he will be playing his 4th shot so his action disadvantaged him, not the other way round.

 

[woody69]

Thanks Colin, good to know. It was more of an instinctive motion to catch it as it all happened so quickly. He was lucky it didn't take his head off!