Competition drama...

[Kellfire]

Our area Rabbits league final trophy today...

Two teams tied in first on 144 points (accumulative total of all four players from each team) only for an issue to be noticed with one card.

The player in question hit a drive on 13, couldn't find it, went back and played another which went down the left of the fairway. Meanwhile his group found first ball at some point while he did this. He returned to his first played the first ball and made par with it. He signed for a par on the hole.

The atmosphere afterwards was tense to say the least after the issue was highlighted. It was spotted as they tried to find a way to separate the two teams and one of the officials checking cards had heard the incident had happened and so realised the four was incorrect.

Player was DQed, costing his team the win and himself the best captain score and the best individual score as he had signed for 42 points.

Two of his team consulted the rule back and were adamant no rule was broken. I even heard one claim that the player could return to his original at any point until he had holed out. It didn't help that a couple of members from other teams chipped in and agreed with them but majority knew the DQ was right.

In the end, because of the atmosphere, there was no winning team speech because there was obvious friction.

A very strange day at the course!

 

[JustOne]

The player in question hit a drive on 13, couldn't find it, went back and played another which went down the left of the fairway. Meanwhile his group found first ball at some point while he did this. He returned to his first played the first ball and made par with it. He signed for a par on the hole.

Was it found AFTER 5 mins?

 

[Kellfire]

Was it found AFTER 5 mins?

Doesn't matter, he'd already hit his second before he returned to his first. That's now in play.

FWIW, I was in the group behind him and there's no way they found it within five minutes. He himself looked for longer than that before walking back.

 

[kid2]

The player in question hit a drive on 13, couldn't find it, went back and played another which went down the left of the fairway. Meanwhile his group found first ball at some point while he did this. He returned to his first played the first ball and made par with it. He signed for a par on the hole.


A very strange day at the course!

If the 5 mins was up which i presume it was and they declared the ball lost then they have no case....... In my view anyway..... They should have played the provisional off the tee if it was a suspect lost ball.......

 

[Imurg]

Was it found AFTER 5 mins?

If he'd gone back and played a 2nd ball it doesn't matter - 2nd ball is in play.

This, to me, sums up why I've shyed away from too much Competition Golf.
People need to get a perspective on things.
This is a game, a hobby, a pastime...
So someone messed up, broke a rule and got DQ'd - he should take it on the chin, call himself a Moron and learn from it.

Sometimes people take this game far too seriously.

 

[kid2]

Doesn't matter, he'd already hit his second before he returned to his first. That's now in play.

FWIW, I was in the ground behind him and there's no way they found it within five minutes. He himself looked for longer than that before walking back.

If they looked for more than 5 then its lost.... If on the other hand he declared he was going back to hit a provisional within the 5 mins then i may be wrong but i would think that would be ok to do....

 

[Kellfire]

If they looked for more than 5 then its lost.... If on the other hand he declared he was going back to hit a provisional within the 5 mins then i may be wrong but i would think that would be ok to do....

You cannot return to hit a provisional, it must be hit when you first think you may have lost one. Once you return and hit one, it is now ball in play.

 

[JustOne]

Doesn't matter, he'd already hit his second before he returned to his first. That's now in play.

FWIW, I was in the ground behind him and there's no way they found it within five minutes. He himself looked for longer than that before walking back.

Yes, I know his 2nd ball is in play... I just wondered if he'd headed back to the tee after a full 5 minutes in which case he should have already given up on it. If however he headed back after 3 minutes and left his mates to look for his ball then I can (kind of) understand the mistake.

 

[jp5]

Worrying to hear about the number of competitors at the time who thought that no rule was broken.

It's fairly simple - you can only play a provisional while you haven't left the teeing ground. Regardless of whether it was 5 minutes or less searching for the ball, by returning and playing another that ball is now in play.

Like another poster the atmospheres that needlessly arise from these kind of situations put me off competition golf.

 

[kid2]

You cannot return to hit a provisional, it must be hit when you first think you may have lost one. Once you return and hit one, it is now ball in play.

My Bad Pal.....:thup:

 

[duncan mackie]

Doesn't matter, he'd already hit his second before he returned to his first. That's now in play.

:thup:

the real issue lies in

"Two of his team consulted the rule back and were adamant no rule was broken. I even heard one claim that the player could return to his original at any point until he had holed out. It didn't help that a couple of members from other teams chipped in and agreed with them"

Whoever was running the event should have been able to deal with all of the quoted bit.

I accept that this was probably not the real issue; bluntly no-one likes to be DQ'd in such a manner as there's an implied issue (which doesn't exist in reality - but perception is everything).

At the very least they should have raised the matter with the committee when they got in, rather than it becoming an issue later.

 

[Liqdaddymac]

As soon as you stop looking and start walking back you have declared it lost.....full stop.

 

[JustOne]

As soon as you stop looking and start walking back you have declared it lost.....full stop.

Until someone finds it within the 5 minutes

 

[Liqdaddymac]

Obviously......unless he runs back really fast a tees off again before they find it within the 5 mins.

 

[Liqdaddymac]

On a side note to this, I don't get why people seem reluctant to hit provisionals. If I hit a bad one and there is any chance it may be in trouble, I hit another.........hopefully you find the first and your provisional was a good'un so the bad swing is out of the system!

 

[wookie]

.hopefully you find the first and your provisional was a good'un

Isnt the provisional ALWAYS a good'un

 

[Slab]

Shame there's no stats to compare the 'find' rate of the first ball when a provisional has/hasn't been played

I'll wager the search is far more thorough (& perhaps successful) if a provisional is not played

Edit: Think I might start a thread on it...

 

[CMAC]

As soon as you stop looking and start walking back you have declared it lost.....full stop.

You can't declare a ball lost!

 

[HawkeyeMS]

As soon as you stop looking and start walking back you have declared it lost.....full stop.

Nope, you can't declare a ball lost, it is lost when certain things occur such as you can't find it after 5 minutes, you play a second ball off the tee and don't declare it a provisional or you return to the tee\original position and hit a second ball.

 

[Tommo21]

As soon as you stop looking and start walking back you have declared it lost.....full stop.

wrong