Follow up to a twitter Q from The Open

[Rooter]

@theopen tweeted a quiz Q last night.

True or False, A player is not necessarily entitled to see his ball when playing a stroke.



Now, my answer was "How can you play a ball that you can not see, without 100% identifying it is your ball first.

A response from a random said "when its plugged in a bunker" but i still Question how can you be 100% it is your ball. OK if its 20 feet away from where you played the last stroke, but not from 150 yards surely?

Discuss..

 

[guest100718]

If you were in a bunker and some leaves that were also in there blew around and settled over your ball so that you could no longer see it?

 

[CMAC]

in a water hazard that you want to play out from, ripples mean you see a ball but not necessarily your ball.

 

[Duckster]

If it's covered in sand then you can remove as much sand as is needed to identify the ball, but then that sand must be replaced to recreate the lie. So you may not be able to see the ball when playing your stroke.

http://www.usga.org/Rule-Books/Rules-of-Golf/Rule-12/

 

[delc]

The answer to the question is True. You must obviously be able to find and identify your ball, by picking it up, or removing sand, if necessary (you must inform your marker, opponent or FC's before doing so), but if you can't see it at address when replaced, so be it.

 

[Rooter]

Ah OK, so you can remove sand from it to identify, then recreate the lie (and covering) and play away! Thanks!

 

[pogle]

If it's covered in sand then you can remove as much sand as is needed to identify the ball, but then that sand must be replaced to recreate the lie. So you may not be able to see the ball when playing your stroke.

http://www.usga.org/Rule-Books/Rules-of-Golf/Rule-12/

Rule 12-1a (Searching for or Identifying Ball Covered by Sand) also states the following
"In re-creating a lie under this Rule, the player is permitted to leave a small part of the ball visible."

 

[duncan mackie]

@theopen tweeted a quiz Q last night.

True or False, A player is not necessarily entitled to see his ball when playing a stroke.



Now, my answer was "How can you play a ball that you can not see, without 100% identifying it is your ball first.

Discuss..

playing a stroke and identifying are not linked

there are rules around identification in different circumstances, but the crux of the question relates to whether you have any entitlement to being able to see it when playing a stroke - simple example is it lies below an overhanging branch which means you can't see it at address so can you bend the branch out the way so you can see it....answer is no.

 

[Rooter]

Tanks Duncan, I knew the two topic were unrelated when it came to the actual rules. however my point was more around a plugged ball etc. How could you play a ball without identifying it was your first, but that has now been clarified.

 

[chrisd]

however my point was more around a plugged ball etc. .

You do what a playing partner tried on my Wednesday round when plugged inside a water hazard on the downslope " but I was told that you could roll it out but not clean it" !! :lol:

 

[Smiffy]

I thought that the rule in a bunker was that you could gently remove just enough sand to identify that "a ball" was present. If you then played it and it wasn't your ball, there was no penalty???

 

[rulefan]

I thought that the rule in a bunker was that you could gently remove just enough sand to identify that "a ball" was present. If you then played it and it wasn't your ball, there was no penalty???

The penalty for playing a wrong ball from a bunker was introduced when the rule was change allowing you to identify it.

See

http://www.usga.org/Rule-Books/Rules-of-Golf/Rule-12/#12-1