Hitting a wrong ball

[Doc]

Hi, this happened to the 3-ball in front of us yesterday in the slap.

3 players tee off on a blind tee shot

All 3 players walk up the fairway and over the first crest they see 3 balls in close proximity to where they were expecting to find their balls.

Player A hits a ball

Player B identifies his ball correctly

Player C should be next to hit but the ball remaining is not his ball and is in fact Player A's ball

All 3 players assume that A has hit C's ball

To save time C drops a ball in the place A hit the wrong ball from and plays it to the green 200 yards away.

Approaching the green C picks the wrong ball that A hit, expecting it to be his ball.

The ball was not C's ball but a few yards further on is C's original ball hit from the tee (he mullered the drive, got a lucky bounce)

So A hit a wrong ball

C assumed A had hit his ball and dropped another.

Does C get penalised for hitting a wrong ball even though he gained no advantage and finished the hole with his original ball?

Cheers

Steve...

 

[One Planer]

 

[DaveM]

Good one, just dont know. I would think if he declares it a provisional. Then looks to be sure. As you say "A" did not hit his ball. He used his first ball to finish the hole. Then I would think it was ok. But not sure, it just sounds logical.

 

[Ethan]

C played a wrong ball. The fact that it was one he dropped is irrelevant and it is not a provisional.

The hole was a blind tee shot so he should not have blithely assumed that A had played his ball.

 

[CMAC]

I reckon it takes 3 and a half hours to fill the bath

 

[Doc]

Not sure what you mean by that Darth lol.

Thanks for the replies all, it seems they made the correct decision re: penalty strokes.

I looked it up on R&A but nothing jumped out as being the same scenario, although admittedly it was a cursory flick through.

Cheers

Steve...

 

[MashieNiblick]

Interesting one.

I had a look on the R&A website and also could see nothing in decisions on Rules 15, 18 or 27 that cover the scenario in question. Decision 27/6 - Player Unable to Find His Ball Because Another Player Played It - only applies where the first player did actually play the other players ball.

As I see it C put another ball in play on the basis of an incorrect assumption. He was in fact not entitled to put another ball in play so I believe that the applicable rule is 15-2 - Substituted Ball, which provides

"If a player substitutes a ball when not permitted to do so under the Rules, that substituted ball is not a wrong ball; it becomes the ball in play. If the mistake is not corrected as provided in Rule 20-6 and the player makes a stroke at a wrongly substituted ball, he loses the hole in match play or incurs a penalty of two strokes in stroke play under the applicable Rule, in stroke play, must play out the hole with the substituted ball."

So though it may seem harsh I think the score with the second ball counts plus a 2 stroke penalty.

As it is a "wrongly substituted ball" the error doesn't have to be corrected as it would if it were a "wrong ball".

Happy to be corrected by those with greater knowledge and insight though.

 

[palindromicbob]

I'd say that in equity the assumption was fair under the circumstances for C to assume A had played his ball. As such he followed the rules regarding this situation correctly. Had A identified the ball as not being his then C would have had a chance to identify the ball and then take 5 minutes to look for his first ball. After this he could take what ever action resulted from the search (be it return to the tee, or find his original ball). Upon the discovery of his original ball then I'd say all strokes made with the substituted ball could be cancelled and that he could continue his his original ball without penalty. All of this is based on equity and the fact that C's assumption it was his ball was fair considering the fact no one saw it land, as the ball was then played before positive identification could take place C had been denied his right to search for his ball under the rules. Had he been able to implement this right then he may have found his original ball.

But really that's just me rambling. This is one for the R&A

 

[Evesdad]

I want to know whose ball the third one was? Lol

 

[rosecott]

The ball was not C's ball but a few yards further on is C's original ball hit from the tee (he mullered the drive, got a lucky bounce)

How could you be certain that C's original ball was not where it was, having been hit there by A?