If a tree falls and there's no one to hear it.....

[Slab]

Ok this isn't actually about a tree

Oosthuizen's hole in one at The Masters prompts this hypothetical situation (the one where the two balls collided)

On Sunday player A's ball was replaced due to the players and thousands of witnesses seeing it get moved by Oosthuizen's ball

But say its a blind pin/hole (to the players on the tee) and there's no gallery, so Player A putts from the new position for a 2 (in golf if no one sees it, it didn't happen)

Then a passer by advises that the ball had been moved by the 2nd ball and can/can't identify the original spot, but he didn't offer this information until Player A had holed out

What should happen next?

 

[super hans]

Ok this isn't actually about a tree

Oosthuizen's hole in one at The Masters prompts this hypothetical situation (the one where the two balls collided)

On Sunday player A's ball was replaced due to the players and thousands of witnesses seeing it get moved by Oosthuizen's ball

But say its a blind pin/hole (to the players on the tee) and there's no gallery, so Player A putts from the new position for a 2 (in golf if no one sees it, it didn't happen)

Then a passer by advises that the ball had been moved by the 2nd ball and can/can't identify the original spot, but he didn't offer this information until Player A had holed out

What should happen next?

I would imagine the group would need to establish the validity of the 'passer by' - if it was a FC on a nearby green/tee then by all means he/she would need to taken on their word.

However a 'passer by' on my course for instance would be runners or dog walkers, highly unlikely to wait, or care, about the collision or original position of golf balls going about their business.

interested to hear the 'rules guys' take on this, but a lot of if and buts in the scenario described

 

[mikejohnchapman]

It's an equity issue really. If it is unreasonable that you could have seen the ball had been moved then the shot counted and the hole is over.

No advantage was sought and the player and his partner had no idea the ball had been moved.

 

[SteveBonners]

It's an equity issue really. If it is unreasonable that you could have seen the ball had been moved then the shot counted and the hole is over.

No advantage was sought and the player and his partner had no idea the ball had been moved.

Decision 18-5/ 3 confirms this.

 

[woody69]

Decision 18-5/3
As it was not known or virtually certain that A’s ball had been moved by B’s ball when A made his next stroke, he proceeded properly and incurred no penalty — see the Note to Rule 18-1

 

[drdel]

There's the known knowns, known unknowns and the unknown unknowns.

 

[Three]

I discussed this exact same hypothetical situation with my boss today based on Louis' ace at Augusta.

Examples of where it could happen, 4th and 7th at Perranporth.
On seconds thoughts, several holes at Perranporth...

 

[Slab]

Cheers guys

Might be plenty greens where it could happen. It would only take a raised green or a two tier green for the 'contact' to be missed by players, so could be happening somewhere every week