Penalty Stroke

[ANDYTROW]

Hi
Iam new to golf and need to understand the ruling about penalty strokes. Yesterday I hit a ball off the tee into some heavy rough, which took me 4 hacks to get it out. On reflection Iam sure I could have taken a drop but dont understand what the penalty would have been ie would my next shot be my third or fourth.
Also my playing partner hit it off the tee onto an adjacent green, what happens next?

 

[muttleee]

Rule 28 in the Rule Book says that if you opt to declare your ball unplayable (and it's entirely up to you if you want to do that), you have three options under penalty of one stroke:

a. Play a ball as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played or

b. Drop a ball behind the point where the ball lay, keeping that point directly between the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped, with no limit to how far behind that point the ball may be dropped or

c. Drop a ball within two club-lengths of the spot where the ball lay, but not nearer the hole.

So, if you had opted to take a penalty after your first shot, your next actual stroke at the ball would be your third shot because your tee shot was your first and the penalty was your second. Clear as mud, eh?

As for a ball that lands on the wrong green, the player must lift the ball and drop it within one club-length of the nearest point of relief, which is roughly speaking the nearest place where neither you nor the ball will be on the green for your next shot. Also, you can't drop the ball nearer the hole. That's all covered in rule 25.3.

Hope this is of some help to you. You can check out all the rules at the R&A website: http://www.randa.org/flash/rules/rules_rebrand2004_v2.html

 

[MikeD]

What if you hit a provisional, find the original ball, but prefer the provisional. Can you play the provisional, or do you have to take the penalty and go back to the original place (1 of the options)?

 

[birdieman]

If you find the original ball you have to play it, no exceptions. You cannot opt to play the provisional ball if you have found the original. You can then proceed as muttlee describes above if you want to declare the original ball unplayable.
It is often a sensible approach to not even look for the original if you have hit a decent provisional ball especially if you know the rough is unplayable (deep grass, gorse etc).
Sometimes you have to 'take the medicine' if you hit a bad shot and move on. Good course management often means playing a shorter club from the tee to make sure you find the fairway.

 

[ANDYTROW]

For the drop from the green whats the penalty ?

 

[muttleee]

For the drop from the green whats the penalty ?

There isn't one. You get free relief in that situation.

 

[ANDYTROW]

Ooops did my mate out of a stroke. Serves him right for such a wayward t shot.