Played Wrong Ball

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

This should be an easy one but just checking.

Buddy hits ball off tee into deep rough so plays a provisional - which looks to go pretty much straight up middle though fairway always kicks ball left to right and often in to first cut rough.

Quick look for first ball suggests not obvious so immediately call next group through.

We continue to hunt for buddies ball in deep stuff and then notice one of called through playing the ball we assumed was my buddies provisional - though we hadn't confirmed. And off he goes.

So buddy sees a ball in first cut of rough RHS - it's not his - and after more hunting we can't find his provisional down RHS. We assume called through player has played my buddies ball and it is the otehr players ball we found inthe RH rough.

1) What does he do?

He actually decided to play the ball he found in the rough and dropped one where we thought his provisional was on the fairway (from where the other player hit a ball) and played that as well - with intention of holing out both then checking later. He hit the ball he dropped in the fairway first (his provisional) - then hit the ball in the rough (which wasn't his - yes I know - why would he do that - but he did)

2) By hitting the ball on the fairway first (past the ball in the rough) does that put the ball in the rough out of play - so even although it wasn't his ball and he then hit it he isn't penalised. Or is the fact that he hit a ball that isn't his sufficient for him to incur a penalty (it was a medal).

 

[Foxholer]

Known or Virtually Certain is the key phrase! 'Assumed' doesn't seem to be enough.

What I believe he should have done was announce he was 'playing 2 balls' under 3-3 (there's a bit of procedure involved). The 2 balls should have been the Provisional (substituted) and an further one off the Tee - which he would have had to return to to play, so maybe another group to call through. While he was doing that of course, another of the group (you?) could have gone to the group ahead and checked whether they had indeed played the wrong ball!

To play the suspect, wrong, ball that was definitely not his was definitely wrong - and a 2 shot Penalty. If not corrected before playing next tee shot, it's a DQ - from the comp, so that would not have been a good ball to use for the 'playing 2 balls' approach!

 

[duncan mackie]

what a mess.....

he seems to be trying to play according to rule 3-3 because it's a medal round, and is dropping a ball at the best estimate of the position the outside agency was believed to have removed it (the other player playing it) with a view to establishing this as correct at a subsequent point (there isn't sufficient knowledge or virtual certainty to proceed this way otherwise from the wording provided). If this is correct he wishes this ball to count. So far so good.

the second ball should be played from the teeing ground and would be playing 5. he has played it from the wrong place in playing it where he did. it would also be a serious breech (he's miles in front of the teeing area) so if that ball counts he's DQ.

if it was established that his provisional was played by the other player then that ball would count and his actions with the other ball are irrelevant. even if it was established the matter must be raised with the committee to rule.

there are also issues about whether he truly intended to invoke 3-3, which he's required to make clear.

 

[rulefan]

2) By hitting the ball on the fairway first (past the ball in the rough) does that put the ball in the rough out of play - so even although it wasn't his ball and he then hit it he isn't penalised. Or is the fact that he hit a ball that isn't his sufficient for him to incur a penalty (it was a medal).

Do you mean the ball on the fairway was already beyond the ball in the rough before he played it?

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Do you mean the ball on the fairway was already beyond the ball in the rough before he played it?

The ball that was on the fairway - that we assumed was his provisional - was behind the position of the ball in the RH rouigh. He dropped a ball on the fairway as close to the position of what we assumed to be his provisional - and then played this past the position of the ball in the rough. He then played the ball in the rough.

He never got to playing a subsequent shot with either ball as we saw the other player walking back towards us from the green ahead - he had indeed played my mate's ball from where it lay in the fairway (it was the same make, type and number of ball with a very similar same colour of marking). So muy mate played out with the ball he had dropped in the fairway and picked up the other ball and gave it to the other player (it was his ball)