Playing out of turn - Strokeplay

Colin L

Tour Winner
Joined
May 26, 2012
Messages
5,364
Location
Edinburgh
Visit site
I don't think the concept of "equity" as in the previous rules has been carried through to the 2019 rules. In any case, it wouldn't have applied to the scene you describe. Searching for someone else's ball is not an obligation and so whether all the players to help search for each other's balls in every instance is a matter of choice rather than the rules.

I don't as yet have a different rules answer than the unecessary delay one given by rulefan but have no doubt that it would be wrong for a player to hang around doing nothing during a search for another player's ball in order to enlist the help of the others for a subsequent 3 minute search for his own.

Edit: Why am i looking for anything else when unnecessary delay does the job? :unsure:
 
Last edited:

rulefan

Tour Winner
Joined
Feb 21, 2013
Messages
15,189
Visit site
Equity is not mentioned in the rules.
However, I suspect they would get short shrift if a referee was around.
 

Grant85

Head Pro
Joined
Jul 22, 2015
Messages
2,828
Location
Glasgow
Visit site
Rulefan has pointed to the possibilty of a penalty for unnecessary delay. I wonder if the principle behind this Interpretation might apply to what you propose.

Interpretation Lost/2 - Player May Not Delay the Start of Search to Gain an Advantage

The three-minute search time for a ball starts when the player or his or her caddie (or the player's partner or partner's caddie) starts to search for it. The player may not delay the start of the search in order to gain an advantage by allowing other people to search on his or her behalf.

For example, if a player is walking towards his or her ball and spectators are already looking for the ball, the player cannot deliberately delay getting to the area to keep the three-minute search time from starting. In such circumstances, the search time starts when the player would have been in a position to search had he or she not deliberately delayed getting to the area.

That's strange, because my idea came from Wayne Riley commentating on the USPGA and he was suggesing that Varner should wait until his playing partner had played before going into the forest to look for his ball - so the 3 minutes wouldn't start till then.

Crazy how a wrong score card can't be corrected after the event but a rule like this being blatantly ignored is ok.
 

patricks148

Global Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Jun 9, 2009
Messages
24,637
Location
Highlands
Visit site
That's strange, because my idea came from Wayne Riley commentating on the USPGA and he was suggesing that Varner should wait until his playing partner had played before going into the forest to look for his ball - so the 3 minutes wouldn't start till then.

Crazy how a wrong score card can't be corrected after the event but a rule like this being blatantly ignored is ok.
Pro's have a diff rules to us anyway, so i doubt what they do has any relation to what the OP is saying ... IMO;)
 
Top