Practicing during a medal

[jamielaing]

I have always played by the rule that you can not practice during a medal. This to me means dropping another ball down and playing the shot again as you may do in a bounce game. Recently I have seen/ heard of people, when missing their putt finish the hole then drop the ball and try the putt again.

I have been told this is a rule change/always been a misunderstanding of the rules.

Can anyone shed some light on this for me?

 

[Deleted member 15344]

You can practise your putting on the green provided you have already all finished the hole , you do not hold up play and there is no tournament or local rule against it.

 

[Region3]

In pro strokeplay events there is a permanent rule prohibiting it I believe, which might be where the myth comes from.

 

[Duckster]

Rule 7-2. During Round
A player must not make a practice stroke during play of a hole.
Between the play of two holes a player must not make a practice stroke, except that he may practice putting or chipping on or near:
a. the putting green of the hole last played,
b. any practice putting green, or
c. the teeing ground of the next hole to be played in the round, provided a practice stroke is not made from a hazard and does not unduly delay play (Rule 6-7).

Strokes made in continuing the play of a hole, the result of which has been decided, are not practice strokes.

Exception: When play has been suspended by the Committee, a player may, prior to resumption of play, practice (a) as provided in this Rule, (b) anywhere other than on the competition course and (c) as otherwise permitted by the Committee.
PENALTY FOR BREACH OF RULE 7-2:
Match play – Loss of hole; Stroke play – Two strokes.
In the event of a breach between the play of two holes, the penalty applies to the next hole.

Note 1: A practice swing is not a practice stroke and may be taken at any place, provided the player does not breach the Rules.
Note 2: The Committee may, in the conditions of a competition (Rule 33-1), prohibit:
(a) practice on or near the putting green of the hole last played, and
(b) rolling a ball on the putting green of the hole last played.

 

[LincolnShep]

You can practise your putting on the green provided you have already all finished the hole , you do not hold up play and there is no tournament or local rule against it.

Just to expand on what Phil said, you can practice on or near:

• the green of the hole just completed
• any practice green
• the teeing ground of the next hole to be played

You mustn't practice in a hazard and you mustn't hold up play.

Rule 7-2 applies.

Shep

 

[LincolnShep]

Duckster is a faster typer than me!

 

[delc]

Rule 7-2 allows practice putting and chipping on or near the putting green of the hole last played, any practice putting green, or the teeing ground of the next hole to be played, provided a practice stroke is not made from a hazard and does not unduly delay play. However there may be a condition of competition prohibiting this, which is the case on most of the pro tours. You need to check if any such c o c applies at your club.

 

[jamielaing]

Thank you guys.

 

[Duckster]

Duckster is a faster typer than me!

The magic of cut and paste

 

[hovis]

This should be in the rules section maybes but here goes.

Player 'a' after teeing off finds himself on the wrong fairway with a blind shot to his green ( oob directly behind the green)
He strikes one out the middle and proceeds to the green. His ball is lost and as he hit it so well he and his group assume it went oob. He goes back to the spot he last played his shot and drops a ball. When he eventually get back on the green they find when removing the flag his first ball was on the hole.

Now i know the first shot counts and he cards a 2. But in a stroke play event is he now guilty of practicing on the course with his replacement ball?

 

[jamielaing]

This should be in the rules section maybes but here goes.

Player 'a' after teeing off finds himself on the wrong fairway with a blind shot to his green ( oob directly behind the green)
He strikes one out the middle and proceeds to the green. His ball is lost and as he hit it so well he and his group assume it went oob. He goes back to the spot he last played his shot and drops a ball. When he eventually get back on the green they find when removing the flag his first ball was on the hole.

Now i know the first shot counts and he cards a 2. But in a stroke play event is he now guilty of practicing on the course with his replacement ball?

I would say not much in the same way as a provisional surely.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I would say not much in the same way as a provisional surely.

...and so to the player who plays a provisional if he is even but 1% uncertain of where his first ball has finished - just in case. Practicing?

 

[jamielaing]

...and so to the player who plays a provisional if he is even but 1% uncertain of where his first ball has finished - just in case. Practicing?

Are we now in the realms of 'spirit of the game'.....

 

[USER1999]

Are we now in the realms of 'spirit of the game'.....

I hope not, as it's meaningless.

 

[delc]

This should be in the rules section maybes but here goes.

Player 'a' after teeing off finds himself on the wrong fairway with a blind shot to his green ( oob directly behind the green)
He strikes one out the middle and proceeds to the green. His ball is lost and as he hit it so well he and his group assume it went oob. He goes back to the spot he last played his shot and drops a ball. When he eventually get back on the green they find when removing the flag his first ball was on the hole.

Now i know the first shot counts and he cards a 2. But in a stroke play event is he now guilty of practicing on the course with his replacement ball?

The hole was over when he holed his original shot, and he is allowed to practice between holes, so I would think no problem, especially as the second ball was played in good faith.

 

[jamielaing]

I hope not, as it's meaningless.

Hence the quotation marks, IMO it's either within the rules or against

 

[duncan mackie]

The hole was over when he holed his original shot, and he is allowed to practice between holes, so I would think no problem, especially as the second ball was played in good faith.

That the hole was over would be irrelevant to the breech of the rule you already referenced. The exception under which additional strokes may be played does not cover this.

However, the playing of a ball under 27-1 or 27-2 is not a practice stroke as long as it's done under the terms of those rules. In this case it clearly was - the end.

 

[delc]

That the hole was over would be irrelevant to the breech of the rule you already referenced. The exception under which additional strokes may be played does not cover this.

However, the playing of a ball under 27-1 or 27-2 is not a practice stroke as long as it's done under the terms of those rules. In this case it clearly was - the end.

Rule 27-2 (provisional ball) could not apply in this case, as the player had gone forward to search. I intended to say that a second ball was played in good faith under Rule 27-1. Apart from not playing a shot from out of a hazard, is there a limit to how far away from the previous hole a practice shot can be played from?

 

[Duckster]

Rule 27-2 (provisional ball) could not apply in this case, as the player had gone forward to search. I intended to say that a second ball was played in good faith under Rule 27-1. Apart from not playing a shot from out of a hazard, is there a limit to how far away from the previous hole a practice shot can be played from?

This situation is already covered for in the decisions:

Decision 1-1/2:
Player Unaware He Has Holed Out Puts Another Ball into Play
Q. A player, unable to find his ball, puts another ball into play. He then discovers that his original ball is in the hole. What is the ruling?

A. The score with the original ball counts. The play of the hole was completed when the player holed that ball.

And in case anyone wonders about searching for 5 mins, then playing a provisional, then finding the original ball in the hole, that's also covered.

Decision 1-1/3:
Player discovers original Ball in hole after Searching five Minutes And then continuing Play with Provisional Ball
Q. At a par-3 hole, a player, believing his original ball may be lost, plays a provisional ball. he searches five minutes for the original ball and then plays the provisional ball onto the green. At that point, the original ball is found in the hole. What is the ruling?

A. the player’s score is 1. the play of the hole was completed when the player holed the original ball (Rule 1-1).

 

[delc]

It is always worth checking in the hole if you can't find the ball after an apparently good shot to the green. There was a rather infamous cheating incident at a club near me a few years ago. A player hit a good shot towards a hidden green, but couldn't find his ball when he got there. After a few minutes searching he announced that he had found it in the semi-rough down a bank behind the green. He chipped up close and holed the putt. It was somewhat embarrassing when an identically marked ball was found to be already in the hole! :mmm: