Recreating original lie

[cliveb]

Situation: two balls on the fairway, one very close behind the other. We'll call these balls A (closer to the hole) and B (slightly further form the hole).
Before playing B, the other player marks and lifts A.
When B is played, a big divot is taken where A was.

My understanding is that A's player is entitled to recreate the lie he originally had.
But recreating an undamaged piece of turf that is now a big divot is virtually impossible.
Can the ball be replaced at the nearest point (no nearer the hole) where the lie is the same as it was?
Or does he just have to do his best to recreate the lie at the original place and suck it up?

 

[woofers]

I think rule 14.2d may apply in this situation, (nearest point with similiar lie).

 

[salfordlad]

When the lie is altered, not in sand, the ball is placed on the nearest spot with a lie most similar to the original lie within a club-length in the same area of the course and not nearer the hole. See Rule 14.2d(2).

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Taking the question to an extreme (just out of interest). Two balls in a bunker very close together. Ball closest hole is plugged…other is not. Position of plugged ball is marked and ball lifted. Other ball is played and position of lifted ball is trashed. Sand is tidied up. Players agree position of lifted ball. Must it be plugged when replaced? To plug it does the player throw the ball at the sand to replicate what originally would have happened?

 

[cliveb]

I think rule 14.2d may apply in this situation, (nearest point with similiar lie).

Thanks. That is indeed the rule that I failed to discover when looking at the R&A rules website. For some stupid reason I was roaming around in rule 9 ("ball at rest lifted").

 

[woofers]

Taking the question to an extreme (just out of interest). Two balls in a bunker very close together. Ball closest hole is plugged…other is not. Position of plugged ball is marked and ball lifted. Other ball is played and position of lifted ball is trashed. Sand is tidied up. Players agree position of lifted ball. Must it be plugged when replaced? To plug it does the player throw the ball at the sand to replicate what originally would have happened?

See 14.2d(1), Ball in Sand, player must re-create original lie as much as possible. I’d “re-plug” by hand.

 

[woofers]

Thanks. That is indeed the rule that I failed to discover when looking at the R&A rules website. For some stupid reason I was roaming around in rule 9 ("ball at rest lifted").

No problem, I started at 8.1d, “restoring conditions worsened after ball came to rest”, there is an exception for ball lifted, which takes you to 14.2d.

 

[salfordlad]

See 14.2d(1), Ball in Sand, player must re-create original lie as much as possible. I’d “re-plug” by hand.

Yes, but the following bullet point may also be important "In re-creating the lie, the player may leave a small part of the ball visible if the ball had been covered by sand."