Returning to the tee

[louise_a]

What is the current advise/regulation regarding going back to take stroke and distance. I know when it was only playing in pairs you couldn't return to the tee but now things have eased what is the position.
We are playing a stroke play competition on Sunday so need to know the latest information to let the players know, we are already advising them to play a provisional if in doubt, but occasionally there is still the need to return.

 

[rulefan]

To the best of my knowledge there is no recommendation from any golfing authority. It would certainly be breaching the Rules of Golf. I can only assume it is 'rule' that your club has 'invented'.
A provisional should always be played if there is any doubt about the outcome. And S&D must be used in a qualifier if the ball cannot be found.

 

[jim8flog]

This is one of the reasons we have decided to make all of our general comps Stablefords for the foreseeable future. We do not want players returning to the tee or causing hold ups and multiple groups on a tee by running up double figure scores to keep the card going.

 

[louise_a]

To the best of my knowledge there is no recommendation from any golfing authority. It would certainly be breaching the Rules of Golf. I can only assume it is 'rule' that your club has 'invented'.
A provisional should always be played if there is any doubt about the outcome. And S&D must be used in a qualifier if the ball cannot be found.

Yes on investigation it was a club thing, supposedly based on information from EG and the county. I have now spoken to the men's comp secretary who has finally admitted it was only advisory.

 

[rulefan]

Yes on investigation it was a club thing, supposedly based on information from EG and the county. I have now spoken to the men's comp secretary who has finally admitted it was only advisory.

I don't know where he got it from as such advice has not been published by EG to the best of my knowledge.

 

[mikejohnchapman]

Could the confusion be that prior to the new rules you weren't supposed to return to the tee to play a provisional having left it?

 

[rulefan]

Could the confusion be that prior to the new rules you weren't supposed to return to the tee to play a provisional having left it?

Possibly but the OP did say S&D.

 

[Diamond]

This happened to me on Saturday. Playing a stableford competition on the 15th hole and I find that my ball has rolled into a hedge. I can’t play and ask the 2 fellas (both 7 handicappers) what I do. One said go back to the tee as the hedge is classed as out of bounds (since checked and the hedge is OOB). The other fella said that you only really do that if you have a good score. My question is do I have another option of a 2 stroke penalty and playing a 4th shot from 2 club lengths from OOB?

 

[Diamond]

No, they would have told you if that was an option.

There was talk of this being introduced as a local rule for non competition play at the start of last year, not sure many places brought it in though.

Thats cool. Lesson learnt always play a provisional.

 

[rulefan]

2 fellas (both 7 handicappers)

What is the significance of their handicaps?

 

[Chris L]

I played in a flag comp this Sunday and one of my playing partners hit the tee shot off line and didn’t choose to play a provisional. After not finding the tee shot played a stroke and distance shot instead of going back to the tee. Is this correct and if so why should anybody bother with playing a provisional from the tee?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

If it's a medal event then I would say if you can't find the original and don't play/can't find the provisional then you have no choice but to go back. Not seen anything at my club to the contrary. I didn't think you could choose the stroke and distance penalty unless the club had introduced it as a local rule and I know for a fact my club didn't adopt it

 

[rulefan]

I played in a flag comp this Sunday and one of my playing partners hit the tee shot off line and didn’t choose to play a provisional. After not finding the tee shot played a stroke and distance shot instead of going back to the tee. Is this correct and if so why should anybody bother with playing a provisional from the tee?

Stroke and Distance means going back to where the ball was last played (ie Distance) plus a 1 stroke penalty (ie Stroke).

I assume he played from somewhere near where he thought his original ball was. If so he has played from a Wrong Place and would get a 2 stroke penalty but in this case it would certainly be a severe breach of the rule, which not corrected would result in DQ.

If however you meant that he played a ball under the new Local Rule (if it is force at your club) then it would have been a two stroke penalty.

 

[Colin L]

Hi Chris and welcome. Stroke and distance is the term used for playing again from where you played your last shot (that's the distance bit) and adding on a stroke (that's the stroke part). In this case the shot was played from the tee. If, as in the situation you describe, a player does not go back to the tee, he hasn't taken the full distance, has he?

 

[rulefan]

If it's a medal event then I would say if you can't find the original and don't play/can't find the provisional then you have no choice but to go back.

That is correct unless using the new local rule

I didn't think you could choose the stroke and distance penalty unless the club had introduced it as a local rule and I know for a fact my club didn't adopt it

I think you have something confused there. The local rule is not (penalty) stroke & distance but in effect 2 penalty strokes and no loss of distance

 

[HomerJSimpson]

That is correct unless using the new local rule


I think you have something confused there. The local rule is not (penalty) stroke & distance but in effect 2 penalty strokes and no loss of distance

I knew what I meant. Drop it as near as possible to where it was lost etc. Either way its irrelevant as our club didn't accept it as a local rule so back to the tee for us if you don't have a ball in play

 

[rulefan]

I thought that local rule would only be used for social play?

Yes. In GB&I it is not permitted for qualifying scores.

 

[chrisd]

I knew what I meant. Drop it as near as possible to where it was lost etc. Either way its irrelevant as our club didn't accept it as a local rule so back to the tee for us if you don't have a ball in play

Under that local rule, couldn't you drop it back on the fairway in line with your guesstimate as to where the original ball was lost under a 2 stroke penalty?

 

[Chris L]

Still a bit confused but sounds like I need to find out the clubs position on local rule. Have had a break from golf for 25 years and have always played provisional balls or returned to the tee
Found it strange that the dropped ball with 2 stroke penalty was allowed as I have seen many a 5 off the tee in the passed.

 

[rulefan]

Still a bit confused but sounds like I need to find out the clubs position on local rule. Have had a break from golf for 25 years and have always played provisional balls or returned to the tee
Found it strange that the dropped ball with 2 stroke penalty was allowed as I have seen many a 5 off the tee in the passed.

The new local rule was introduced primarily to speed up play. Recognising that it was common practice (particularly in the US) to simply drop the ball somewhere near where it went OOB or was lost and only take one penalty stroke, the RBs decided to formalise a rule that more fairly represented the real cost. CONGU however do not approve it for qualifying scores.