Striking two balls at the same time

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Steven Rules

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This happened at the recent New Zealand Open. See video.


Gold star to the person who can tell us what the ruling should have been and, importantly, why. (The 'experts' on this forum - and you know who you are - should take a back seat for this one and allow others to have a go first.)
 
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WGCRider

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I've had this EXACT same thing happen to me. To add to the rules fun - it was match play and on the same hole my opponents ball was taken by a seagull!
 
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WGCRider

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WGCRider said:
I've had this EXACT same thing happen to me. To add to the rules fun - it was match play and on the same hole my opponents ball was taken by a seagull!
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To answer the initial question. We reasoned that I should take the same action you would if I'd hit a stone under my ball that I hadn't seen and I should just play on - no penalty - from where the ball ended up.
 
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SwingsitlikeHogan

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Saw it happen on a forum meet at Tyrrells Wood GC some years ago. Fella‘s ball was in a bunker and unknown to him there was another ball just under the surface of the sand, very close or indeed right under his ball, and unseen by him. He played his shot…and two balls came flying out…who’s to know which ball was hit first…if that mattered. Was discussed on here but I can’t recall the ruling outcome.
 
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jim8flog

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DickInShorts said:
Is a piece of paper not a loose impediment?
Or is it an outside influence?
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In my view a piece of paper is a movable obstruction. It is something man made from natural materials so would have the same status as a piece of wood that has been formed to make a 'structure'.
 
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backwoodsman

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My stab at it is - no penalty.

Normally another ball is a wrong ball and making a stroke at a wrong ball incurs a penalty. But, in this instance, the player did not know the other ball was there. He only knew his own ball was there,. Given that a stroke is the forward movement of the club with the intention of hitting the ball, he was only making a stroke at his own ball. He can't have been intending to hit a ball he was not aware of, so can't have made a stroke at it? (Experts. Please use only one side of the paper to make corrections ...)
 
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rulefan

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backwoodsman said:
My stab at it is - no penalty.

Normally another ball is a wrong ball and making a stroke at a wrong ball incurs a penalty. But, in this instance, the player did not know the other ball was there. He only knew his own ball was there,. Given that a stroke is the forward movement of the club with the intention of hitting the ball, he was only making a stroke at his own ball. He can't have been intending to hit a ball he was not aware of, so can't have made a stroke at it? (Experts. Please use only one side of the paper to make corrections ...)
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You are spot on. The key is that he was not making a stroke at the ball
 
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Colin L

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backwoodsman said:
My stab at it is - no penalty.

Normally another ball is a wrong ball and making a stroke at a wrong ball incurs a penalty. But, in this instance, the player did not know the other ball was there. He only knew his own ball was there,. Given that a stroke is the forward movement of the club with the intention of hitting the ball, he was only making a stroke at his own ball. He can't have been intending to hit a ball he was not aware of, so can't have made a stroke at it? (Experts. Please use only one side of the paper to make corrections ...)
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No paper needed. 👍
jim8flog said:
See post # 14
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Yes, you're correct. A bit of paper is a movable obstruction.
 
#20
Colin L

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I can't resist a wee twist to this straighforwrd tale. The player can see there is a ball under his own idenitifed one. What are his choices?

Can he lift his own ball,, remove the other one, replace his own and play?
Can he leave the balls as they are and play? If he does, what if he hits the other ball before his own?
 
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