Teeing Off

[ggarf]

I had an incident last weekend where I walked to a tee with a spare ball in my pocket. This is a hole which is a dog leg and it is best to have a spare ball, in case.
At the tee I took out a ball which wasn't the one I had been playing with the rest of the round. Tee'd off and smashed it over the corner to the middle of the fairway. When I got to the ball I then realised I had hit the spare ball, showing my other ball to my playing partners. They then insisted that this was a 2 shot penalty as I hadn't identified my ball before hitting it.
Is this correct, a 2 shot penalty?

 

[theoneandonly]

No it's nonsense.

Where do people get this from

 

[jim8flog]

Absolute tosh.

There is no requirement to identify your ball to another player although it is best if searching for it in the boonies.

 

[bobmac]

Is this correct, a 2 shot penalty?

The short answer is no.
The long answer is noooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

[rulefan]

I had an incident last weekend where I walked to a tee with a spare ball in my pocket. This is a hole which is a dog leg and it is best to have a spare ball, in case.
At the tee I took out a ball which wasn't the one I had been playing with the rest of the round. Tee'd off and smashed it over the corner to the middle of the fairway. When I got to the ball I then realised I had hit the spare ball, showing my other ball to my playing partners. They then insisted that this was a 2 shot penalty as I hadn't identified my ball before hitting it.
Is this correct, a 2 shot penalty?

Did you ask them to show you the rule?

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Someone remember this for the annual 'daftest fake rule' thread.

Sickener for the OP but hopefully a lesson learnt

 

[bobmac]

If you can get hold of a rule book, stick it in your golf bag and in future if someone tells you a rule you're not sure of, give them the rule book and ask them to show you the rule.

 

[rulefan]

You can get the rules as an app https://www.randa.org/en/apps

 

[Slab]

If you can get hold of a rule book, stick it in your golf bag and in future if someone tells you a rule you're not sure of, give them the rule book and ask them to show you the rule.

Silly I know but I cant help thinking when is see this quote ;
Since when has there been a rule that says ‘if you state a rule that’s challenged, then unless you can find ‘your rule’ in the rule book (on the course, in realtime, in all weathers) then it isn’t actually a rule? ...(what could [possibly go wrong)
And what's the time limit for searching for a ‘lost’ rule?
Is it ok to use the abridged Player Edition or is this course of action only recommended for players with the complete rules of golf

Has anyone (who’s not a rules official) actually tried doing this with another player and how did it go?
I assume given how often this advice is given that what happens is the other player looks through the book/app for some minutes before conceding the point, apologises, asks where they might get such a handy tool and the rest of the round is played in harmony… or maybe not


(Bob, i'm poking fun at the scenario not you )

 

[clubchamp98]

Silly I know but I cant help thinking when is see this quote ;
Since when has there been a rule that says ‘if you state a rule that’s challenged, then unless you can find ‘your rule’ in the rule book (on the course, in realtime, in all weathers) then it isn’t actually a rule? ...(what could [possibly go wrong)
And what's the time limit for searching for a ‘lost’ rule?
Is it ok to use the abridged Player Edition or is this course of action only recommended for players with the complete rules of golf

Has anyone (who’s not a rules official) actually tried doing this with another player and how did it go?
I assume given how often this advice is given that what happens is the other player looks through the book/app for some minutes before conceding the point, apologises, asks where they might get such a handy tool and the rest of the round is played in harmony… or maybe not


(Bob, i'm poking fun at the scenario not you )

Unless your very confident with the rules.
In my experience they rarely apologise just huff and walk away.
If you say something with enough conviction people tend to back off.

 

[backwoodsman]

As others have said, it's nonsense.

You don't have to identify your ball before starting a hole;
you can start any hole with any ball, and;
under certain circumstances you can even change balls during the play of a hole. But unless you're sure of the rules, this latter one is best avoided.

(All unless you're playing in an elite competition, where rules may differ a bit).

Edit: Should have said, your playing partners don't need to be able to identify your ball. All that's required is that you need to be able to identify your ball. As long as you know it's your ball you're playing, all is fine.

 

[rulefan]

(All unless you're playing in an elite competition, where rules may differ a bit).

The rules re identification are no different in elite competitions. The only factor may be that the 'one ball' rule may be enacted which requires players to use the same type of ball throughout.

 

[salfordlad]

I don't find it surprising that there can be such a gross misunderstanding as that demonstrated by the playing partners. The reason is, prior to January 2019, there was no clear statement in the rule book that affirmed you could use any conforming ball when starting a hole.

Fortunately, 2019 saw that shortcoming addressed. This is the first sentence of Rule 6.3a - "A player may play any conforming ball when starting a hole from the teeing area and may change balls between holes."