Rules Riddler #9 - Resolved

Over the last 2 years, I have had the pleasure of presenting the Rules to over 4000 golfers and at nearly every presentation, many of the same questions continue to come up. The intent of these questions and explanations is to enlighten golfers and banish many of the myths that continue to circulate about the Rules of Golf. In doing so, I hope that all golfers will be able to better understand the Rules and attain more enjoyment from the game. The delay in posting this answer and riddler #10 was due to my recent duties helping out the USGA conduct the 110th US Amateur Championship. In addition, Riddler #10 available here, uses a scenario called in from a Central Oregon Pro recounting an actual incident from the 2010 Pacific Amateur Golf Classic.

This OGA Rule Riddler addresses the following situations including:

1.    Who can and cannot stand behind you while you make a stroke.
2.    What are your options when your ball is in a lateral water hazard.
3.    When can you (and when can you not) touch the putting green in the line where you want your ball to travel?
4.    What is the Ruling when you reach across the hole and tap in a short putt?

Rules Riddler #9 - The question

Mark and his partner Jim are playing in a group of four while competing in a four-ball stroke play tournament. The tee shot on the upcoming par five is into the sun and as each player plays they ask a fellow-competitor to stand behind them to help spot the ball. Mark is last to play and because the other team is already sitting in their cart, he asks Jim to help him spot the ball. Although Jim is in position behind Mark he is unable to spot the ball though luckily their fellow-competitors do.

They inform Mark that he sliced his tee shot into a lateral water hazard. When the group reaches the hazard they agree to a spot where the ball last crossed into the hazard. Mark asks, “anywhere on my line of flight right?” A fellow-competitor says, “yeah, I think so” and drive off to the other side of the fairway. Mark drops into the fairway three club lengths from where he last crossed the hazard on his line of flight and plays a stroke toward the green. His ball comes to rest on the fringe.

Mark asks Jim for his assistance in lining him up. Jim says, “putt over this mark” and touches the green in the process. He then reaches down and repairs the ball mark he has just touched.

Mark hits his putt too hard the ball runs about 5 feet past the hole on the same line as one of his fellow-competitors. Mark sees a great opportunity to see the line on his upcoming putt and positions himself directly behind a fellow-competitor. The fellow-competitor addresses his ball and, distracted, backs away and asks Mark to move. To the disgust of his fellow-competitor, Mark refuses. The fellow-competitors walk off to the next hole, upset at Mark’s refusal to move when asked.

He stands over his putt and again hits it a bit hard and just runs by the high side of the hole. Rather than properly taking his stance to the side of the ball, Mark reaches across the hole and taps the ball in while standing astride an extension of his line of putt beyond the hole.

He picks up Jim’s ball, who has a putt for bogey and says “I made bogey, no need to putt yours.” After playing off the next tee, Mark tells his fellow-competitors to put him down for a 6.

“You didn’t make bogey, what did Jim make?” they reply. Jim says, “I didn’t hole out, Mark picked up my ball.”

“OK, we’ll put down a six but we’ll need to check with the Committee before you turn in your card and I’m certain you didn’t make six.”

What was Jim and Mark’s better-ball score on the hole?

Ridder #9 - Resolved

Those of you that try to sneak in 9-holes after work are very familiar with the situation encountered to start this riddler ... playing a hole directly into the sun. While this makes spotting the ball very difficult, you must be careful of who is permitted to stand directly behind you while making the stroke. Rule 14-2b reads:

"In making a stroke, a player must not allow his caddie, his partner or his partner's caddie to position himself on or close to an extension of the line of play or the line of putt behind the ball."

The first three players played with a fellow-competitor standing behind to spot the ball, which is acceptable. However when Mark is up, his partner Jim positions himself in the "no zone." When Mark plays his tee shot with his partner in a position not permitted by Rule 14-2b, Mark incurs a 2 stroke penalty.

The only time this positioning does not result in a penalty is when it is inadvertent and neither the player nor partner or caddie are aware of their position. A good Rule of thumb to define what "on or close to an extension" means is to ensure you move at least two big steps or three little ones to avoid your partner incurring the penalty.

Rule 14-2b can be seen in action continually at an LPGA event where caddies often line up players and just before the player executes her stroke the caddie steps away.

As Mark's ball is not found, but virtually certain to be in the lateral water hazard, Mark has the right to use any of the options available under Rule 26-1. The player's determine using their best judgment the point where the ball last crossed the margin of the lateral water hazard. This estimate is perfectly allowable in the Rules (if you estimate and this point proves to be incorrect see Decisions 26-1/3 and 26-1/3.5 for how to proceed).

Unfortunately for Mark he and the others playing with him are not very familiar with the Rules and by using the "line of flight" as a relief option from the water hazard Mark ends up dropping in a wrong place. The water hazard Rule, Rule 26, provides 4 options for relief, all under penalty of one-stroke.

The first option would be to head back to the teeing ground and play again, hitting 3
The second option would be to drop a ball keeping the hole and the point where the ball last crossed in a straight line as far behind the hazard as you would like.
The 3rd and 4th option are closely related and are only options when your ball last crossed a lateral water hazard (red stakes or red lines).
- You can drop a ball outside the hazard and within two club-lengths and no nearer the hole than the point where the ball last crossed into the hazard, or,
- You can drop a ball outside the hazard and within two club-lengths and no nearer the hole than a point on the opposite margin of the hazard, equidistant to the point where the ball last crossed into the hazard.

The picture below (provided by the USGA) should help give you a better understanding of the options available under Rule 26. The ball was played from the teeing ground (point A) to the lateral water hazard (point B). Note that yellow marked water hazard do not provide the club-length options (option 3 and 4) listed above.

In addition to these options under Rule 26-1, if possible, you could also play the ball as it lies, without penalty.

By dropping and playing the ball outside of the prescribed options, Mark has played from a wrong place. In addition to the penalty stroke he incurs for taking relief from the water hazard, an additional 2 penalty strokes are incurred by playing from a wrong place. This is provided for in Rule 20-7.

Let's stop for a moment and check in with Mark to see how many strokes his ball is lying on the fringe of the green.

1 - tee shot
2&3 - 2 penalty strokes for a breach of Rule 14-2b
4 - 1 penalty stroke for relief from the water hazard
5 - stroke to the fringe
6&7 - 2 penalty strokes for a breach of Rule 20-7c (26-1 applicable)

Because Mark's ball does not lie on the putting green, he is permitted to touch the putting green to indicate where he would like his ball to travel. He would, however, be prohibited from placing a mark down and leaving it there while he made his next stroke. This is covered under Rule 8-2a. The ball mark may also be permitted because the mark is located on the putting green. Rule 16-1c allows ball marks and old hole plugs (4 1/4" plugs) to be repaired when located on the green regardless of the location of the ball.

He putts too firmly and now lies 8. Deciding he will get a good line by watching his fellow-competitor putt on a similar line, he positions himself directly behind his fellow-competitor. Though this is clearly a breach of etiquette as he was asked to move, it is not a breach of the Rules of Golf. However, when asked to move, Mark should have moved out of the way. If this was a repeated act, the Committee could, under Rule 33-7, choose to disqualify Mark per the guidance contained in Decision 33-7/8.

After getting a read on the line Mark putts a bit too strong and reaches across the hole to tap in the short putt. This action has been the topic of many phone calls in the past couple of months all believing that a penalty is involved. This is incorrect. Rule 16-1e reads (in part):

"The player must not make a stroke on the putting green from a stance astride, or with either foot touching, the line of putt or an extension of that line behind the ball."

Where many get confused with this is the use of behind the ball. In the picture below, Sam Snead is seen standing astride an extension of his line of putt behind the ball. Today this would be a breach of Rule 16-1e (when this picture was taken Mr. Snead was not in breach of the Rules however in 1968 this style of putting was no longer permitted).

Unfortunately, Mark thinking he only needed to add the one penalty stroke for taking relief from the water hazard had 4 more to count and picked up his partners ball. Because Jim did not hole out, the side was required to count Mark's score, which added up to 10!

Congratulations to the 26% of you who got this one right! Rules Riddler #10 is now available by clicking here.

Craig Winter serves as the Manager of Rules Education for the OGA and was one of ten officials to achieve a perfect score on the 2010 PGA/USGA Rules of Golf Examination given to over 1200 Officials annually.

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Rules Riddler #9 - Resolved

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