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The Penalty For Breaking The Rules
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I almost called this a "cheat sheet" before thinking better of it. Most golfers would agree that golf courses are special places, however, under the Rules of Golf there are some places on the golf course that are more special than others; the putting green, for example, is one of those places. Every golfer knows that when their ball is on the putting green they may mark and lift their ball; an action that is rarely permitted anywhere else on the golf course.
You must always play by the Rules. You are not allowed to change them. You will find that the Rules of Golf are fair, but not overly sympathetic to golfers' misfortunes when they hit errant shots. In this epiphany, when Bob and I take a stride with our clubs dangling over the shoulders, Bob hits his tee shot into the woods.
Fearing the ball is lost he hits a provisional. Bob finds a ball he believes to be his original, plays it, and picks up his provisional ball. When he prepares for his next stroke, he discovers that the ball he played was not his original, but a wrong ball. Oops! The penalty is two strokes for breach of the wrong-ball Rule. Decision 15-3/2 rules that a penalty of four strokes for playing two wrong balls in succession before a stroke with the correct ball would not be justified. (In match play, he loses the hole by playing the first wrong ball.)
Perhaps our grip it and rip it attitude toward golf is partly to blame for unreasonable expectations for perfect playing conditions. The wrong-ball penalty in stroke play is two strokes (Rule 15-9). Since he can't find the original ball, he is assessed the stroke-and-distance penalty under Rule 27-1, making the provisional the ball in play. That ball is now in his pocket; by lifting a ball that was to become the ball in play, he has incurred a one-stroke penalty under Rule 18-2a, the same as if he had lifted a ball that actually was in play.
It could be worse.
Not to worry, it is only in golf; Bob that player routinely call penalties on themselves. One way to learn the rules of golf is to hit the books. Another way is to play the game and suffer the penalties called on yourself. There is no surer nor (more) painful way to learn a rule than to be penalized for breaking it.
The penalties for hitting practice balls either in the fairway or otherwise are basically two strokes in stroke play and loss of hole in match play under Rule 7-2a. Be sure to assess those strokes for every violation.
So, players should carefully repair any divot holes made by them and any damage to the putting green made by the impact of a ball (whether or not made by the player himself). On completion of the hole by all players in the group, damage to the putting green caused by golf shoes should be repaired. Before leaving a bunker, players should carefully fill up and smooth over all holes and footprints made by them and any nearby made by others. If a rake is within reasonable proximity of the bunker, the rake should be used for this purpose.
No Disturbance or Distraction. On the teeing ground, a player should not tee his ball until it is his turn to play and should not stand close to or directly behind the ball, or directly behind the hole, when a player is about to play. Else face penalty charges.
There are hundreds of offences, which carry penalty shots, such as having too many clubs in your bag. An offence usually carries a one or two-shot penalty, or in match play results in the loss of the hole or in the worst case, disqualification from a tournament. Many of them are though pretty obscure. So make sure you know your rules and play by books.
© Copyright Golf-Tip.us
No Reproduction Allowed
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