Linda,
My partner and I were playing a 4-ball match play
tournament. Our opponents went over to the wrong tee box and hit their
drives. When we called them to our tee box after they hit their drives,
we didn’t know what the ruling was. We looked at ruling 30-3 and thought
that they violated rule 11-1 which disqualified them for that hole. Are
we correct?
Lou
Dear Lou,
In match play,
there is no penalty if a player starts a hole from the wrong teeing ground. The
opponent may immediately require the player to cancel the stroke and hit again
from the correct teeing ground, or he may allow the stroke to stand [Rule
11-4a].
Obviously, there is a bit of strategy involved here. If your
opponents’ tee shots were good, you might require them to replay; if they were
poor, it would be to your advantage to let the shots stand.
The Definition of BALL IN PLAY contains an exception for match play. When starting
a hole, a ball that is hit from outside the teeing ground is “in play” unless
the opponent recalls the stroke. Whether the player hits his tee shot outside
the markers or from another teeing ground, he is outside the correct teeing
ground.
So, what would happen if the tee shot from the wrong teeing
ground went out of bounds? The answer, assuming the opponent does not recall
the shot, is that the player must drop a ball on the same wrong teeing ground,
add a penalty stroke, and hit again. This ball may not be re-teed, because the player is not on the teeing ground of
the hole being played [Decision 11-5/3].
Stroke play is
entirely different. If you hit from outside the teeing ground, there is a
two-stroke penalty, and you must hit another ball from within the teeing
ground. If you do not hit again from the correct area, you are disqualified as
soon as you tee off on the next hole. Do not count the first tee shot, since
the ball was not in play. Your second tee shot will be your third stroke on the
hole.
Linda
Copyright © 2012 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
