Thursday, May 16, 2013

Ask Linda #658-Ball moved in hazard


Dear Linda,

Here is my situation:

My golf ball rolled into a hazard and was sitting in a bunch of long, tangled grass.... I was fortunate because it was a pretty good lie, as I would definitely be able to hit it out of the hazard without having to take an unplayable lie and incurring a penalty stroke.  However, when I stepped into the hazard and placed my feet in the long grass to address my ball, the grass that I stepped on must have been attached to the grass around my ball, and the ball moved when my foot moved to get a comfortable stance.

Is this a stroke penalty, even though I did not deliberately move the ball?

Thank you for your response, and for being such a wonderful part of my game... I just love your emails!
Lulu

Dear Lulu,

The bottom line, Lulu, is that you caused your ball to move. You incur a one-stroke penalty, and must replace the ball [Rule 18-2a].

Linda
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