Can you answer the following please:-
A ball thought to be in GUR, player dropped and completed hole,
found his original ball on the next tee after hole was finished. The
GUR was left of fairway and the general feeling was the ball was heading
that way. The ball was finally found beyond the GUR behind a tree and out
of sight until reaching the next tee.
What is the ruling?
Lou from Spain
Dear Lou,
There is a big difference between having a “general feeling”
that a ball is lost in Ground Under Repair (GUR) and having knowledge or
virtual certainty that a ball that cannot be found is lost in GUR. Your
narrative does not seem to indicate knowledge or virtual certainty.
Accordingly, when the player did not find his ball within five minutes it was
lost [Definition of “Lost Ball”]. He was required to play another ball from the
spot where he hit his previous shot, adding a one-stroke penalty to his score
[Rule 27-1c].
When the player dropped another ball and played it, he
played from the wrong place [Rule 20-7].
• In match play he loses the hole.
• In stroke play he incurs a two-stroke penalty. Since this
player obviously gained a significant advantage (the spot where he dropped his
ball was much closer to the hole than the spot where he hit his previous shot),
he would have to complete the hole with a second ball played from the spot
where he hit his original ball. If he does not do so before teeing off on the
next hole, he will be disqualified for committing a serious breach.
Linda
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