At a Par 3 I played my ball & thought it was in a
lateral water hazard, as did my fellow competitor. I proceeded to the drop
zone, dropped a ball & played onto green & holed out. I was then
informed that my ball was not in the hazard. I return to the tee but what
stroke am I playing. I played a wrong ball = 2 stroke penalty, I played from a
wrong place = 2 stroke penalty, or is this covered by 1-4/12, "when one
act results in two rules being breached 1 penalty is applied"? Thanks.
Lulu from Scotland
Dear Lulu,
Since both you and your competitor were virtually certain the ball was in the hazard, you must count your score with the ball you played from the Dropping Zone.
While it is unlikely you will find a ball outside a hazard when everyone is certain it is in the hazard, it does happen on occasion. Since you sincerely believed it was in the hazard, and everyone concurred, the ball you dropped was in play as soon as you dropped it. At that point, you may not play the original, even if it is found before you hit the dropped ball [Decision 26-1/3.5].
Linda
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