Hi Linda,
I hit a drive that I believed had come to rest in a lateral
hazard. I took relief from the point of entry straight back on line with the
hole. After playing my 3rd shot with that dropped ball, I found that
my original drive had actually carried all the way through the hazard and ended
up in play. I played out the hole with the ball I had dropped and picked up my
original drive. Could I have played my original drive instead, or was that ball
out of play once I took relief from the hazard? Should there have been an
additional penalty for taking relief from a hazard that my ball ended up not
actually being in?
Thanks!
Lou from Tucson, Arizona
Dear Lou,
If it was known or virtually certain that your ball was in
the hazard, your procedure was correct. As soon as you drop another ball on the
line of sight to the hole, it becomes your ball in play and you may not play
the original ball [Decision 26-1/3.5]. The original is lost under the Rules [Definition
of “Lost Ball”].
The penalty is one stroke for taking relief from a water
hazard. There is no additional penalty for finding your original outside the
hazard. While it is unusual, it is not unheard of to find your ball outside a
hazard when you and your fellow competitors are certain it entered the hazard.
The Rules only require virtual certainty that your ball lies in the hazard.
Linda
Copyright © 2015 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
