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The rules of golf are tough! Fortunately, we have a guru. Our Rules The man knows the book from front to back. Got a question? He has all the answers.
In a better ball game, it took our opponents more than three minutes to search for a ball. I warned them that the search time was up, but they persisted to search and found the ball after five minutes. Does the penalty for losing the hole apply to both players or only to those whose ball is lost? —Chris West, Tempe, Ariz.
First, as is typical of the Rules Guy app, some hair fouling: Being stuck for too long isn’t a breach of the rules — a breach is playing a ball that’s lost and no longer in play. (Yes, yes, unreasonable delay is another potential breach, too.)
Before the Rules Guy puts the clock on, the answer is that the player who makes a bunt at the missing ball gets a losing penalty for making a bunt at the wrong ball. While that player is not eligible for the hole, under Rule 23.9a(2) the penalty does not apply to the partner.
For more getting lost tips from our expert, read on…
My loaded shot fell into some deep roughs and I had to mark my ball to identify it. When I lifted what was already my ball, it was sitting on top of another missing ball. Our group had no idea what to do. —Dave MacPherson, St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada
I apologize in advance Dave, but sometimes the answers to grammar questions turn out to be good margins. This is one such case.
This abandoned ball is an obstacle, and it is a moving ball as long as it can be removed without unreasonable delay or causing damage to the track. The question then becomes whether your ball is on/over the other ball but also on the ground, or perfectly balanced on top of the other ball and not touching the ground.
If it’s the first, you put the ball back in as required and then remove the abandoned ball – assuming your ball moves because of this removal, as per Rule 15.2, you put the ball back to its original position without penalty.
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If the latter, according to Rule 15.2(2), remove the obstruction and then drop the ball into a relief area one club length based on the spot below where the ball sat over the ball left, not near the hole and in the same area as the course.
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Do you have a question about the rules? Ask the rules guy! Send your queries, confusions and comments to rulesguy@golf.com. We promise he won’t throw the book at you.