Answers

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, May 12, 2004

1) It is, in fact, Rule 10-2b.

2) Jack is right. According to Decision 14-2/2, there is no penalty for holding an umbrella during a shot as long as it is held by the player and not by another individual such as a caddy.

3) Arnie wins this one. Jack must take his shot without moving his ball, and do his best to ignore the sprinkler head, as stipulated in Decision 24-2a/1.

4) There is no rule that allows Jack to press the ball into the sand to make it stay. Under Decision 20-3d/2, he must drop his ball outside the bunker, not nearer the hole, and accept a one-stroke penalty.

5) Arnie is allowed to take a second drop from the bench without penalty, according to Decision 24-2b/9.

6) Jack’s decision to walk through the bunker to align his shot was a no-no. Under Decision 13-2/29, he incurs a two-stroke penalty.

7) No, Arnie should have left the branch intact, as per Decision 13-2/19. The result is a two-shot penalty.

8) Jack is correct. A ball must be entirely out-of-bounds to be out-of-bounds, under the definition of out-of-bounds.

9) No. Arnie, in fact, has warranted a one-stroke penalty, according to Rule 18-2a.

10) Jack has correctly interpreted the rule. Because the cup is considered an outside agency, Decision 18-1/7 stipulates that Arnie must retrieve his ball and return it as near as possible to its original place on the green, where it shall be dropped.

11) Jack should listen to his friend. As Arnie said, and as Decision 26-1/16 concurs, Jack can take his ball and drop it a second time in the correct place with the original one-stroke penalty.

12) No. According to Rule 24-1, Jack can remove the broken tee without penalty, and if he should inadvertently move his ball he can replace the ball in its original position, also without penalty.

13) Yes. Under Decision 22/2, one player may request another player to mark his or her ball off the green if it would interfere with play.

14) Jack is correct. Because neither player can confidently identify his ball, both players are deemed to have lost their balls and are penalized stroke and distance, under Decision 27/10.

15) Jack can clean away without penalty. According to Decision 13-2/8.5, Jack is entitled to the lie and line of play he had when his ball came to rest. Therefore he can lift his ball and wipe it, as well as removing any sand that would interfere with his next shot.

16) Yes, but only if Arnie has 13 clubs in his bag, one under the maximum of 14. Under Rule 4-4, players can add clubs during a round if they began with less than 14, but no clubs can be added if a player began his or her round with 14.

17) He should return his ball as close to its original position as possible, give himself a one-stroke penalty under Rule 18-2a, and try to be more careful next time.

18) He sure does. Under Decision 14-1/3, a ball must be hit with the head of the club. Although Jack’s shot counts, the faux pas costs him two strokes and the round to Arnie.