Hitting another persons ball on Putting Green

[prestidge96]

Alright, so in the summer I was playing in a tournament. After a terrible chip ran about 20 feet by, I got ready to putt. I watched someone putt who was outside of me then put my head down and assumed he had marked his ball(cause everyone in these tournaments marks their ball on every putt.) So I hit my putt and i looked up and realized he hadn't marked his ball and my ball hit his. We weren't sure the actual ruling, but we thought it was either 1 or 2 strokes on me. So we got in the clubhouse and asked the tournament coordinator and he said it was 1 stroke. Is this right?

[OpusX20]

[quote name='prestidge96' timestamp='1288219548' post='2762415']
Alright, so in the summer I was playing in a tournament. After a terrible chip ran about 20 feet by, I got ready to putt. I watched someone putt who was outside of me then put my head down and assumed he had marked his ball(cause everyone in these tournaments marks their ball on every putt.) So I hit my putt and i looked up and realized he hadn't marked his ball and my ball hit his. We weren't sure the actual ruling, but we thought it was either 1 or 2 strokes on me. So we got in the clubhouse and asked the tournament coordinator and he said it was 1 stroke. Is this right?
[/quote]


[size="2"][i]Rule 19-5
[/i][/size][left][size="2"][i]If a player’s ball in motion after a [/i][/size][i][size="2"]stroke [/size][size="2"]is deflected or stopped by a ball in play [/i][/size][size="2"][i]and at rest, the player must play his ball as it lies. In match play, there is no penalty. In stroke play, there is no penalty, unless both balls lay on the putting green [/size][size="2"]prior to the stroke[/i][/size][size="1"][font="GillSans-Light"][size="1"][size="2"][i], in which case the player incurs a penalty of two strokes.[/i][/size][/left]
[/size][/size][/font]

[prestidge96]

Yeah that was what I thought but the guy said it was one so idk what i should have done

[OpusX20]

[quote name='prestidge96' timestamp='1288401782' post='2765774']
Yeah that was what I thought but the guy said it was one so idk what i should have done
[/quote]

In this case, his error benefitted you. You asked for a ruling and got one, so you did the right thing. As a general rule, when getting a ruling from a tournament director or rules official or your buddy, always ask them to cite the specific Rule and/or Decisions they are using to justify their ruling. The point is not to be disrespectful, but to better understand the Rules yourself and make absolutely sure that you get the correct ruling. When I was a rules official, I would read from the Rules or Decisions book for every single ruling I made. An older rules official taught me that and I think it is a great habit to get into. Just my opinion of course.

EDIT: And at the risk of sounding "preachy", I would suggest carrying a Rules book as well.

[prestidge96]

[quote name='OpusX20' timestamp='1288402890' post='2765801']
[quote name='prestidge96' timestamp='1288401782' post='2765774']
Yeah that was what I thought but the guy said it was one so idk what i should have done
[/quote]

In this case, his error benefitted you. You asked for a ruling and got one, so you did the right thing. As a general rule, when getting a ruling from a tournament director or rules official or your buddy, always ask them to cite the specific Rule and/or Decisions they are using to justify their ruling. The point is not to be disrespectful, but to better understand the Rules yourself and make absolutely sure that you get the correct ruling. When I was a rules official, I would read from the Rules or Decisions book for every single ruling I made. An older rules official taught me that and I think it is a great habit to get into. Just my opinion of course.

EDIT: And at the risk of sounding "preachy", I would suggest carrying a Rules book as well.
[/quote]
Thanks, yeah the man who told me had a shortened rules book and he read off the rule so idk if he understood the situation

[mkotthoff]

[quote name='prestidge96' timestamp='1288408976' post='2765928']
[quote name='OpusX20' timestamp='1288402890' post='2765801']
[quote name='prestidge96' timestamp='1288401782' post='2765774']
Yeah that was what I thought but the guy said it was one so idk what i should have done
[/quote]

In this case, his error benefitted you. You asked for a ruling and got one, so you did the right thing. As a general rule, when getting a ruling from a tournament director or rules official or your buddy, always ask them to cite the specific Rule and/or Decisions they are using to justify their ruling. The point is not to be disrespectful, but to better understand the Rules yourself and make absolutely sure that you get the correct ruling. When I was a rules official, I would read from the Rules or Decisions book for every single ruling I made. An older rules official taught me that and I think it is a great habit to get into. Just my opinion of course.

EDIT: And at the risk of sounding "preachy", I would suggest carrying a Rules book as well.
[/quote]
Thanks, yeah the man who told me had a shortened rules book and he read off the rule so idk if he understood the situation
[/quote]


Yeah, I've seen tournament directors try to make rulings without completely understanding the situation multiple times this year. Happens a whole lot more often than it should...

[2bGood]

Not to jack the thread, but what is the ruling when some ones markers stops a putt. I saw this today when someone used a divot tool to mark their ball, putt ran past the hole and hits the tool and stops dead (saved them big time).

We played it as no penalty play the ball where it stopped.

[Sawgrass]

[quote name='2bGood' timestamp='1288580843' post='2768408']
Not to jack the thread, but what is the ruling when some ones markers stops a putt. I saw this today when someone used a divot tool to mark their ball, putt ran past the hole and hits the tool and stops dead (saved them big time).

We played it as no penalty play the ball where it stopped.
[/quote]

There is no problem, even if the ball had been marked by something as substantial as a tee stuck in the green, unless the purpose of using the particular marker was to intentionally give an advantage. I don't know if you're talking match play or stroke play, but here's one segment of the rules that prevents such a conspiricy. Also check out rule 19 for other details:


[b]1-2. Exerting Influence on Ball[/b]
A player or [url="http://www.usga.org/workarea/linkit.aspx?linkidentifier=id&itemid=14253#Caddie"][i]caddie[/i][/url] must not take any action to influence the position or the movement of a ball except in accordance with the [url="http://www.usga.org/workarea/linkit.aspx?linkidentifier=id&itemid=14253#Rules"][i]Rules[/i][/url].
(Removal of loose impediment — see Rule [url="http://www.usga.org/workarea/linkit.aspx?linkidentifier=id&itemid=14298#23-1"]23-1[/url].)
(Removal of movable obstruction — see Rule [url="http://www.usga.org/workarea/linkit.aspx?linkidentifier=id&itemid=14300#24-1"]24-1[/url].)

*Penalty for Breach of Rule [url="http://www.usga.org/workarea/linkit.aspx?linkidentifier=id&itemid=14254#1-2"]1-2[/url]: [u]Match play[/u] — Loss of hole; [u]Stroke play[/u] — Two strokes.
*In the case of a serious breach of Rule [url="http://www.usga.org/workarea/linkit.aspx?linkidentifier=id&itemid=14254#1-2"]1-2[/url], the [url="http://www.usga.org/workarea/linkit.aspx?linkidentifier=id&itemid=14253#Committee"][i]Committee [/i][/url]may impose a penalty of disqualification.

Note: A player is deemed to have committed a serious breach of Rule [url="http://www.usga.org/workarea/linkit.aspx?linkidentifier=id&itemid=14254#1-2"]1-2[/url] if the [url="http://www.usga.org/workarea/linkit.aspx?linkidentifier=id&itemid=14253#Committee"][i]Committee[/i][/url] considers that his act of influencing the position or movement of the ball has allowed him or another player to gain a significant advantage or has placed another player, other than his [url="http://www.usga.org/workarea/linkit.aspx?linkidentifier=id&itemid=14253#Partner"][i]partner[/i][/url], at a significant disadvantage.

[Sawgrass]

Post deleted in a "blushes saving" attempt!

[Sawgrass]

Done!