Facts – A Protest

Several passersby at BMCC were alarmed recently as they witnessed Player and Reader, Sandwich,  kneel alone on the 18th green  while facing the nearby flag and flagpole of the United States. Foremost, who knows Sandwich well, can allay any and all concerns! Rather than making a political statement, Sandwich was simply aligning his putt, with kneeling a vital part of his rather tedious routine … a routine which involves pacing, plumb- bobbing, squinting, more pacing, and yes, kneeling.   The time this routine takes is often interminable, and F suspects that what seemed to observers as a solitary, militant protest was, in fact,  solitary simply because Sandwich’s playing companions had already moved on to the 19th hole.

Facts – A Deflection

A truly noteworthy rules incident did, however, occur at a prestigious match play event in Atlanta:

At  a critical point in Four-Ball Match Play competition, Player CS watched as an opponent pitched his ball onto the surface of the putting green. The opponent’s partner, standing on the green,  noticed that the moving ball might hit his own water bottle which he had placed nearby. The partner rushed to pick up the water bottle, but clumsily stumbled. As he stumbled, the moving ball struck his foot.

The Players, sensing a penalty of some sort and all anxious to know the status of the hole and the match all kneeled (they weren’t protesting either) and requested an immediate ruling pursuant to R2-5. The Committee arrived quickly and ruled that the Player who made the shot incurred a penalty of LOH, but his Partner was unaffected and could continue play.

Issue(s)

Was the Committee ruling  correct?

–Was the infraction a consequence of the Partner picking up the water bottle with a ball in motion? Or, was the infraction a consequence of the ball deflecting off the Partner’s shoe?

–Does the Player incur a LOH penalty? Should the penalty have been assessed against the Partner rather than the Player? Or, if LOH, does the penalty include both the Player and his Partner (the Side)?

Ruling

F finds that the Committee’s ruling was incorrect.  Perhaps, it based its decision on a misreading of R24-1,  which does impose a LOH penalty for for moving an “obstruction” when a ball is in motion. A water bottle (which is a man-made item) might in some circumstances be an “obstruction.”

This Rule makes an exception, however, if a Player moves a flagstick , when attended, or the “equipment” of “any” player. By definition, the water bottle was the “equipment” of the player as it was “used, worn, or carried” by said player.

Even though the water bottle had been placed on the ground and was not at the time technically being “carried” by the partner, , it remained an item of equipment of the player. (See, Dec 17-1/7, a flagstick scenario referencing R24-1).*

As there was no penalty in this situation  for moving the water bottle, the fact of the deflection of the moving ball by the Partner must be addressed. The applicable Rule for this situation is R19-2 “Ball in Motion Deflected or Stopped”  which deals with a moving ball accidentally deflected by a Player, his Partner, his Caddie or Equipment. A one shot penalty is assessed for this infraction against the Player who hit the shot, and he must play the ball as it lies. The Partner suffers no penalty. LOH is not a penalty for this infraction.

Players often believe the LOH penalty is universal for an infraction in match play. Note, however, that when a ball is accidentally moved by a player, the penalty is one stroke in both match play and stroke play under R18 (Ball at Rest Moved) and R19 (Ball in Motion Deflected or Stopped).

Finally, on the subject of kneeling…at the President’s Cup this week, Captain Steve Stricker was able to announce that his team would stand in unison for the anthem at the beginning ceremonies. F was, of course, pleased to hear this decision, but wonders what would have happened had a Player elected to kneel. Would this behavior, a political statement, be be permissible under the Rules of Golf? Perhaps more on  this subject later!

As usual, all comments are welcome!

Respectfully submitted,

F

 

*similar scenario, somewhat embellished, cited in the Author’s book, “I Think That’s a Penalty”, Hole #10, Scenario Four, Pg. 41-42, now available in paperback  on Amazon Books or on Amazon Kindle

 

 

 

 

 

 

I