Facts

An old-timer at the HCC in the mountains of N.C. advised Foremost that they had once considered naming the holes of the course. He said the names suggested for the 11th and 12th holes were Boomerang and Echo as approach shots falling short of the elevated putting greens might just come back to the player who executed the shot.

F, perhaps a little intimidated, chose this opportunity to put these naming suggestions to the test. He bladed his short-iron approach into the 11th hole, and watched anxiously as the ball skipped and labored to climb the hill. The ball seemed to come to rest just at the precipice of the green.

Approaching the green, F saw that his ball was, indeed, perched on the very edge of the incline, and that a single gust of wind might send the ball tumbling 20-30 yards back down the fairway. He hurried to mark his ball, but found it was located in the fringe just off the putting surface.

The wind was gusting. F’s ball was less than 15 feet from the flagstick, but it was not his turn to play. In fact, F was closest to the hole, batting clean-up with both of his opponents “out” and first to play. Every second counted as the wind continued to gust.

F considered his options, and without saying anything, slapped his putt up the hill for a tap-in par. His opponents didn’t say a word, although they might have wondered why this s-o-b was playing out of turn. F was relieved they did not ask him to cancel and replay his shot.

Issue

Did F handle this situation appropriately and ethically?

Ruling

Ever the gentleman, F hated to introduce himself to new playing partners with the somewhat rude behavior of playing out of turn, but he reasoned that this conduct was necessary considering his situation and the Rules of Golf!

Here was F’s thought process:

A central tenet of the ROG is that a player must play the ball as it lies (R9.1a), with limited exceptions. A ball on the putting green is one of these limited exceptions in which a player may lift and mark his ball (R13.1b). F’s ball was not on the putting green. He did not have the option of marking and lifting.

F was, also, aware of R6.4a which outlines the Order of Play in Match Play, and the provision which states that while there is no penalty for playing out of turn, the opponent may cancel the stroke and require the player to replay the stroke from the spot where it was made.

Certainly, the polite thing to do would have been for F to explain his situation to his opponents. “Hey, my ball is fixin’ to roll off this hill. Mind if I play?” The certain answer from this group, as this was a friendly game, would have been to ‘go ahead’. F, however, refrained from this course as he feared this request would, in effect, be asking his opponents to waive a Rule ( specifically, R6.4 referenced above, which lets opponents agree to play out of turn “to save time”, but not because a player thinks his ball is on a precipice and may roll down a hill). Had he agreed with his opponents to waive R6.4, F feared they would all be subject to disqualification (R1.3b(1)), and F did not want to put his opponents in this position. Therefore, he said nothing.

F was, also, cognizant of R3.2d(4), which reminds a player that in Match Play he must protect his own rights and interests under the Rules. He deliberately decided, therefore, to play out of turn, knowing well that his opponents had the right to have him cancel and replay his shot.

An election by his opponents to require F to cancel and replay his shot would have been disastrous! With the ball already on a precipice, a drop (for a cancelled shot) into a Relief Area no nearer the hole (R14.6b), would have certainly resulted in the ball catching the incline and rolling 30 yards back down the hill into the fairway.

In short, the situation offered F a choice…stand by idly and watch his ball roll down the hill, or gamble on the generosity of his opponents, play, and say nothing*.

Should this situation have been handled differently?

As usual, all comments and corrections are welcome!

Respectfully submitted,
F

*By the way, F highly recommends the book “Say Nothing” by Patrick Keefe… F’s book of the year! (about some folks who take their Rules seriously)