Facts

The teams were all-square on the difficult Par 4 5th hole at BMCC. Foremost was searching for his ball in the left rough off the tee, but was comforted by the fact that his partner, RM, had split the middle of the fairway with his drive.

Suddenly a cart raced into the fairway. Brief words were exchanged between the driver and RM, and F could only watch as RM leapt into the cart which peeled off in the direction of the clubhouse. Not a word was spoken to F.

F slapped his ball out of the rough, hit a nice wedge into the green, and actually made his putt for a par, net birdie to win the hole and go one-up against formidable opponents JS and JRd.

“What happened?”, asked F.

“Apparently something happened to Ms.RM”, said JS. “She got hit by a ball”, he added.

The players anxiously discussed this development as they hiked down the hill to the 6th tee. Upon arrival at the teeing area , opponent JS made a gracious offer, that being, to either cancel the match or suspend it pending the possible return of F’s partner. F thanked him for this gesture, but noted that, in his opinion, such an accommodation would be contrary to the Rules of Golf. (F, also, considered that his team was one up at the time). JS persisted, saying that a two against one match wouldn’t be fair.

F noticed Pro GH approaching the tee box in a golf cart.

The players were hopeful for some good news. GH advised that MsRM had indeed suffered a head injury on the first hole from a ricochet of a three-wood shot out of the rough. The ball had smacked her in the forehead and dropped her to the ground. She had a golf-ball size lump on her noggin, but had received immediate medical attention, and while still under close watch by RM, appeared to be safe and well on the road to recovery. The players were relieved with this information, and turned their attention to the status of the match at hand (although F did wonder why MsRM had tried to hit a three-wood out of the rough from behind a tree).

F had been giving the match some thought, however ….he was one up, his partner would now surely return… and for some reason he thought of Henry V who, though his forces were vastly outnumbered, had defeated the French at Agincourt.

With these inspirations, F declined the cancellation offer and bravely informed his opponents that the match would continue with no concessions.

Unfortunately, and in retrospect, it was too bad that F didn’t think of the Alamo, or Custer and the Little Big Horn, instead of Agincourt. Outmanned and outgunned, he lost 3 of the next 4 holes to the JS/JRd team, leaving his team two down at the turn.

(In this sequence, F would like to give a shout out to Pro GH, who as F has recited was standing at the time on the 6th tee bearing the news of the injury. F talked JS into letting GH play H#6 as F’s partner… one hole only…as a substitute for RM. He hit it in the water.)

F’s spirits soared soon thereafter, however, as he walked off the 9th green and saw his partner, RM, a determined look on his face, limbering up and ready to re-enter the fray. F could only imagine the appreciation and gratitude RM had to feel towards F for F keeping them in the match.

“What the hell happened?”, said RM. “How did you let us go two down?”

“I was deeply worried about MsRM and had some trouble concentrating”, said F…so much for the expression of gratititude.

The players gathered round. After a full recount by RM of the unfortunate episode, which was spiced up somewhat by the disconcerting revelation that the attending physician had been roused naked out of the showers, the match continued.

In short, the F/RM team made a valiant effort on the back nine finally squaring the match on the 17th hole. They lost the 18th.

F suggested at this point that the bets should be waived due to the five holes his team had played with a depleted roster. “Certainly, the Rules of Golf demand relief in a Four-Ball competition where a player is incapacitated”, he said mustering his best F air-of-authority.

“B… S…”, said JS.

Ruling

Although a player cannot “unreasonably delay play”, the ROG actually do offer some relief in the event of injury sustained by a Player on the golf course. Under R5.6a a player may be allowed a “short delay” if he becomes injured or ill, or “when there is another good reason”. For instance, if a player suffers heat exhaustion or a bee sting, as examples, the Committee will normally allow a player up to 15 minutes to recover before his delay is deemed unreasonable. (See Int. 5.6a/2).

Although this particular injury was incurred by the player’s spouse and not the player, F is fairly certain that the Committee would have granted a 15 minute delay under the “another good reason” clause noted above. Unfortunately, a 15 minute pause in play would not have helped F in this case, as RM decided at some point that he would simply show up on the back nine. F would never question this decision although, in truth, he could have used his him at least by the 9th hole had he been a more dedicated partner.

Furthermore, and as expected, F finds his team was entitled to no match relief simply by virtue of an injury and playing on without both partners, as a side may be represented by one or both partners in any round. R23.4. The match was clearly lost.

Of course, the ROG and widely-accepted “Rules of Betting” may not coincide. For instance, nothing in the ROG says the winner should buy drinks, although this is a common practice in many golf circles.

F decided to consult higher betting authorities to determine whether a four-ball bet would be owed in the event of an injury. Most venues (including Draft Kings, Caesars, and Bet MGM) say a golf bet is good once a player tees off. Fan Duels says the bet is on only if the player completes three holes. Since RM completed 4 holes before his disappearance, F finds that his team loses in the Betting world as well.

The good news is that MsRM (who is good enough to hit a three-wood any time she wants to by the way) made a full recovery. F will try to get her as his partner next time.

As usual, all comments or corrections are welcome!

Respectfully submitted,
F