Foremost and Sandwich had just finished the 10th hole at BMCC. F was driving the golf cart as always, of course, as he generally doesn’t like to play if he can’t drive the cart and keep score. The cart path from Hole #10 descends into a tunnel under Harding Place and ascends to the Hole #11 tee.

The tunnel entrance itself opens after a rather sharp left turn around a blind curve. F was juggling a cup of tuna salad from the 9 1/2 hole as he turned into the curve, and in retrospect, might have been driving with his elbows. He had the golf cart squarely positioned in the middle of the cart path and was proceeding slowly, enjoying the lovely day.

As he completed the turn, he was face-to-face and only 15-20 feet away from an on-coming cart which had entered the tunnel from the 12th hole. The on-coming cart was probably going 40-60 mph as it had, also, entered the tunnel on a down-hill slope, with two large men as passengers.

A full-speed collision was imminent and unavoidable. Somehow, at the very last instance, F jerked his cart to the right…the other cart also swerved…a passing gust blew into F’s face…but somehow, tragedy was averted.

F was tremblingly as he emerged from the tunnel. Sandwich said he had been about to jump, although F knew well there had been no time at all for a bail-out, even by the nimble-witted and athletic, Sandwich, who would certainly have been crushed as he reached for his cell phone, as he had been on it all day talking about a car wash deal. (No kidding, F had to listen to a car wash deal all day — which had probably numbed F’s awareness and reaction time).

“That was probably my fault”, said F. “I was driving in the middle of the cart path and eating tuna fish”.

“I don’t think so”, said Sandwich. “He was on his cell-phone and driving 90 mph”.

After the round was completed, F proceeded to the 19th hole to see if he could discover the identity of the opposing cart jouster. Several younger adults, many of them esteemed F readers, occupied a couple of tables.

“Who in the hell was driving that cart?”, asked F.

“It was (Reader) BV”, said Reader BF, a close family acquaintance of F.

“How do you know?”, said F.

“I was in the cart with him”, said BF, adding a fact which further attested to the speed of the encounter, as the occupants of the cart had previously been unidentified and one was a relative of F.

“Where is BV?”, asked F.

“He wasn’t about to show his face up here after that” , said BF.

F asked BF to simply relay to BV how grateful he was for his skillful, evasive driving maneuver which had certainly cheated injury. BF listened to the story from F’s side, and said BV would feel much better knowing that F had been eating tuna fish while driving.

Facts

BV was, also, involved in another incident on that day. As he studied a chip shot from just off a green , his partner in a Four Ball match was reaching down to mark his own ball which had come to rest four feet past the hole.

“Don’t mark that!”, said BV, who recognized an obvious back-stopping possibility. He chipped and his team won the hole.

BF called a “back-stopping” penalty on the BV team, based on the request and compliance with the request, even though the balls had not collided.

Issues

Is it a penalty to request back-stopping assistance from a partner or an opponent? Which partner would be penalized? Does a penalty apply even if the balls don’t collide with no back-stop effect? Does the inquiry as to a penalty depend on whether the format is Match play or Stroke play?

Ruling

The term “back-stopping” generally applies to the practice of leaving a ball on a putting green unmarked, which ball is in a position to possibly help the play of another player by deflecting it and leaving it near the hole.

The controversy over this practice grew in recent years in Stroke Play, as players who were friends (or for any other reason), knowingly or effectively participated in back-stopping, to the possible detriment of other players in the field who weren’t present to defend their own interest. Stroke Play, of course, is a game where one’s lowest individual score determines his rank against the field.

Per R15.3, players in Stroke Play who agree to “back-stopping” — by asking not to mark, or offering not to mark  (or perhaps even by an obvious silence) — and who play upon such agreement —  each incur the General Penalty (2 strokes) whether or not they know such an agreement violates the Rule. If the Committee finds both players knew the Rule, and chose to ignore it, they would both be subject to DQ.

Match Play is a different game where opponents can keep an eye on each other. As such, in the above-cited match, for example, BF could offer at any time to leave his own ball as a back-stop for opponent, BV, as this generous offer would effect only their own match, or BV could ask BF to not mark his ball, just to hear his answer.

Of course, the situation in the actual cited Match was different, in that BV asked his own partner to effectively back-stop by not marking, a request which the partner complied with, and for which BF called a violation.

Unfortunately for BF, F finds that no violation occurred in this case.

In match or stroke play, any player may ask any other player to mark a ball which he feels might assist another player’s play. (R15.3). The distinction in play format (whether Match or Stroke), however, may lead to different penalty conclusions despite the same set of facts. In Stroke Play, for instance, a back-stopping agreement will lead to a penalty whether or not a player objects. In Match Play, a player must affirmatively object to protect his Side’s interest.

BF had the right and the obligation to ask the opponent partner to mark the ball if he wanted it moved. If the partner had refused, or if BV had hurriedly played to avoid the marking of the ball after BF’s request, both BV and his partner would have incurred the General Penalty for Match Play, Loss of Hole. (Int 23.8(2)/1).

Whether the balls actually collided has no bearing on the violation of the Rules. In fact, F finds that it was a great day for no collisions at BMCC!

As usual, all comments or corrections are welcome! And Merry Christmas!

Respectfully submitted,
F