In a previous article, I wrote of the alternative to a stroke-and-distance penalty for a lost ball or a ball out of bounds. One may play a ball in the short-cut portion of the general area (fairway) under a 2-stroke penalty.
It is important to understand that this option in not a general rule. It is a local rule that must be adopted by the relevant association or committee, and it may specify on which hole or holes to which it pertains. In the absence of such a rule, one may not use this option.
However, in the case of casual play, the group may decide to use this option as it will speed up play.
In the next few weeks, we are going to look at several cases and see if you can accurately calculate the number of strokes including penalties. The week following the cases, we will examine each providing explanations and the proper score.
Case 1
-On the first hole, a par 3, John tees up his ball but, before making his stroke, his club knocks his ball off the tee.
-John moves his tee several feet, and re-tees his ball.
-Before making his stroke, he removes several weeds that are attached from the teeing area.
-He makes a practice swing and knocks his ball off the tee again.
-John decides he won’t use a wooden tee but uses some sand to build a small tee.
-He puts his ball on this sand tee and hits it to within 6 inches of the hole.
-He holes out his ball.
What is John’s score for the hole?
Case 2
-John hits his tee shot on the 2nd hole and then realizes that he has 15 clubs in his bag.
-He declares to the other player that his extra club is out of play, but he keeps it in his bag.
-Finding his ball in the woods, he hits it. After the stoke, because he does not like the result, he damages the club by hitting it on a tree.
-On his 3rd stroke, he uses the damaged club and hits the ball onto the apron of the green.
-In putting, he misses the hole but hits his bag that was lying on the other side of the green.
-He holes out.
What is John’s score for the second hole?