New rule for 2008, hitting wrong ball in hazard, match play

**blue3715** · May 8, 2008

The old rule said if you hit the wrong ball in a hazard, there is no penalty.. you could then hit the right ball.

The new rule (and I prefer it) says you must identify your ball, as anywhere else on the course, and if you don't (and hit the wrong ball) you lose the hole.

Remember not to change the lie of the ball when you replace it. you cannot clean the ball but your should be able to identify it from the logo, etc somewhere on the ball.

==========
I had a wrong ball error in match play last summer. We were both in the rough on a par 3. We both had Titleist 1, mine was a red 1(prov-1x), his a black 1 (prov1).

I couldn't tell from the first ball which one it was. It was a bad lie. I asked if "that's yours" as he stood by the other ball.. he said yes. My thought is he assumed since I stood by my ball, the other one was his.

So I hit my ball (poorly from the lie) onto the green, marked it. Then he hit his from a nice clean lie close to the pin. When I took the ball out of my pocket to putt I saw I had hit his ball, and announced my error and lost the hole.

I was sorta annoyed that he said it was his ball, but it's my fault for not walking over to his ball to identify it.

It was the 14th hole and I was 2 up.. woulda been 3 up. Instead I wen't to 15 just 1 up.. I ended up losing the match.

word!

**BASHERBAKER69** · May 8, 2008

2 shot penalty in strokeplay. Loss of hole in matchplay. DQ if you only realise after youve finished!

**Mats++** · May 8, 2008

If you hit his ball, whose ball did he hit?

**Pinseeker81** · May 8, 2008

Seems like if you hit his, and he hit yours, you would both loose (halve the hole)?

**Shindig** · May 8, 2008

Seems like if you hit his, and he hit yours, you would both loose (halve the hole)?

I don't think so. I think - I haven't played match play except in video games, where this doesn't come up - that once you lose a hole, it's lost - even if your opponent then hits a ball.

Drunk Driver · May 8, 2008

Technically speaking if the other player was hitting second wouldn't he have already won the hole before taking his shot and hitting the wrong ball?

EDIT: What Shindig said.

In any case that doesn't sound like very good sportsmanship. Surly him claiming that your ball was in fact his ball constitutes some form of cheating, Is the emphasis really on you to have to constantly check your opponent is telling the truth? Doesn't sound very practical or polite.

**Mats++** · May 9, 2008

Technically speaking if the other player was hitting second wouldn't he have already won the hole before taking his shot and hitting the wrong ball?

Yes. Apparently it's an example of the situation in the rulebook.

15-3.Wrong Ball a.Match Play If a player makes a stroke at a wrong ball, he loses the hole. If the wrong ball belongs to another player, its owner must place a ball on the spot from which the wrong ball was first played. If the player and opponent exchange balls during the play of a hole, the first to make a stroke at a wrong ball loses the hole; when this cannot be determined, the hole must be played out with the balls exchanged.

**hawkeye** · May 9, 2008

That's unlucky. Such is golf though.

If he claimed that the ball he stood beside (which was your ball) was his ball - then he is the one in the wrong (I don't know where it is in the rule book - but it's similar to asking your opponant where his ball is, he says it's ok/on the fairway but it's Out of Bounds)

That said, you can identify your ball (use finger and thumb in clear view of your opponant - tell him what you're doing - pick the ball up gently and rotate it to see an identifying mark. Then rotate it back to it's original position)

And yes Shindig - that sounds right - once an error has been made he hole is lost, no matter what the other fella does after.

To prevent it happenning again - stick a personal mark on every ball. Never hit a wrong ball in 10 years....

**blue3715** · May 9, 2008

my ball did have some small marks but it was deep in the rough.
We both just believed we had the right ball... too bad I was "away", he woulda lost the hole if he hit first... in the ended the lie was so bad (his ball) i shoulda won the hole outright.

interestingly its the same person i had the other issue with a year earlier (the "penalty" on #8), noted in my other posting.

**blue3715** · June 23, 2008

Amazingly, in my match last week my competitor in a par 5 thought his ball was in the bunker. He then hit it and as he walked out of the bunker he saw his ball in the rough. He asked what to do. I told him if it was 2007 he could hit it with no penalty, but since 2008 he lost the hole for not identifying his ball.

Good to know the latest rules!

***iacas*** · June 24, 2008

Came up today in the Junior Match Play (qualifier) here in Erie. A kid was penalized two shots for playing a wrong ball in the hazard. Dumb thing was, the ball he played was only about a foot away from his ball. Not sure what he did wrong there.

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New rule for 2008, hitting wrong ball in hazard, match play

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