Picking Up a Left Behind Club

[Bonvivant]

Yesterday my group found a putter around the green. We were playing a game (14 people in 4 groups) where only bogeys or better count for points, so it might be understandable that a player would bring a chipping club and a putter to something near the green for their bogey attempt. I was not going to leave the club behind, as I was sure that someone would be missing it and we would be passing the group ahead as the next two holes were up and back. Sure enough, they drove their cart towards us right as we were about to hit our approaches.

My question is, did I break a rule by having a 15th club in my bag? I'm not particularly worried about it for my daily play, as I would always pick up the club. This more pertains to if I ever decide to play a tournament. I could not find anything about this situation in the equipment rules and would like some input/the answer if possible. Has anyone else done this, or does anyone have another solution to this?

Thanks in advance.

[leftybutnotPM]

11 minutes ago, Bonvivant said:

 

My question is, did I break a rule by having a 15th club in my bag?

NO. You did the right thing. It happens all the time. 

Edited January 3, 2020 by leftybutnotPM

[Asheville]

From Rule 4.1:

After a player’s round has started, if the player picks up another player’s club that was left behind, or a club is mistakenly put in the player’s bag without his or her knowledge, the club is not treated as one of the player’s clubs for purposes of the 14-club limit (but it must not be used).

https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/rules/rules-2019/rules-of-golf/rules-and-interpretations.html#!ruletype=fr&section=rule&rulenum=4&subrulenum=1

[Patch]

I don't think the OP did anything wrong. @Ashville showed the rule. 

I have picked up lost clubs before. I didn't put them in my bag though, unless I was walking. 

If no one claimed the club on the course, I turned them in at the 19th hole. 

I have left, and lost a couple of wedges over the past decades of my golf journey. My hope is the golfer who found, and kept got some good use out of them. 

[Bonvivant]

5 hours ago, Asheville said:

From Rule 4.1:

After a player’s round has started, if the player picks up another player’s club that was left behind, or a club is mistakenly put in the player’s bag without his or her knowledge, the club is not treated as one of the player’s clubs for purposes of the 14-club limit (but it must not be used).

https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/rules/rules-2019/rules-of-golf/rules-and-interpretations.html#!ruletype=fr&section=rule&rulenum=4&subrulenum=1

Thanks. I did a overview of the equipment section but I must have missed it. Even though I knew I was doing the right thing, I feel even better about it now.