Question on Rule 22..Ball Assisting or Interfering with Play

[jfrain2004]

Taken from the R&A; rule book:
"You may lift your ball or have any other ball lifted if you think the ball
might assist another player.
You must not agree to leave a ball in position in order to assist
another player"

If my ball is just past the hole and my oponent is chipping onto the green, can my oponent request that I leave my ball in position for his shot ( ie it may stop his ball from going past the hole if he misses )
or can I just mark and lift my ball regardless of what he wants?

[FlopShotArtist]

Keep in mind, I'm not sure, but...

You may lift your ball or have any other ball lifted if you think the ball
might assist another player .

If you think it will help him, you can pick it up and mark it.

[dagolfer]

oo that is a tricky one... this has never come up in any of my high school matches, normally i don't mark anything till all balls are on the green. Also does it really matter because if you ball gets hit you get to put it back approximatley where it was, right?

[FlopShotArtist]

oo that is a tricky one... this has never come up in any of my high school matches, normally i don't mark anything till all balls are on the green. Also does it really matter because if you ball gets hit you get to put it back approximatley where it was, right?

But it stops the chipper's ball from flying past the hole, thus 'assisting' him.

[jfrain2004]

This situation comes up several times every round with me, I always mark my ball but recently in a matchplay the guy I was playing passed a remark "did I not like him" when I lifted my ball which was positioned so as to stop his chip going on past the hole.

[martin00015]

This situation comes up several times every round with me, I always mark my ball but recently in a matchplay the guy I was playing passed a remark "did I not like him" when I lifted my ball which was positioned so as to stop his chip going on past the hole.

It's hard to see why your opponent would take it personally that you want to lift your own ball on the green! However, some older players may not have moved with the times.... In matchplay it used to be that a player could require an opponent to replace a ball on the green when it was his turn to play, thus having 'control' over his opponent's ball. The rule was rescinded in 1984. Usually, these guys also believe you can declare a ball lost.

[iacas]

"You may lift your ball or have any other ball lifted if you think the ball

You may do so regardless of what he wants, yes. Especially if you're on the putting green where you don't need a ball to be interfering to mark and lift.

You may want to read the decisions here for added info: http://www.usga.org/playing/rules/bo...ons/dec22.html